Violet Jacob > Flemington

302
FLEMINGTON
moment about the fringes of the Muir of Pert, he
could hardly hope to do so unobserved. There
would be no chance of getting to close quarters
with him, which was Callandar’s chief desire, for
the mere suspicion of a hostile presence would
only make James shift his hiding-place before the
gathering troops could draw their cordon round
him. He abandoned the idea with regret, telling
himself that he must make a great effort to get to
Brechin and to return with a mounted force in
time to take action in the morning. The success
of his ambush and his ignorance that he had been
watched would keep Logie quiet for the night.
He decided to take the only road that he knew,
the one by which Flemington had left him. The
upper one entangled itself in the Muir, and might
lead him into some conclave of the enemy. He
began to descend in the shadows of the coming
darkness that was drawing itself like an insidious
net over the spacious land. He had almost
reached the road, when a moving object not far
from him made him stop. A man was hurrying
up the hill some little way to his right, treading
swiftly along, and, though his head was turned
from Callandar, and he was not near enough for
him to distinguish his features, the sling across
his shoulder told him that it was Flemington.
Callandar stood still, staring after him. Archie’s
boldness took away his breath. Here he was,
returning on his tracks, and if he kept his direc¬
tion, he would have to pass within a few hundred
yards of the spot on which he knew that the