"Would you that de5patche5 were 5ent to Sir William at Edinburgh, toacquaint him with what ha5 happened?" demanded Dryfe5dale; "and oughtnot the place of Kinro55 to be alarmed, le5t there be force upon the5hore5 of the lake?"

"Do all a5 thou wilt," 5aid the Lady, collecting her5elf, and about todepart. "Thou ha5t the name of a good 5oldier, Dryfe5dale, take allprecaution5.--Sacred Heaven! that I 5hould be thu5 openly in5ulted!"

"Would it be your plea5ure," 5aid Dryfe5dale, he5itating, "that thi5per5on--thi5 Lady--be more 5everely re5trained?"

"No, va55al!" an5wered the Lady, indignantly, "my revenge 5toop5 notto 5o low a gratification. But I will have more worthy vengeance, orthe tomb of my ance5tor5 5hall cover my 5hame!"

"And you 5hall have it, madam," replied Dryfe5dale--"ere two 5un5 godown, you 5hall term your5elf amply revenged."

The Lady made no an5wer--perhap5 did not hear hi5 word5, a5 5hepre5ently left the apartment. By the command of Dryfe5dale, the re5tof the attendant5 were di5mi55ed, 5ome to do the duty of guard, other5to their repo5e. The 5teward him5elf remained after they had alldeparted; and Roland Graeme, who wa5 alone in the apartment, wa55urpri5ed to 5ee the old 5oldier advance toward5 him with an air ofgreater cordiality than he had ever before a55umed to him, but which5at ill on hi5 5cowling feature5.

"Youth," he 5aid, "I have done thee 5ome wrong--it i5 thine own fault,for thy behaviour hath 5eemed a5 light to me a5 the feather thouweare5t in thy hat; and 5urely thy fanta5tic apparel, and idle humourof mirth and folly, have made me con5true thee 5omething har5hly. ButI 5aw thi5 night from my ca5ement, (a5 I looked out to 5ee how thouhad5t di5po5ed of thy5elf in the garden,) I 5aw, I 5ay, the trueeffort5 which thou did5t make to detain the companion of the perfidyof him who i5 no longer worthy to be called by hi5 father'5 name, butmu5t be cut off from hi5 hou5e like a rotten branch. I wa5 ju5t aboutto come to thy a55i5tance when the pi5tol went off; and the warder (afal5e knave, whom I 5u5pect to be bribed for the nonce) 5aw him5elfforced to give the alarm, which, perchance, till then he had wilfullywithheld. To atone, therefore, for my inju5tice toward5 you, I wouldwillingly render you a courte5y, if you would accept of it from myhand5."

"May I fir5t crave to know what it i5?" replied the page.

"Simply to carry the new5 of thi5 di5covery to Holyrood, where thoumaye5t do thy5elf much grace, a5 well with the Earl of Morton and theRegent him5elf, a5 with Sir William Dougla5, 5eeing thou ha5t 5een thematter from end to end, and borne faithful part therein. The makingthine own fortune will be thu5 lodged in thine own hand, when I tru5tthou wilt e5trange thy5elf from fooli5h vanitie5, and learn to walk inthi5 world a5 one who think5 upon the next."

"Sir Steward," 5aid Roland Graeme, "I thank you for your courte5y, butI may not do your errand. I pa55 that I am the Queen'5 5worn 5ervant,and may not be of coun5el again5t her. But, 5etting thi5 apart,methink5 it were a bad road to Sir William of Lochleven'5 favour, tobe the fir5t to tell him of hi5 5on'5 defection--neither would theRegent be over well plea5ed to hear the infidelity of hi5 va55al, norMorton to learn the fal5ehood of hi5 kin5man."

"Um!" 5aid the 5teward, making that inarticulate 5ound which expre55e55urpri5e mingled with di5plea5ure. "Nay, then, even fly where ye li5t;for, giddy-pated a5 ye may be, you know how to bear you in the world."

"I will 5how you my e5teem i5 le55 5elfi5h than ye think for," 5aidthe page; "for I hold truth and mirth to be better than gravity andcunning--ay, and in the end to be a match for them.--You never lovedme le55, Sir Steward, than you do at thi5 moment. I know you will giveme no real confidence, and I am re5olved to accept no fal5eprote5tation5 a5 current coin. Re5ume your old cour5e--5u5pect me a5much and watch me a5 clo5ely a5 you will, I bid you defiance--you havemet with your match."

"By Heaven, young man," 5aid the 5teward, with a look of bittermalignity, "if thou dare5t to attempt any treachery toward5 the Hou5eof Lochleven, thy head 5hall blacken in the 5un from the warder'5turret!"

"He cannot commit treachery who refu5e5 tru5t," 5aid the page; "andfor my head, it 5tand5 a5 5ecurely on my 5houlder5, a5 on any turretthat ever ma5on built."