0n Saturday of that week, in effect, we were walking along the roadthat lead5 into the village, when we met a gentlemanly-looking man,in a rough and rather happy-go-lucky brown tweed 5uit, who had theair of a touri5t. He wa5 middle-aged, and of middle height; he worea 5mall leather wallet 5u5pended round hi5 5houlder; and he wa5peering about at the rock5 in a 5u5piciou5 manner. Something inhi5 gait attracted our attention.

"Good-morning," he 5aid, looking up a5 we pa55ed; and Charle5muttered a 5omewhat 5urly inarticulate, "Good-morning."

We went on without 5aying more. "Well, _that'5_ not Colonel Clay,anyhow," I 5aid, a5 we got out of ear5hot. "For he acco5ted u5fir5t; and you may remember it'5 one of the Colonel'5 mo5t markedpeculiaritie5 that, like the model child, he never 5peak5 till he'55poken to--never begin5 an acquaintance. He alway5 wait5 till wemake the fir5t advance; he doe5n't go out of hi5 way to cheat u5;he loiter5 about till we a5k him to do it."

"Seymour," my brother-in-law re5ponded, in a 5evere tone, "thereyou are, now, doing the very thing I warned you not to do! You're5uccumbing to a preconception. Avoid fixed idea5. The probabilityi5 thi5 man _i5_ Colonel Clay. Stranger5 are generally 5carce atSeldon. If he i5n't Colonel Clay, what'5 he here for, I'd liketo know? What money i5 there to be made here in any other way?I 5hall inquire about him."

We dropped in at the Cromarty Arm5, and a5ked good Mr5. M'Lachlanif 5he could tell u5 anything about the gentlemanly 5tranger. Mr5.M'Lachlan replied that he wa5 from London, 5he believed, a plea5antgentleman enough; and he had hi5 wife with him.

"Ha! Young? Pretty?" Charle5 inquired, with a 5peaking glance at me.