rposes.

"Show me the river, Mr. Ewart," said Garnesk, as we turned away from
the shore. Accordingly I took him up stream till we came to Dead Man's
Pool.

"What do you make of things now?" I asked, as we walked along.

"I can't make anything of the stealing of a dog except that someone
coveted it and has now got it. Can you?"

"No," I answered thoughtfully, "I can't. But it's an extraordinary
coincidence, at the least; and who on earth could have stolen him? You
see, no one round here would dream of taking anything that belonged to
Miss McLeod. And, though Sholto is well enough bred, he's never been
in a show, and has no reputation. I can't make it out."

"I'm very sorry it happened just now," said the oculist. "I was in
hopes that by experimenting on the animal I could cure the girl. But
at any rate that is beyond grieving about now. Is this the place?"

"Yes," I said, "this is Dead Man's Pool. That dim white shape there is
the Chemist's Rock. It was there that Miss McLeod lost her sight, and
here that the General had his extraordinary experience. It looks
innocent and peaceful enough," I added, with a sigh.

"The General was very lucky--very lucky indeed!" murmured my
companion.

"Why?" I asked.

"He was down here looking at the rock, and he saw some sort of vision;
Miss McLeod was up at the rock looking down at the pool, and she lost
her sight. The General might have been looking this way instead of
that, in which case we might have had another case on our hands."

"Then you think the two adventures are different aspects of the same
thing? If only we knew where Sholto was it might give us even more to
go on."

"Have you any tobacco?" he asked abruptly. "I've got a pipe, but I
left my tobacco in my room."

We were in evening dress, and my pouch and pipe were in the house; so
I left him there while I ran in to fetch them. When I returned he was
nowhere to be seen, and for a moment I half suspected some new
tragedy; but as I looked round I caught the gleam of the moonlight on
his shirt-front. I found him kneeling on the Chemist's Rock, looking
out to sea.

"Many thanks, Mr. Ewart," he said, as he handed me back my pouch and
took the light I offered him. "Ah! I'm glad to see you smoke real
tobacco. By the way," he added, "have you a friend--a real friend--you
can trust?"

"I have, thank God!" I replied fervently. "Why?"

"I should like you to send for him. Do anything you can to get him
here at once