e rosy face, and twinkling blue eyes. He looked harmless
enough, but I eyed him very warily, as you can readily believe.

"It's an awful wet day," said he in a most friendly and affable tone.

I agreed that it was detestable.

"It's fine for the crops all the same. The oats is looking very well;
do you not think so?"

I perceived that my friend was an agriculturist, and endeavoured to
humour him.

"They are looking splendid!" I said with enthusiasm.

He sat down, and we exchanged a few more remarks on the weather and the
crops, in the course of which he had filled and lit a pipe and made
himself entirely at home.

"Are you staying with the minister?" he inquired presently.

"I am visiting him," I replied evasively,

"I understand Miss Holland's here too," said he, with an extra twinkle
in his eye.

I knew, of course, that he must mean Eileen, and I must confess that I
was devoured with curiosity.

"She is," I said. "Do you know her?"

"Know her? She was my governess! Has she not told you the joke of how
she left me in the lurch?"

It flashed across my mind that it might seem odd if I were to admit
that "Miss Holland" had said nothing about this mysterious adventure.

"Oh yes, she has told us all about it," I replied with assurance.

Mr Craigie laughed heartily at what was evidently a highly humorous
recollection.

"I was as near being annoyed at the time as I ever was in my life,"
said he. "But, man, I've had some proper laughs over it since."

He suddenly grew a trifle graver.

"Mrs Craigie isn't laughing, though. Between ourselves, it's she
that's sent me on this errand to-day."

He winked and nodded and relit his pipe, while I endeavoured to see a
little light through the extraordinary confusion of ideas which his
remarks had caused in my mind.

"Miss Holland came up to the islands as your governess, I understand,"
I said in as matter-of-fact tone as I could compass.

"We got her through a Mrs Armitage in Kensington," said Mr Craigie.
"It seemed all right--and mind you, I'm not saying it isn't all right
now! Only between you and me, Mr----?"

"Wilson," I said promptly, breathing my thanks to Tiel at the same time.

"You'll be a relation of the minister's too, perhaps?"

"I am on government business," I replied in a suitable tone of grave
mystery.

"Damn it, Mr Wilson," exclaimed my friend with surprising energy,
"every one in the country seems to be on government business
nowa