athered up his gloves. "Ay,
there's a great deer-forest in Ballochbrinkie, and there's part of
Loch Phillibeg in Cairngormshire, and there's Kelpie Island off
Moreovershire. Ay, there's enough land when the crofters are cleared
off, and the small sheep-tenants evicted. It will be a grand property
then."

The consul stared. "The crofters and tenants evicted!" he repeated. "Are
they not part of the clan, and loyal to the McHulish?"

"The McHulish," said Sir James with great deliberation, "hasn't set foot
there for years. They'd be burning him in effigy."

"But," said the astonished consul, "that's rather bad for the expectant
heir--and the magic of the McHulish presence."

"I'm not saying that," returned Sir James cautiously. "Ye see he can be
making better arrangements with the family on account of it."

"With the family?" repeated the consul. "Then does he talk of
compromising?"

"I mean they would be more likely to sell for a fair consideration, and
he'd be better paying money to them than the lawyers. The syndicate
will be rich, eh? And I'm not saying the McHulish wouldn't take Kentucky
lands in exchange. It's a fine country, that blue grass district."

The consul stared at Sir James so long that a faint smile came into the
latter's shrewd eyes; at which the consul smiled, too. A vague air of
relief and understanding seemed to fill the apartment.

"Oh, ay," continued Sir James, drawing on his gloves with easy
deliberation, "he's a fine lad that Malcolm, and it's a praiseworthy
instinct in him to wish to return to the land of his forebears, and take
his place again among them. And I'm noticing, Mr. Consul, that a great
many of your countrymen are doing the same. Eh, yours is a gran' country
of progress and ceevel and religious liberty, but for a' that, as Burns
says, it's in your blood to turn to the auld home again. And it's a fine
thing to have the money to do it--and, I'm thinking, money well spent
all around. Good-morning. Eh, but I'm forgetting that I wanted to ask
you to dine with me and Malcolm, and your Mr. Custer, and Mr. Watson,
who will be one of your syndicate, and whom I once met abroad. But ye'll
get a bit note of invitation, with the day, from me later."

The consul remembered that Custer had said that one of the "Eagle boys"
had known Sir James. This was evidently Watson. He smiled again, but
this time Sir James responded only in a general sort of way, as he
genially bowed himself out of the r