he greatest and most powerful clan of all Scotland, in
those days when Scotland was a country apart, and the Scottish chiefs
were little kings in their own dominion, ruling in absolute monarchy
over their subjects. Rhea du Macduggan. That was his name, Mr. Deland. A
great and powerful and just man. And when this Castle was built over the
spot where his camp had been in those by-gone glorious days, the
Macduggan who had it built caused that statue to be erected, and had it
wrought in finest bronze, to endure throughout the centuries. You can
see for yourself how well Rhea has withstood the bludgeoning of time.
And, too, you may understand a little, at sight of him, what this place
means to my brother and me, and how loath we are even to entertain the
thought of letting it get out of the family."

"And is the estate not entailed?"

"Unfortunately not this portion of it. That part which follows the
entail comprises a couple of the adjacent villages and a lot of
farmsteads out there across the valley. But the Castle--no. In olden
days each son of the family fought for it against the surviving holder
of it, fought a personal battle of strength to prove himself worthy of
it, and then, upon victory--or proved worthiness--the will was made. The
line has never been broken, Mr. Deland. And to-day my brother and I are
as willing to fight for it as were our ancestors of old."

"And I don't blame you, either," said Cleek with alacrity, sighing a
little, as though some thought of all this magnificence awakened an echo
in his heart that would not immediately be stilled. "I know a little of
that feeling, too. When a man loves his ancestral home, and his country,
he will fight for it and die for it rather than that an alien hand shall
take possession of either. That is the gift of Race, the inherent
something that Family breeds in us. The clanship which belongs to an old
and unbroken line. I know--I know.... Heigho! But it is an inheritance
indeed. I am more in sympathy with you than ever before, Miss Duggan,
for I, too, would fight for this against the hand of an enemy, and die
fighting rather than that it should slip out of my reach.... And you
mean to tell me that your brother Ross has installed electric lighting
_here_?"

She smiled a little, and nodded her head as one might smile at thought
of some child's deliciously childish and foolish action. One could see
that she worshipped her brother.

"Yes, Mr. Deland. A complete inst