cpherson, "and if naebody waits on him he'll
surely be shooting ane of us." The two girls were now outside the bar
shaking in their shoes, and evidently unwilling to face the danger.
At last the door of the room above was opened, and our hero's hat was
sent rolling down the stairs.

It was clear to Phineas that the man was so mad as to be not even
aware of the act he had perpetrated. "He'll do nothing more with the
pistol," he said, "unless he should attempt to destroy himself." At
last it was determined that one of the girls should be sent to fetch
Macpherson home from the Scotch Church, and that no application
should be made at once to the police. It seemed that the Macphersons
knew the circumstances of their guest's family, and that there was a
cousin of his in London who was the only one with whom he seemed to
have any near connection. The thing that had occurred was to be told
to this cousin, and Phineas left his address, so that if it should be
thought necessary he might be called upon to give his account of the
affair. Then, in his perturbation of spirit, he asked for a glass of
brandy; and having swallowed it, was about to take his leave. "The
brandy wull be saxpence, sir," said Mrs. Macpherson, as she wiped the
tears from her eyes.

Having paid for his refreshment, Phineas got into a cab, and had
himself driven to Mr. Low's house. He had escaped from his peril,
and now again it became his strongest object to stop the publication
of the letter which Slide had shown him. But as he sat in the cab
he could not hinder himself from shuddering at the danger which had
been so near to him. He remembered his sensation as he first saw the
glimmer of the barrel of the pistol, and then became aware of the
man's first futile attempt, and afterwards saw the flash and heard
the hammer fall at the same moment. He had once stood up to be fired
at in a duel, and had been struck by the ball. But nothing in that
encounter had made him feel sick and faint through every muscle as
he had felt just now. As he sat in the cab he was aware that but for
the spirits he had swallowed he would be altogether overcome, and he
doubted even now whether he would be able to tell his story to Mr.
Low. Luckily perhaps for him neither Mr. Low nor his wife were at
home. They were out together, but were expected in between five
and six. Phineas declared his purpose of waiting for them, and
requested that Mr. Low might be asked to join him in the dinin