se, Mr. Rattar. That can be arranged
all right. I want a first class man engaged."

The sudden glance which the lawyer shot at him, struck Ned as unusual in
his experience of Simon Rattar. He appeared to be startled again, and
yet it was not mere annoyance that seemed to show for the fraction of a
second in his eye. And then the next instant the man's gaze was as cold
and steady as ever. He pursed his lips and considered his answer in
silence before he spoke.

"You are a member of the family, Mr. Cromarty; the actual head of it, in
fact, I believe."

"Going by pedigrees, I believe I am, but being a member is reason enough
for my wanting to get daylight through this business--and seeing
somebody swing for it!"

"What if you made things worse?"

"Worse! How could they be?"

"Mr. Cromarty, I am the Procurator Fiscal in charge of this case. But I
am also lawyer and factor to the Cromarty family, and my father was
before me. If there was evidence enough--clear and proper evidence--to
convict any person of this crime, it would be my duty as Procurator
Fiscal to convict them. But there is no definite evidence, as you know
yourself. All we can do, if we push this matter too far, is to make a
family scandal public. Are you as the head of the Cromarty family, and I
as their factor, to do this?"

It was difficult to judge with what feelings Ned Cromarty heard this
deliberate statement and appeal. His mouth was as hard as the lawyer's
and his eye revealed nothing.

"Then you propose to hush the thing up?"

"I said nothing about hushing up. I propose to wait till I get some
_evidence_, Mr. Cromarty. It is a little difficult perhaps for a layman
to realise what evidence means, but I can tell you--and any lawyer, or
any detective, would tell you--we have nothing that can be called
evidence yet."

"And you won't get any till you call in somebody a cut above
Sutherland."

"The scent is too cold by this time--"

"Who let it cool?" interrupted Ned.

For a moment the lawyer's eyes looked unpleasant.

"Every effort was made to find a clue; by yourself as well as by the
police. And let me tell you, Mr. Cromarty, that our efforts have not
been as fruitless as you seem to think."

"What have we discovered?"

"In the first place that there was no robbery committed and no sign of
anybody having entered the house from the outside."

Ned shook his head.

"That's a lot too strong. I believe the man _did_ come in by the
win