And without as much as a nod, he turned his back upon me, and started
walking swiftly to West Inch.

Well, I followed him, and in the worst of tempers; for I had a feeling
that there was some mischief in the wind, and yet I could not for the
life of me think what it all meant. Again I found myself puzzling over
the whole mystery of this man's coming, and of his long residence among
us. And whom could he have expected to meet at the Peel Tower? Was the
fellow a spy, and was it some brother spy who came to speak with him
there? But that was absurd. What could there be to spy about in
Berwickshire? And besides, Major Elliott knew all about him, and he
would not show him such respect if there were anything amiss.

I had just got as far as this in my thoughts when I heard a cheery hail,
and there was the Major himself coming down the hill from his house,
with his big bulldog Bounder held in leash. This dog was a savage
creature, and had caused more than one accident on the countryside; but
the Major was very fond of it, and would never go out without it, though
he kept it tied with a good thick thong of leather. Well, just as I was
looking at the Major, waiting for him to come up, he stumbled with his
lame leg over a branch of gorse, and in recovering himself he let go his
hold of the leash, and in an instant there was the beast of a dog flying
down the hillside in my direction.

I did not like it, I can tell you; for there was neither stick nor stone
about, and I knew that the brute was dangerous. The Major was shrieking
to it from behind, and I think that the creature thought that he was
hallooing it on, so furiously did it rush. But I knew its name, and I
thought that maybe that might give me the privileges of