"Certainly without an aitch," thought Pamela, as she said, "You like
travelling, Mawson?"

"Oh yes, m'm. I always 'ave 'ad a desire to travel. Specially, if I may
say so, to see Scotland, Miss. But, oh, ain't it bleak? Before it was
dark I 'ad me eyes glued to the window, lookin' out. Such miles of
'eather and big stones and torrents, Miss, and nothing to be seen but a
lonely sheep--'ardly an 'ouse on the 'orizon. It gave me quite a turn."

"And this is nothing to the Highlands, Mawson."

"Ain't it, Miss? Well, it's the bleakest I've seen yet, an' I've been to
Brighton and Blackpool. Travelled quite a lot, I 'ave, Miss. The lydy
who read me 'and said I would, for me teeth are so wide apart." Which
cryptic saying puzzled Pamela until Priorsford was reached, when other
things engaged her attention.

* * * * *

There was another passenger for Priorsford in the London express. He was
called Peter Reid, and he was as short and plain as his name. Peter Reid
was returning to his native town a very rich man. He had left it a youth
of eighteen and entered the business of a well-to-do uncle in London,
and since then, as the saying is, he had never looked over his shoulder;
fortune showered her gifts on him, and everything he touched seemed to
turn to gold.

While his mother lived he had visited her regularly, but for thirty
years his mother had been lying in Priorsford churchyard, and he had not