back to the castle a new passenger, who, having in his turn taken the
oars, made the little skiff fly over the tranquil water of the lake,
where it left a furrow gleaming in the last rays of the sun. Very soon,
flying on with the swiftness of a bird, it was near enough for Mary to
see that the skilful and vigorous oarsman was a young man from
twenty-five to twenty-six years of age, with long black hair, clad in a
close coat of green cloth, and wearing a Highlander's cap, adorned with
an eagle's feather; then, as with his back turned to the window he drew
nearer, Little Douglas, who was leaning on his shoulder, said a few words
which made him turn round towards the queen: immediately Mary, with an
instinctive movement rather than with the dread of being an object of
idle curiosity, drew back, but not so quickly, however, but that she had
been able to see the handsome pale face of the unknown, who, when she
returned to the window, had disappeared behind one of the corners of the
castle.

Everything is a cause of conjecture to a prisoner: it seemed to Mary that
this young man's face was not unknown to her, and that he had seen her
already; but though great the care with which she questioned her memory,
she could not recall any distinct remembrance, so much so that the queen
ended in thinking it the play of her imagination, or that some vague and
distinct resemblance had deceived her.

However, in spite of Mary, this idea had taken an important place in her
mind: she incessantly saw this little boat skimming the water, and the
young man and the child who were in it drawing near her, as if to bring
her help. It followed that, although there had been nothing real in all
these captive's dreams, she slept that night a calmer sleep than she had
yet done since she had been in Lochleven Castle.