Dickson nodded. "They were hunting me."

"Mr. Heritage has gone to bide in the Hoose. They were watchin' the
Garple Dean, so I took him round by the Laver foot and up the rocks.
He's a souple yin, yon. We fund a road up the rocks and got
in by the verandy. Did ye ken that the lassie had a pistol?
Well, she has, and it seems that Mr. Heritage is a good shot wi'
a pistol, so there's some hope thereaways....Are the jools safe?"

"Safe in the bank. But the jools were not the main thing."

Dougal nodded. "So I was thinkin'. The lassie wasn't muckle the
easier for gettin' rid o' them. I didn't just quite understand what
she said to Mr. Heritage, for they were aye wanderin' into foreign
langwidges, but it seems she's terrible feared o' somebody that may
turn up any moment. What's the reason I can't say. She's maybe got
a secret, or maybe it's just that she's ower bonny."

"That's the trouble," said Dickson, and proceeded to recount his
interview with the factor, to which Dougal gave close attention.
"Now the way I read the thing is this. There's a plot to kidnap that
lady for some infernal purpose, and it depends on the arrival of some
person or persons, and it's due to happen in the next day or two.
If we try to work it through the police alone, they'll beat us,
for Loudon will manage to hang the business up until it's too late.
So we must take on the job ourselves. We must stand a siege,
Mr. Heritage and me and you laddies, and for that purpose we'd
better all keep together. It won't be extra easy to carry her off
from all of us, and if they do manage it we'll stick to their
heels.... Man, Dougal, isn't it a queer thing that whiles law-abiding