“Never thought they would attempt any legal tomfoolery with me,” the Chieftain replied. “Shouldn’t have minded if they had, but I knew they wouldn’t. I’ll tell you what, Wolseley, you missed a jolly fine bit of sport by going off like that.”

“I still think you were lucky,” the Colonel maintained.

Ben Nevis exhaled contempt for the initiative of hikers in a great gusty ejaculation, and turning presently to Kilwhillie he expressed his unalterable opinion that of all the many obstinate men he had met in his life Lindsay-Wolseley was without doubt the most obstinate.

“I suppose it’s all that time he spent on the North-west Frontier. Hope they won’t send the Clanranalds to Peshawar. I don’t want Hector to grow obstinate and be unable to see anything except what lies straight in front of his nose.”

Kilwhillie might have commented that with such a nose even so restricted an outlook would be wider than that of many.

“As a matter of fact absolutely between ourselves,” his old friend continued, “if things go as I rather think they will go I shall advise Hector to chuck the army.”

He looked across fondly to where his eldest son was trying to convince Myrtle that her brother might have taken it into his head to drive down the glen in one of the omnibuses for the sake of the walk back and misjudged the distance.

Just then Toker came in to announce dinner, which the host said must be eaten as quickly as possible, and with a view to securing speed he hushed the pipers and stopped Mr Fletcher from saying grace, after which he began to arrange plans for the various search-parties that were to set out the moment the meal was over. He had already given orders that all his tenants and dependants who were being entertained at the Castle were to start looking for the missing guest immediately.

It was a pity her master could not hear what Mrs Ablewhite had to say about him to Mrs Parsall.