The Highland monthly - National Library of Scotland

486 J he Uio^hland Monthty.
accused of having drugged the Hquor on the previous night,
they pointed triumphantly to the empty bottle, and main-
tained that those who had consumed its contents should be
ashamed of charging sober and respectable people with
being the cause of their misadventure. If they had slept
without going to bed, who was to blame ?—and here both
broke into a hoarse laugh. The travellers examined the
bottle, out of which they had taken only two glasses, and
found that it had been emptied during the night, no doubt
in order to remove the evidence of foul play, which its con-
tents would have afforded. Seeing that they were taken
rather aback by this discovery, the \illainous pair sought to
follow up their triumph. A pretty mess their room had
been thrown into ! Who had tossed the blankets on the
floor ? Was a thief likely to do such a needless piece of
work ? They for their part were not accustomed to have
such troublesome and unreasonable drunken guests within
their walls, and the sooner they w^ould leave, the better for
all parties. And a pocket-book had been stolen, forsooth !
A likely story ! They had probably spent its contents at
the fairs in the south. Seeing that nothing was to be
gained by altercation, Teviot went to the small door which
he had observed the previous night, and at once found
evidence that it had been opened. The cob-webs were no
longer in the keyhole, and the encrustation of dust which
covered the joining of the door and its frame, being partly
brushed off, Teviot was quite satisfied that here the thieves
had made their entrance. They had first got into the closet
b)^ a door on the landing of the narrow stair, and being
provided with the key of the inner door, they easily effected
their purpose. The occupants of the inn now saw occasion
to change the nature of their defence. They said that
they could not be held responsible for the doings of all the
guests who had spent the night under their roof, and had
departed their several ways before daybreak, so that they
could not now be questioned. Not knowing but there
might be several villains concerned in the robbery still