"The
Pibroch of the M'Gregors?" he repeated.
"Nane other. 'Tis said to be Rob Roy's ain piper that gives warning
when danger threatens ane o' the M'Gregors or any they love."
Stuart restrained a smile, and, "A well-meaning but melancholy
retainer!" he commented.
"As well as I hear you now, laddie, I heard the pibroch on the day a
certain woman first crossed my threshold, nigh thirty years ago, in
Inverary. And as plainly as I heard it wailing then, I heard it the
first evening that Miss Dorian came to this house!"
Torn between good-humoured amusement and real interest, "If I remember
rightly," said Stuart, "Mlle. Dorian first called here just a week ago,
and immediately before I returned from an Infirmary case?"
"Your memory is guid, Mr. Keppel."
"And when, exactly, did you hear this Warning?"
"Twa minutes before you entered the house; and I heard it again the
now."
"What! you heard it to-night?"
"I heard it again just the now and I lookit out the window."
"Did you obtain a glimpse of Rob Roy's piper?"
"Ye're laughing at an old wife, laddie. No, but I saw Miss Dorian away
in her car and twa minutes later I saw yourself coming round the
corner."
"If she had only waited another two minutes," murmured Stuart. "No
matter; she may return. And are these the only occasions upon which
you have heard this mysterious sound, Mrs. M'Gregor?"
"No, Master Keppel, they are not. I assure ye something threatens.
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