Page:Stevenson - Weir of Hermiston (1896).djvu/75

 the awful countenance of my lord, a timid hope sprang up in him that perhaps there would be found no one bold enough to carry tales. If this were so, he asked himself, would he begin again? and he found no answer. It was at this moment that a hand was laid upon his arm, and a voice said in his ear, 'My dear Mr. Archie, you had better come and see me.'

He started, turned round, and found himself face to face with Dr. Gregory. 'And why should I come to see you?' he asked, with the defiance of the miserable.

'Because you are looking exceedingly ill,' said the doctor, 'and you very evidently want looking after, my young friend. Good folk are scarce, you know; and it is not every one that would be quite so much missed as yourself. It is not every one that Hermiston would miss.'

And with a nod and a smile, the doctor passed on.

A moment after, Archie was in pursuit,