Page:William Le Queux - The Czar's Spy.djvu/131

 CHAPTER XII

DESCRIBES A SEARCH AND ITS RESULT

RANNOCH WOOD was already in its gold- brown glory of autumn, and as I stood with Muriel Leithcourt on the edge of it, near the spot where Olinto Santini had fallen, the morning sun was shining in a cloudless sky.

True to her promise, she had sent me a note by one of the grooms asking me to help search for her bracelet, and I had driven over at once to Rannoch and found her alone awaiting me. The shooting party had gone over to a distant part of the estate, therefore we were able to stroll together up the hill and commence our investigations without let or hindrance. She was sensibly dressed in a short tweed skirt, high shooting-boots and a tam-o'-shanter hat, while I also had on an old shooting-suit and carried a thick serviceable stick with which I could prod likely spots.

On arrival at the wood I asked her opinion which was the most likely corner, but she replied —

"I know so little of this place, Mr. Gregg. You have known it for years, while this is only my first season here."

"Very well," I answered. "Let us place