CHAPTER SEVEN1
“Good day, Mr. Macdonald,” said John Staple. “I’m right glad to see you; come inside. ’Tis a small house, but cosy and homely, and I’m right comfortable here. I’ve got a few beasts and a bit of land—only six acres and the garden—but it’s enough to keep me interested. Sit in the corner there, you’ll mind that chair, you always liked it. So you’ve found a spot of trouble up in the hills over yonder?”
“We have indeed,” said Macdonald. He liked old John Staple and knew him to be trustworthy. “News travels apace in these parts,” he added.
“Aye; the story’s all over the valley and I don’t wonder at it. Now can you tell me about Mr. Brough? Is he in a bad way, as they say?”
“He’s a sick man, but it wasn’t only the tumble and the blow on his head. There’s blood pressure and othe
