The first I knew that Heather Jock arrived was the sound of a startled hen in the small hours of the morning. My first thought was of a fox, and I turned over to go back to sleep, for the henhouse was Mrs Lunan’s responsibility, and if she had not locked the door properly, the fault lay with her.
I could not sleep, for fear of the whistling was upon me, yet there was no whistling that night. Nature bIessed me with acute hearing, and the sound of the footfall was distinct. By that time, I could recognise Mr Lunan and any of the bothy-boys by their footfalls. I knew the feet I heard did not belong to anybody in Kingsinch.
“Go to sleep,” Agnes complained when I sat up in bed.
“Somebody’s walking about outside,” I said.
“I can’t hear anything. Go to sleep,” Agnes said, but I was already up
