"Well, to-morrow; promise you will come over then. You will add to my happiness, my boy. You will really!"
The Squire's proposal put a thought into my mind which had not occurred to me before. I had determined on another plan, but our conversation had suggested a better one.
"I will come over to-morrow for a week, provided I am able, on condition that you do something for me," I said.
"Of course I will do anything for you, my boy. But what is it?"
"Perfectly well. I dined at his mess the other night."
"I am going to ask you to do a strange thing, Squire," I said. "I have got a scheme in my mind. I am not going to tell you what it is. I am afraid--I am afraid to tell any one. Why, I don't know; but it is a fact. It is possible that to-night I shall send you a message--possible that I shall ask you to do something which will not appeal to your judgment. But I want you to do it. Will you?"
"I cannot tell you; I want you to trust me. I believe big things are moving, and if you will, I am sure you can help me to accomplish what I have in my mind. If the thing comes off, I will write down detailed instructions, and I want you to act on those instructions. You are a magistrate, and therefore have considerable authority."
"Magistrate!" he said. "Is it something to do with law, then?"
"It is, and it isn't," I said. "The message may not come to-night, may not come till to-morrow night or the next; but when it comes, I want you to act on it. Will you?"
"Then will you come and spend a week with me?"
"I never like acting in the dark, Erskine, but you are a cautious fellow, and I trust you implicitly. Yes, I will do it; but for the life of me I can't see what you are driving at."
"Maybe it will end in nothing," I said, "in which case nothing will be done. But I'll tell you this: if my plans bear fruit, as I think they will, then--then--you will be glad you trusted in me. I am not asking you to compromise yourself in any way; all the same, I tell you this: it seems to me a matter of life and death."
For a few seconds the old man looked at me as if he doubted my sanity, then he gripped my hand.
"I trust you completely, Erskine, and I will do what you ask. But I must go now. Good-night, my boy. God bless you!"