for he himself had been through some little training which the other had not.  To Farquharson, therefore, the Inspector looked for assistance.  He arranged for him to travel with the old fellow, under the pretence of visiting a large school on the invitation of a master there whom he knew; this supposititious friend had included McConnachie in the letter (really written by the Inspector) which Farquharson had received on the subject.

The old schoolmaster was easily duped by this trick, and on an appointed day the two set off.  The first obstacle arose at the station, when Farquharson had taken the tickets, for which the “friend” had provided the necessary money.

“I should like to have my own ticket,” the older man remarked with an air of dignity.  “I’m not a bairn to be likely to lose it.”

Here was a slight difficulty!  Farquharson had taken a single ticket for the other and a return for himself.  It would never do to allow this to be known.  On the other hand, McConnachie must be kept in good humor or he would give trouble to his guardian, who began now to see the weak points in the plot.  So trusting to the certainty of being able to get back the remaining half-ticket when the old man was safely lodged in the Asylum, he retained the single ticket and gave McConnachie the other.

They reached the end of their railway journey successfully, and Farquharson managed to explain their destination to a porter privately, and asked him to get a cab for them.  The man was either stupid or was disappointed at receiving an insignificant tip, since Farquharson was not one to waste money unnecessarily; for he gave the direction “Asylum” to the driver in a voice that McConnachie must have been deaf not to have heard distinctly.  Farquharson glanced at once at his companion, but the old man’s face was expressionless, and he persuaded himself, almost against his will, that McConnachie was too much taken up with the novelty of the situation to catch the words spoken.  The eagerness with which the old man took notice of every feature of their progress tended to confirm the idea, and by the time the Asylum was reached Farquharson felt more at ease.

“The grounds are well kept,” remarked McConnachie as they proceeded up the short avenue.

“Aye, aye, they are that!” was the other’s ready answer.

“It seems a big building!” said the old man, as they drove up to the entrance.

“Far bigger than I expected,” said Farquharson.

The cabby rang the bell, and the door was opened by a man-servant, who came down the steps and opened the carriage door.  Farquharson got out first and incautiously walked up the steps toward the door of the building.  With a madman’s cunning, McConnachie whispered to the servant: 

“That’s the gentleman I was to bring.  He’s gone in, so I need not wait.  Tell the man to drive back.”

And the agonized Farquharson beheld his charge rapidly driving away and leaving him behind alone.