"
"Did you never hear say that the prisoner at the bar there, Mrs.
Calvert, or Bell Calvert, was the robber of her house; or that she
was one of the Ringans?"
"Never. Somebody tauld her lately that ane Bell Calvert robbed
her house, but she disna believe it. Neither do I."
"What reasons have you for doubting it?"
"Because it was nae woman's fingers that broke up the bolts an'
the locks that were torn open that night."
"Very pertinent, Bessy. Come then within the bar, and look, at
these articles on the table. Did you ever see these silver spoons
before?"
"I hae seen some very like them, and whaever has seen siller
spoons has done the same."
"Can you swear you never saw them before?"
"Na, na, I wadna swear to ony siller spoons that ever war made,
unless I had put a private mark on them wi' my ain hand, an' that's
what I never did to ane."
"See, they are all marked with a C."
"Sae are a' the spoons in Argyle, an' the half o' them in Edinburgh
I think. A C is a very common letter, an' so are a' the names that
begin wi't. Lay them by, lay them by, an' gie the poor woman her
spoons again. They are marked wi' her ain name, an' I hae little
doubt they are hers, an' that she has seen better days.
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