Oddly enough, my father holds that the
family curse, or whatever it is, has now exhausted itself."
"What grounds has he for the belief?"
"None, save a Highlander's readiness to accept signs and portents. Look at
this seal."
He unfastened from his waistcoat his watch and chain, with a small bunch
of pendants attached, and handed them to Brett. The latter examined the
seal with deep interest. It was cut into a bloodstone, and showed a stag's
head, surmounted by five pointed rays, like a crown of daggers.
"I cannot decipher the motto," he said; "what is it?"
"Fortis et audax."
"Hum! 'Strong and bold.' A stiff-necked legend, too."
He reached to his bookcase for Burke's "General Armoury." After a brief
search, he asked:
"Do you know anything about heraldry?"
"Nothing whatever."
"Then listen to this. The crest of your, house is: 'A stag's head, erased
argent, charged with a star of five rays gules.' It is peculiar."
"Yes, so my father says; but why does it appeal to you in that way?"
"Because 'erased' means, in this instance, a stag's head torn forcibly
from the body, the severed part being jagged like the teeth of a saw. And
'gules' means 'red.' Now, such heraldic rays are usually azure or blue."
"By Jove, you have hit upon the old man's idea. He contends that those
five blood-coloured points signify the founder of the baronetcy and his
four lineal descendants.
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