The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1893-03-10

will come and give us LOOK up III
Corrynakiegh. And if he does not,
David, the devil may fly away with him
for what care, for he will nae be worth
the salt to his porridge."
"Eh, man." said l, drolling with him
little, "you're very Ingenious! But
would it not be simpler for you to write
him few words in black and white?'
"And that is an excellent observe, Mr..
Balfour, of Shaws," says Alan, drolling
with ,;e, land it would certainly be
much simpler tOr ne to rr,te 10 h''H,
but it would be :. r.:r" : rvf .o4n
Breck to read it. lie would have to go
to the school for two-three years, and
it's possible we might be weary waiting
on him."
So that night Alan carried down his
fiery cross and set it in the bouman's
window. He was troubled when he
came back, for the dogs had barked and
the folk run out from their houses, and
he thought he had heard clatter of
arms and seen q redcoat come to one of
the doors. On all accounts we lay the
next day in the borders of the wood and
kept close lookout, so that if it was
John Breck that came we might be
ready to guide him, and if it was the
redcoats we should have time to get
away.
About noon man was to be spied
struggling up the open side of the noun
tain in the sun, and looking round him
as he came, from under his hand. No
sooner had Alan seen him than he
whistled; the man turned and came a
little toward us; then Alan would give
another "peep!" and the man would
come still nearer, and so by the sound
of whistling he was guided to the spot
where we lay.
He was q ragged, wild, bearded man
about forty, grossly disfgured with the
smallpox, and looked both dull and saw
age. Although his English was very
bad and broken, yet Alan according to
his very handsome use whenever / was
by would suffer him to speak no Gaelic.
Perhaps the strange language made him
appear more backward than he really
was; but l thought he had little good
will to serve us, and what he had was
the child of terror.
Alan would have had him carry mes
sage to James, but the bouman would
hear of no message. "She was forget
it," he said in his screaming voice, and
would either have letter or wash his
hands Of us.
thought Alan would be graveled at
that, for we lacked the means Of writing
in that desert. But he was man o.
more resources than l knew; searched
the wood until he found quill of
cushat dove, which he shaped into
pen; made himself kind of ink with
gunpowder from his horn and water
from the running stream, and tearing
corner from his French military COM
mission (Which he carried in his pocket,
like a talisman, to keep him from the
gallows) he sat down and wrote as fol-
lows:
DEAR KINsMAN-Please send the money by
the bearer TO the place he kens of. Your af-
fectionate cousin, A. S.
This he intrusted to the bouman, who
promised to make what manner of speed
he best could, and carried it off with
him down the hill.
He was three full days gone, but about
five in the evening of the third we heard
whistling in the wood, which Alan
answered, and presently the bouman
came up the waterside, looking for us
right and left. He seemed less sulky
than before, and no doubt he was we'll
pleased to have got to the end of such O
dangerous commission.
He gave us the news Of the country
that it was alive with redcoats, that
arms were being found and poor folk
brought in trouble daily, and that James
and some of his servants were already
clapped in prison at Fort William under
strong suspicion of completely. 1t
seemed it was noised on all sides that
Alan Breck had fired the shot, and there
was bill issued for both him and me.
with one hundred pounds reward.
This was all as bad as could be, and
the little note the bouman had carried
us from Mrs. Stewart was of miser-
able sadness. In it she besought Alan not
to let himself be captured, assuring him
if he fell in the hands of the troops both
he and James were no better than dead
men. The money she had sent was all
that she could beg or borrow, and she
prayed heaven we could be doing with
it. Lastly, she said she inclosed us
one of the bills in which we were de.
scribed.
Alan was advertised as "a small, pocll-
marked, active man of thirty-fve or
thereby, dressed in feathered hat, a
French sidecoat of blue, with silver but
tons and lace a great deal furnished, a
red waistcoat and breeches Of black
shay" and as "a tall, strong lad of
about eighteen, wearing an old blue
coat, very ragged, an old highland bon
net, long homespun waistcoat, blue
breeches; his legs bare; low country
shoes, wanting the toes; speaks like n
lowlander, and has no beard"
This put reflection in my mind-that
if were to separate from Alan and his
telltale clothes should be safe against
arrest and might go openly about my
business. Nor was this all, for suppose