Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-11-10


er should last till we have the secre
Of the heather ale And he guarded
against the fail flight Of opposin:
steel. Cluny, limp mass, rolled into ;
whin bush, whose thornS added to hi
death agony.
The sky grew clouded, u thin smir
Of rain shed its almost impalpable haze
on the scene and still the tight Wen
on. Inert clanSmen, slowly stiffenlng
were scattered on the torn grass be
tween the gap and Mackellar'S house
on which the old man and the glens
men were being slowly but surely drly
eli back. The retreat, logged and pain
full, was an unconscious physical cav
ing in on the part Of the defenders,
and Calum's back was against his own
walls before he knew it, for the slaugh-
ter Of CIuny blinded him, and he had
been laying about him iii Il mist OF
feryor.
The curse OF Conan he yelled;
they're beating us, boys, bas, bas,
Diarmid" The scream tore through
the Gap and the Mackeliars tried to
echo it, and to clutch new hope and
strength from its inspiration, but their
split voices only gave husky, arid
whispers. Yet they gathered their
Stacking muscles together on Il new
appeal and for the last time, al that
was left-a pitifuI handful-Calum, Art.
and Neilla, the Mann lads, the Drim-
ice lads and two from Ceann-na-Coin,
rushed III on the sons Of D9rmid. It
was the mad unreckoning Of despair.
There were Il dozen kinks to one. In Il
moment there were left only the throb-
bing Calum and his two sons, the latter
crimson from their own gaSheS and
the wounds Of others. They stood
wcarily, side by side, making heavy,
futile, almost paralytic essays with
their swords at the nearest foes. At
last al impetuOus rush Of the DiarmidS
bore the three men down the path, and
sent Them crashing through the hut
door in Il crazy huddle among the
poats.
Surrender, and Well spare your dirty
lives shouted GiIeShe%, rs the three
men sprung to bay and waited the on
set. CaIum glanced W!Stfully 1T the
Il rat" he said simply, were no great
things" He tossed his sword on the
floor, and Art and Neilla did -.ncWise.
In Il moment the men were bound and
then they were led outside, whore the
scent Of birch and heather and the
plngcnt gall with Il new freshness bor-
roWed from the passing shower, for
Il moment blotted out the agOniZed i'm
preston Of the cruel scene around.
Calum paused u second on the TIRES
hold, and glanced on the dusky interior.
He saw for the last time the bed where
his Wife had died. and the spinning
IhccI us she had ,et, it, with the thread
still on the teeth of the heck" A
spasm of pain went over his face 1T
the sight Of the keel marks on the door
that in the happy days far off had
made the record of the growth Of The
Little One.
Give us all you know about the ale,"
demanded Gilcsbeg, wip-
ing the blood from his knife on q tuft
of grass.
CaIum laughed i'll his face, and the
sons said contemptuous things of the
enemy that reused them.
Aye. Ye may laugh" sncered the
Grin-faced, clenching his fist against
the jaw of CaljHn, but it's 4 strange
laugh yell have when were done with
You. It's not on your feet with the
biodag You'll die like gentlemen, but
you'll make crows meat ut the foot
Of the Scaurnoch!'
Art grew pallid at the horror of the
doom, but it did not shake the others.
Its die We must, anyway" replied
Calun, coolly. Neilla Whistled "Blar-
na-leinc' and ground his heel in the
moss. 1t was enough; the three men
were thrust into Il shed with 4 few
men to guard them, while some of the
rest sought the brewing cave and
others finished with fire the fearful
work i'll the glen, or dealt with their
dead. And III the afternoon there had
been no secret yet learned, and the
men marched for the ScaurOch with
the prisoners before them. They were
knives, they had the essence of obloquy
poured on them as they YEARLY drag
ged to the mouth of the glen. and up
through the Strongara to the boSky
shoulder of Dun-i-Coryal, and the Dun
beyond. The woods were full Of ami
mai life that seemed happy enough,
but the cracking leaves lay thick on
the ground and the wind had the chill
menace of coming winter. Calum,
4 II I..l--L 1trht Of
ing path lightly; Neilla strobe with long
steps, earelesSly; Art slouched along,
downcaSt, sickly-looking. Now and
then his father glanced at him with
lowering eyes, or nudged his arm with
The wood opened, the hunting-path
bent at Il right angle, to give a level
pause that the eye might catch the
vision spread below. Loche Finne
far from Cairndhu to French
Foreland in the pensiye evening, a
CLASSY plain, with the little waves level
led by the distance into the general
tiatness. One brown lubsail lay off
the Sheep rocks.
Calum Dhu tossed his head to send
the tangled hair from his eyes and
glanced at what was below. The
Schaurnoch fell sheer two hundred feet
from where he stood. He spat con-
temptuouSly over the edge of the cliff
which the jostle OF IN inch, from the
Diarmid beside him. would send him
spraWling over, helpless doomed
spread OF limbs. To startle the ravens
that swung on gloomy pinions below.