The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1893-03-17
CHAPTER XXI.
Three or four ragged men leaped out


Three or four ragged men leaped out
More than eleven hours of incessant,
hard travelling brought us early in the
morning to the end of range of noun
tains. In front of us there lay piece of
low, broken, desert land, which we now
must cross. The sun was not long up
and shone straight in our eyes; little
thin mist went up from the face of the
moorland like smoke, so that, as Alan
said, there might have been twenty
squadrons Of dragons there and we
none the wiser.
We sat down, therefore, in the howe of
the hillside till the mist should have
risen and made ourselves a dish of
drammach and held council of war.
david" said Alan, "this is the kittle
bit. Shall we lie here till it comes
night, or shall we risk it and stave on
ahead?'
SWELL" said l, Il am tired indeed,
but could walk as far again. if that
was ALL"
"Aye, but it is nae said Alan, NOR
yet the half. This is how we stand
Appin's fair death to us. To the south
it's all Campbells, and nae to be thought
of. To the north-well. there's nae
muckle to be gained by going north;
neither for you, that wants to get to
Queensferry, nor yet for me, that wants
to get to France. Well, then, we'll can
strike east"
''East be it'll" says quite cheerily; but
was thinking, in to myself sob, oan.
if you would take one point Of the COM
pass and let me take any other, it would
be the best for both of US"
"Well, then, east, ye see, we have the
muirs," said Alan. "Once there, David,
it's mere pitch and toss. Out on yon
bald, naked, fiat place, where can a
body turn to? Let the redcoats come
over hill; they can spy you miles away,
and the sorrows in their horses heelsl
They will soon ride you down. It's nae
good place, David, and I'm free to say
it's worse by daylight than by dark"
"Alan," said l, shear my way of it.
Appin's death for us; we have none too
much money, nor yet meal; the longer
they seek the nearer they may guess
where we are; it's all risk; and give
my word to go ahead until we drop"
Alan was delighted. There are
whiles," said he, "when we are altogether
too canny and Whiggish to be company
for a gentleman like me; but there
come other whites when We show your
sell mettle spark, and it's then, David,
that l love we like brother"
We went down accordingly into the
waste, and began to make our toilsome
and devious travel toward the eastern
verge. There were the tops Of the noun
tains all round Nou are to remember)
from whence we might be spied at any
moment; so it behooved us to keep in
the hollow parts of the moor, and when
these turned aside from our direction to
move upon its naked face with infinite
care.
Toiling and resting and toiling again
we wore away the morning, and about
noon lay down in thick bush of heather
to sleep. Alan took the first watch, and
it seemed to me had scarce closed my
eyes before / was shaken up to take the
second. We had no clock to go by, and
Alan stuck asprig of heath in the grourd
to serve instead, so that as soon as ne
shadow of the bush should fall so far to
the east might know to rouse him. But
/ was by this time 80 weary that could
have slept twelve hours at a stretch;
had the taste of sleep in my throat; my
joints slept even when my mind was
waking; the hot smell Of the heather
and the drone Of the wild bees were like
possets to me, and every now and again
I would give jump and find l had been
doing.
The last time woke seemed to come
back from farther away, and thought
the sun had taken great start in the
heavens. looked at the sprig of heath.
and at that could have cried aloud,
foil saw / had betrayed my trust My
head was nearly turned with fear and
shame, and at what | saw, when |
looked out around me on the muir, my
heart was like dying in my body. For
sure enough body of horse soldiers had
come down during my sleep and were
drawing near to us from the southeast,
spread out in the shape of fan, and
riding their horses to and fro in the deep
parts of the heather.
When walked Alan he glanced first
ut the soldiers, then at the mark and the
position of the sun, and knitted his brows
with sudden, quick look, both ugly
and anxious, which was all the reproach
had of him.
"What are we to do nowY" asked.
"We'll have to play at being hares,
said he. "Do ye see yon mountain
pointing to one on the northeastern sky.
AYE" said I.
"Well, them" says he, "let ~ strike