The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-02-08
CHAPTER XXyI.


"-"". CHAPTER XXVI. .5...
HOME AND VICTORY.
So once more we are among loved and
familiar scenes, the torrid sands are left
behind and we are back to the scented
heather and the fellowship OF friends
That home coming was such rs had never
been known in the sedate valley that in
cludes Kilgour and the Elms. Old people
talk Of it yet by the chimney cheek in win
ter nights, and the Young listen with open
mouths and wide eyes to he wondrous tale
of the sudden appearance one quiet evening
OF n company of outlandish folk with tho
jargon and garb of heathendom. | wish
some of these people were now at hand to
describe what they saw and thus save me
much trouble, for | have come to n point
that seems to touch me more closely in my
tendercst part and to make il more difficult
to write than anything that went before.
But | will briefly relate what remains of
this extraordinary history and endeavor to
be lucid .....
In his wanderings in the east Donald
had imbbed high notions Of pageantry and
the picturesque, and so he insisted we
should 20 home in the best style at our
command.-thut is to say, in full oriental
costume and a special carriage.
"It will he free sight for the natives"
he said. 1T isn't every day that Arabs of
our stumbling arrive In Scotland
Accordingly on reaching Perth we in
vuhed the aid of my old friend of the
''Ilound and Stag" who procured for us at
u cost that, in his own words, was "perfcck-
ly awiae,n the best barouche and the fast
est pair iu the city. .... ..
To make the more imposing show Tabal
Af..I. A. Il. L 4
TINA and llassan, accoutercd in Arab fash
ion, with spear and half dozen dnggers
apiece Very glad they were TO get into
the saddle G@Hin, both to stretch their mus,
cles according to wont and to display their
horsemanship. The horses also whinnied
with delight at the touch Of the familiar
girths and when mounted danced jig I'M
known to the sober steeds of these isles
The town gathered to witness the specta-
Gle of our departure, and it afterward leak.
ell ont that he provost and council were at
the moment sa,itedly considering the ques
tion Of entertaining tle Indian nabobs who
had so unexpectedly honorel their city
But we were Off before the good men conld
decide with half the population at our
heels, as il we exercised the charm OF the
Pied Piper of lIamelin. And the mighty
sensation of the starting was continued all
along our route People rushed gaping
from houses and fields to get n glimpse of
lls at close quarters, and those whom we
met generally turned and followed us as
long as they had breath. Some saluted us
al il re were foreign potentaLes, others
stared as il they had been turned into stone,
and yet others, by their looks, seemed to
! apprehend nm invasion.
When we swept through our little village,
there was the commotiOn that an earth.
quake or the descent of an armed band OF
! robbers might have caused. fain would ]
have stopped to make myself known to the
Villagers and see their astunishment, but at
that stage we could not bear to talry. Two
miles ahead was kilgour and little beyond
was the Elms. Soy sped on without draw.
/ ing rein, our hearts beating short and fast
with the expectation which the returning
exile alone knows The carriage horses
were lathered and blowing after their 4G
miles, though Fatima and Hassan, with
more trying work, did not show wet hair
But no consideration for blown horses could
have induced us to delay. The coachman,
rather against hiswill, whipped up, and in
stead of slackening the pace increased.
As we rolled, humping and shaking, over
| the mountain road in the midst of many
whirling thoughts, suddenly old Duncan's
parting words flashed upon me.
God bless ye, take it. 1t will be the sill
Ter pipes | learned yc to blaw on Ayunt
the seas YEN can gle sllrl at times to
mind ye of old friends, and when ye CONT
back yell can march to your own quick
step"
Why shouldn't II In less time than IL
| takes me to write this sentence the silver
pipes We're out OF the green bag.
"You shall be played home like hero
Gordonn l cried, leapfng upon the dickey
to the great discomfort of the couchman,
who was evidently unable to make up his
mind whether we were great folks or sim
| ply maniacs.
The scream of the pipes made the horse.
| almost as wild as | was myself
II Gamma haud them!'' yelled the coach
man, laying his weight on the reins "rli
never win back to Perth safe Woal Woa
| They're olf, sure. May be burned alive
| IL ever take a trip like this again. Wea
Dandy! Woa, Megl All, ye lmmer, tai.
| ing the bit atween your teeth II | sinilst
this kerridgc, may just go and hang my
| sell -
"Ict them out, you fool" I said breath
| lessly. The speed was glorious to me
They could not go too fast. Another mile
--one short mile, but II was too much tt
| think OF.
| | blew as had never blown but once be
fore, and that was when | thought wal
! playing ranting air as my own dirge
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home
was now my tune, and the birds flew IL
terror from the rocks ut the mad excite
ment of the strain. Another half mile
| two or three minutes more. Couldn't tn,
ass of a coaehman use his whtp1 Then ali
at once the chimney tops of kilgour rose
amid the dusky heath as | had seen them
rise when last | returned from Edinburgh
and almost dropped
'Thereitis, Gordon!n l screamed, pointing
! to the right Don't you see it STANDING
| alone there2 All the chimneys are smol
ing. They must have company
And settling down to work again played
fiercer and tiercer, and Rance stuffed hei
ears, and Donald encouraged me, and the
coachman, hanging on the reins, swore we
should be headlong over preeipice, but
the speed was not checked.
A quarter Of mile more. and saw a