The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-01-18
clumsy trap?
Look around you!

thing to stir the blood, something about
the gathering OF the clans, and the fut-
tering of the kits, the flash of the
brOadswords and the kirl of the pipes.
Twill raise the princes spirits if he
hears you He was dashed by the cold
ness with which he was received at
Lady : rimrose's. We must give him a
heartier reception tonight
| think from the malicious twinkle in
his eyes that he knew she suspected
him, and was playing with her as q
cat with a mouse. Her cheeks flushed,
and | thought she was about to give an
angry reply; but, with an effort, she
controlled herself, and began to play a
spirited prelude. But at that moment
he held up his hand.
"Hush,' he said, Il hear voices at the
door. | think he must have arrived"
lie turned away and stepped hurried
~ to the window. In a mOmen Kate
was On her feet, darted an appealing
look at me, pointed to him, and rushed
to the door. | was in the room, sword
in hand, before she reached it, But |
was no quicker than he. l saw the
CLEAN of his eyes and the flash Of his
sword before | was halfway across the
room. He parted the savage lunge l
made at him. and leaping aside with
thC oS1iItS u 4 Sdb, liz dIlSI 4Atht1.
Through the door and along the pas
sage she went like a deer, he close on
her heels. and l on his. When she
reached the stairs she seemed to fly
down them, and beyond her l caught a
glimpse of the prince stepping into the
hall.
go back" she cried, ego back. You
are betrayed. Go back"
But she was too late. Clang went the
heavy door, out from the adjoining
rooms sprang half a dozen men with
naked swords, and there in the middle
of the hall. surrounded by a ring of
steel, with the sobbing girl at his feet,
caught like a rat in a tray, stood Prince
Charlie.
Wing as | was, / cannot describe the
sick feeling of pity and shame that
overwhelmed me at the sight. 'Twould
have been a fitting death for the hero
of P~restonpans and Falkirk to die sword
l in hand on the battlefield; out it was
| heartbreaking to see him betrayed and
trapped by this .scurvy crew of spies
and traitors. And still keener was my
pity for the innocent child who was
sohbing at his feet, crushed with shame
that her devotion to- his cause should
have been made the bait to lure him to
the scaffold.
He stood perfectly still, pale and with
flashing eyes, but without a trace Of
fear.
"Well, Mr.. M~acintyre." said he, "this
is IA strange welcome. May [ beg you to
inform me what I am to understand by
it,"
! Brought face to face with the man be
had betrayed, even Macintyre lost his
nerve, though he tried to brazen it out.
You may understand" he began.
and then his eyes fell and he looked
moodily at the floor. 81 think the situa-
ton explains ITSELF" he said gloomily.
The prince drew himself up and looked
at Macintyre With-unutterable scOrn and
contempt.
ct does indeed" said he, 81 have had
to do with spies and traitors before, but
never with one who invited me to his
house as a guest in order to betray me.
But this time, thank God, you have
over-estimated your cunning and my
simplicity. You fool, do you suppose
that I have walked blindfolded into your
clumsy trap? Look around you"
Almost before I realized what had
taken place l saw Macintyre turn white,
and heard the sword drop Gathering
from his nerveless fingers, while his ac-
completes glanced round about seeking
a way of escape. All eyes had been
fixed on the prince, so that the men
who now stood sword in hand at every
door and at the head Of every passage
had come upon US unheard and unseen.
At a glance [ recognized the faces of
several ~well-knoWn Jacobite gentlemen.
both Englishmen and H~ighlanders, and
| saw at once that@Mcintyre had been
cleverly caught in his own trap, en-