The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-10-23

! into the ground to mark the space re
served Cor the tourney of the mex
day.
/ "A fair good morrow to you, my lord,
I said the smith. "Grievous as my 81
has been and just is your resentment
give me leave to say that | have SUI
I fered more than my deserts from tn
ill-made chains and uncouth manacIe
wherewith they confined me in tn
black dungeon down there. l trow
they must have been the workmanship
OF Nlnian Lamont, the Highland
man. who dares to cali himsel
housesmith of Thrieve. 1 am ready L
die, IL it be your will. my lord
but Is you are well advised yol
will hang Ninian beside me with
bracelet of his own villain handiworl
about his neck Then shall justice b.
satisfied, and Malise MacKim will di
happyn
The earl turned and looked at his an
cient friend. The wrinkles about TIT
eyes We're deeply ironical now, and III,
gray eyes of the master armorer twin
kied with appreciation of his jest.
'Malise," cried his master, warningly
do not play at cats cradle with Doug
las. You might tempt me TO that ]
might afterward be sorry for. y mar
once dead comes not to life again
whatever the monks pirate But tel
L
yestereven? For, indeed, I knew not
myself when 1 set out. And, in any
! event, was II a thing well done for my
foster father to spy upon me, VINO ain
also his lord?'
The anger was mostly gone now cut
OF the frank face of the earl, and only
humiliation and resentment, with a
touch Of boyish curiosity remained.
Indeed" answered the smith, "I
~ 4
as you rode away upon Black Darn
away, and then l turned me TO the
seat by the wall to listen to the ques-
tionings OF Dame Barbara, the hum
ming of the bees and the other COM
Portable and composing sounds of ma
ture."
How, then, did you come TO follow
me in the undesirable company OF my
uncle, the abbott
For that you are in the debt of my
sen Sholto, who, seeing a lady wait
for You in the greenwood, climbed a
tree, and there from among the
branches he was witness of your Ell
counter"
"So''-said the Douglas, sit is to Mas
ter Shoito that 1 owe somewhat
Aye" said his father, do not for
get nm. For he is a good lad and a
bold, as. indeed, he proved to the hit
yestreenr'
In what consisted his boldness?"
asked the earl.
IN that he dared to come home to me
with a eock-and-bull story Of n witch
lady, who appeared suddenly where
none had been a moment before, and
who mad Immediately bewtched my
lord earl Well nigh did L twist his
neck, hut he stuck To it. Then came
riding by my lord abbot, and / judged
hot h.
was more his affair than mine.
Now, harken." cried the earl, in
quick tones of high anger, let there
be no more such folly, or on your life
be it. The lady was travelling with her
company through Galloway from
France. - She invited me to sup with
her and dared me to adventure To Ed
inburgh in her company. Wherein was
the witchcraft of that, saving the
witcherY natural to all fair women 90
Did she not prophesy to you that to-
day you would be duke of Touvaine
and receive the ambassadors of the
king of France?"
We'll" said the earl, where is your
wit that you give to such babbings?
Did she not come from that COUNTRY,
as 1 tell you, and who should hear the
latest news more readily than 5he?"
The smith looked a little lonplussel.
but stuck to it stoutly that none bus a
witch-woman would ride alone at
nightfall upon a Galloway moor. or
unless by enchantment set up a 3avil-
ion of silk and strange device under
the pines of Loeb Roam.
We'll" said Earl William, feeling his
advantage, and making the most of it.
''I see that in all my little love affairs
1 needs must take my master armorer
with me to decide whether or no the
lady be a witch. He shall resolve for
me all spiritual questions with his
fore-hammer. Malise MacKim, a witch
prickeri Ha-this is a change, indeed
Malise, the smith, the censor o. his
lords love affairs, after what certain
of his have told me OF his
own love makings. VIII he deign to
come to the weapon showing today, and
instead of examining the swords and
halberts, the French arbalasts and
German fusils demit that part Of his
office to Ninian. the Highlandnan. and
go peering into ladies' eyes for ser
ceries and scanning their upper lips for
the signs of the devil. which Turk in
the dimples of their chins. IN this he
Will find much employment, and that
Of a congenial sort"
Malise was vanQuished, less by the !
sarcasm of the earl than BY the fear
that perhaps the Highlandman might |
indeed have his place of honor as chief |
expert at his masters right hand at /
the examination of weapons that day /
on the green hOlms of BalmaShie.
81 may have been over-hasty, my |
ord" he said. but still 7 do think that |
the woman was far from canny'
The earl laughed, and, turning him /
about by the shoulders, gave him a |
push down the stair, crying out: 80 |
Malise, Malise, have you lived so long
n the world without finding out that 4
air woman is always uncannyi"
The levy that day of men owning
e2lty to the Douglas was no haSty or
ocal one. 1t was not, indeed a rising
If the countryside" such as took place
when the English were over the border
ind the beacon fires were thrown west
rom Criffel to Screel, from Screel to
and then tossed north
ward by the three Cairnsmuirs and top
most Merrick far over the uplands OF
Kyle, till on the sullen brow of Brown
yarrick the bale fire set the town drum
# Ayr beating its alarming note. Still,
was a day on which every Douglas
-assal must ride in mail, with all his
pears behind him, or bide at home and
axe the consequences.
Ali the night from distant parishes
nd outlying valleys men-at-arms had
cen riding, clothed in complete pam
ply Oh MALL IneSe were the knights
arons, freeholders owning allegiance
nd duty to the house of Douglas. Each
ord was followed by appointed tail of
squireS and men-at-arms; behind
hese dense clusters OF heavily armed
pearsmen marched steadily along the
asiest paths by the waterside and over
he lower hill passes. Light running
slung their swords over their
acks by leathern bandoliers and prick /
it briskly over the bent 50 brown
rchers there were from the border