The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-02

dress him.
 'It is a wild story that of Allan" said Mentieth that night when he was alone with Montrose. Before he was born, and when his brother Angus was still child, their mothers brother became in- volved with that fierce sect or clan known as the Children of the Mist. They lay in wait for him and killed him. Then they cut off his head and entered the castle here while it's master was absent They put the head on the table, placed piece of bread within the jaws and with drew.
 "When the lady of the castle entered the room and saw her brothers bloody head staring at her, she ran out Of the house shreking. For weeks she was sought in vain. Her husband gave her up for dead and turned to revenge. Seven teen heads of the Children of the Mist were exposed here on the castle walls and so many of the clan were slain that their power was broken.
 'rThen, one day, the unhappy woman was seen near the castle and brought back Soon afterward Allan was born. In time she recovered her senses but she
 
 der her care Allan grew up moody and strange and when she died after he was 10 years old she had imbued his mind with dark and terrible fancies and had filled his soul with furious determina- ton to take revenge on the Children of the Mist.
 "Since then he has penetrated into their glens again and again, quite alone, re- turning with the heads of the best among them, until they were terrified at the mere mention of his name, and fled from the neighborhood. In one of these raids ne found a young girl, beautiful as little fairy He was convinced that she was not of the hated blood of his enemies, but had been captured by them in some fo- ray; so he brought her home and he and Angus reared her as their foster-slster under the name of Annot Iyle.'
 The young Earl of Mentieth began to describe Annot Lyle. As he progressed, his language became so earnest and elo- quent that Montrose smiled and said; ",rake care, my lord, take care
 Mentieth blushed and replied gravely: Her unknown birth is sufficient req son against any designs on my part
 The next day Montrose witnessed new form of Allan's dark mood His eyes had A ghostly stare and the whisper ran around that the spirit of prophecy had descended on him. Soon he strode to where his friend Mentieth was speaking to Annot> My eye has seen fields of battle" said he where Highlanders and I,owIanders lay strewed, but your corpse
 ffnl1 hut there, too, mine eye found you not. Your fate shall be this! Three times have seen a Highlander plant his dirk in your breast"
 .Describe him to me.p said Mentieth, "that I may save him the trouble of full filling the prophecy"
 q cannot said Allan. The face Of the vision has been averted from me each time."
 There came a call to council, and dur ing the spirited debate. Mentieth forgot and Allan seemed to forget the dark words that had come out of his darkened mind.
 While the chiefs were planning their campaign a new arrival was announced in the person of Sir Duncan Campbell,
  the estate of parliament. The Highland CTS received the stately gray-haired sol dier courteously and with the respect due to one whom they esteemed superior in gallantry and honor to Argyle. They lis- tened in silence to his proposal that they send an envoy to Argyle to discuss terms of armistice. and assented quietly when Montrose proposed Dugald Dalgetty as the messenger.
 Armed with letters to provide for his safety, he rode off with Sir Duncan to his castle of Ardenvohr. There his host wrote a personal letter to Argyle and gave 1t to Dalgetty, who rode boldly on to Inyerary to face the great MacCallum Moore, Argyle, alone
 The first sight that met his eyes when he entered the town was not assuring. Five dead Highlanders hung from a gib- bet at the gate. A little further on he saw a block with the blood still wet on 1t. When he entered the castle he passed under a Highland head fixed to poe
 Ritt Master Dalgetty merely hummed military tune and passed doughtily into the castle presented himself before the Marquis with the assurance of soldado who had sat at the table of princes. Hard lv had Argyle read the letter from Mon trose before he turned angrily to the Ritt- Master and told Rim that he deserved a high gallows and a short shrift.
 Dalgetty calmly began to expound the laws of war and the observance of truces and parleys, sowing his discourse with ex- cellent Latin moral reflections as we'll as with invaluable facts from personal ex- perience. Argyle, however. failed to profit bv the unequalled opportunity, and re- marked dryly that death was the punish ment for bringing insolent and traitorous messages to the Lord Justice General of Scotland.
 The Ritt-Master, dislilking the turn which the conversation had taken, called on the Marquis to respect the letter of Sir Duncan, and some of the chiefs sided with him. The result was that the in- dignant soldier of fortune was seized by few retainers and borne struggling to pitch-black dungeon to be kept there till the kindly Marquis might decide what to do.
 Dalgetty had barely made step in the dark hole before she stumbled against an- other prisoner, who was crouching in a corner. With his usual ready communf- catiyeness he explained at large to the Invisible person who he was. and then de- manded his cellmate's name.
 "Ranald, Son of the Mist" answered a