THE SCOTCH TWINS By Lucy Fitch Perkins ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY The Riverside Press Cambridge Geographical Series THE DUTCH TWINS PRIMER. Grade I. THE DUTCH TWINS Grade III. THE ESKIMO TWINS. Grade II. THE JAPANESE TWINS. Grade IV. THE IRISH TWINS. Grade V. THE SCOTCH TWINS. Grades V and VI. THE MEXICAN TWINS. Grade VI. THE BELGIAN TWINS. Grade VI. THE FRENCH TWINS. Grade VII. Historical Series THE CAVE TWINS. Grade IV. THE SPARTAN TWINS. Grades V-VI. Each volume is illustrated by the author HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY LUCY PITCH PERKINS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED CONTENTS I. THE LITTLE GRAY HOUSE ON THE BRAE II. THE RABBIT AND THE GAMEKEEPER III. THE SABBATH IV. THE NEW BOY V. EVENING IN THE WEE BIT HOOSIE VI. TWO DISCOVERIES VII. THE CLAN VIII. THE POACHERS IX. A RAINY DAY X. ON THE TRAIL XI. ANGUS NIEL AND THE CANNY CLAN XII. NEWS XIII. THE NEW LAIRD GLOSSARY SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS THE SCOTCH TWINS I. THE LITTLE GRAY HOUSE ON THE BRAE If you had peeped in at the window of a little gray house on aheathery hillside in the Highlands of Scotland one Saturdaymorning in May some years ago, you might have seen Jean Campbell"redding up" her kitchen. It was a sight best seen from a safedistance, for, though Jean was only twelve years old, she was afierce little housekeeper every day in the week, and on Saturday, when she was getting ready for the Sabbath, it was a bold personindeed who would venture to put himself in the path of her broom. To be sure, there was no one in the family to take such a riskexcept her twin brother Jock, her father, Robin Campbell, theShepherd of Glen Easig, and True Tammas, the dog, for the Twins'mother had "slippit awa'" when they were only ten years old, leaving Jean to take a woman's care of her father and brother andthe little gray house on the brae. On this May morning Jean woke up at five o'clock and peeped outof the closet bed in which she slept to take a look at the day. The sun had already risen over the rocky crest of gray old BenVane, the mountain back of the house, and was pouring a stream ofgolden sunlight through the eastern windows of the kitchen. Thekettle was singing over the fire in the open fireplace, a pan ofskimmed milk for the calf was warming by the hearth, and herfather was just going out, with the pail on his arm, to milk thecow. She looked across the room at the bed in the corner by thefireplace to see if Jock were still asleep. All she could see ofhim was a shock of sandy hair, two eyes tight shut, and afreckled nose half buried in the bed-clothes. "Wake up, you lazy laddie, " she called out to him, "or when I getmy clothes on I'll waken you with a wet cloth! Here's the sunlooking in at the windows to shame you, and Father already goneto the milking. " Jock opened one sleepy blue eye. "Leave us alone, now, Jeanie, " he wheedled. "I was just having asonsie wee bit of a dream. Let me finish, and syne I'll tell youall about it. " "Indeed, and you'll do nothing of the kind" retorted Jean, withspirit. "Up with you, mannie, or I'll be dressed before you, andI ken very well you'd not like to be beaten by a lassie, and heryour own sister, too. " Jock cuddled down farther into the blankets without answering, andJean began putting on her clothes. It seemed but a moment before sheslid to the floor, rolled her sleeves high above a pair of sturdyelbows, and went to finish her toilet at the basin. There she washedher face and combed her hair, while Jock, cautiously opening one eyeagain, observed her from his safe retreat. He watched her part herhair, wet it, plaster it severely back from her brow, and tie itfirmly in place with a piece of black ribbon. Jock could read Jean'sface like print, and in this stern toilet he foresaw a day ofunrelenting house-cleaning. "Aye, " he said to himself bitterly, "she's putting on herSaturday face. There's trouble brewing, I doubt! It'll be Jockthis and Jock that both but and ben all day long, and whatever isthe use of all this tirley-wirly I can't see, when on Monday thehouse will look as if it had never seen the sight of a besom!I'll just bide where I am. " He closed his eyes and pretended tobe asleep. It is true that Jean's Saturday face had such a housekeeperypucker between the eyes and such a severe arrangement of thefront hair that any one who did not peep behind the black ribbonmight have thought her a very stern young person indeed, butbehind the black ribbon Jean's true character stood revealed!However prim and smooth she might make it look in front, wherethe cracked glass enabled her to keep an eye on it, behind herback, where she couldn't possibly see it, her hair broke into thejolliest little waves and curls, which bobbed merrily about evenon the worst Saturday that ever was; and spoiled the effectwhenever she tried to be severe. When she had given a final wipe with the brush, she took anotherlook at Jock. There was still nothing to be seen of him but theshock of sandy hair and a series of bumps under the blanket. Jockcould feel Jean looking at him right through the bed-clothes. "Jock, " said Jean, --and her voice had a Saturday sound toit, --"You can't sleep in this day! Get up!" There was no answer. Jock might well have known that Jean was inno mood for trifling, but, having decided on his course ofaction, he stuck to it like a true Scotchman and neither movednor opened his eyes. Jean was driven to desperate measures. Shetook a few drops of water in the dipper, marched firmly to thebedside, and stood with it poised directly above Jock's nose. "Jock, " she said solemnly, "I'm telling you! Don't ever say Ididn't. If you don't stir yourself before I count five, you'll besorry. One, two, three!" Still no move from Jock. "Four, five, "and, without further parley, she emptied the dipper on hisfreckled nose. There was a wrathful snort and a violent convulsion of theblankets, and an instant later Jock was tearing about the kitchenlike a cat in a fit, but by this time Jean was out of doors andwell beyond reach. "Come here, you limmer!" he howled. But Jean knew better than toaccept his invitation. Instead she skipped laughing down the pathfrom the door to the brook which ran bubbling and gurgling by thehouse. Even in her hasty exit from the cottage, Jean had had thepresence of mind to take the pail with her, and now she stoppedto fill it from the clear, sparkling water of the burn. It wassuch a wonderful bright spring morning that, having filled it, she stopped for a moment to look about her at the dear familiarsurroundings of her home. There was the little gray house itself, with the peat smokecurling from the chimney straight up into the blue sky. Back ofit was the garden-patch with its low stone wall, and back of thatwere the fowl-yard and the straw-covered byre for the cow. Beyond, and to the north lay the moors, covered with heather anddotted with grazing sheep. Jean could hear the tinkle of theirbells, the bleating of the lambs, and the comforting maternalanswers of the ewes. Above the dark forest which spread itselfover the slopes of the foot-hills toward the south and east alave rock was singing, and she could hear the cry of whaupswheeling and circling over the moors. They were pleasant morningsounds, dear and familiar to Jean's ear, and oh, the sparkle ofthe dew on the bracken, and the smell of the hawthorn by thegarden wall! Jean lifted her pail of water and went singing withit up the hill-slope to the house for sheer joy that she wasalive. "The Campbells are coming, O ho, O ho!" she sang, and the hills, taking up the refrain, echoed "O ho, O ho!" True Tammas, who had slept all night under the straw-stack by thebyre, came bounding down the little path to meet her, wagging histail and barking his morning greeting. They reached the doortogether, but Jock, mindful of his injuries, had shut and barredit, and was grinning at them through the window. Jean sat placidlydown upon the step with True Tammas beside her and continued hersong. Her calmness irritated Jock. "Aye, " he shouted through the crack, "the Campbells may becoming, but they'll not get in this house! You can just sit thereblethering all day, and I'll never unbar the door. " Jean stopped singing long enough to answer: "You'll get nobreakfast, then, you mind, unless you'll be getting it yourself, for the porridge is not cooked and the kettle's nearly boiledaway. I've the water-pail with me, and there's not a drop else inthe house. " She left him to consider this and resumed her song. For severalminutes she and True Tammas sat there gazing westward across thevalley with the little river flowing through it, to the hillsswimming in the blue distance beyond. At last she called over her shoulder, "Jock, Father's coming, "and Jock, seeing that his cause was hopelessly lost, unfastenedthe door. Jean, her father, and True Tammas all came into thekitchen together, and the moment she was in the room again youshould have seen how she ordered things about! "Set the milk right down here, Father, " she said, tapping thetable with her finger as she flew past to get the strainer and apan, "and you, Jock, fill the kettle. It's almost dry thisminute. And stir up the fire under it. Tam, "--that was what theycalled the dog for short, --"go under the table or you'll getstepped on!" You should have seen how they all minded!--even the father, whowas six feet tall, with a jaw like a nut-cracker and a face thatwould have looked very stern indeed if it hadn't been for histwinkling blue eyes. When the milk was strained and put away inthe little shed room back of the kitchen chimney, Jean got outthe oatmeal-kettle and hung the porridge over the fire, and whilethat was cooking she set three places at the tiny table andscalded the churn. Meanwhile Jock went out to feed the fowls. Byhalf past six the oatmeal was on the table and the little familygathered about it, reverently bowing their heads while theShepherd of Glen Easig asked a blessing upon the food. There was only porridge and milk for breakfast, so it took but ashort time to eat it, and then the real work of the day began. The Shepherd put on his Kilmarnock bonnet and called Tam, who hadhad his breakfast on the hearth, and the two went away to thehills after the sheep. Jock led the cow to a patch of green turfnear the bottom of the hill, where she could find fresh pasture, and Jean was left alone in the kitchen of the little gray house. Ah, you should have seen her then! She washed the dishes and putthem away in the cupboard, she skimmed the milk and put the creaminto the churn, she swept the hearth and shook the blankets outof doors in the fresh morning air. Then she made the beds, andwhen the kitchen was all in order, she "went ben"--that was theway they spoke of the best room--and dusted that too. Therewasn't really a bit of need of dusting the room, for it wasnever, never used except on very important occasions, such aswhen the minister called. The little house was five miles fromthe village, so the minister did not come often, but Jean kept itclean all the time just to be on the safe side. There wasn't so very much work to do in the room after all, for therewas nothing in it but the fireplace, a little table with the Bible, the Catechism, and a copy of Burns's poems on it, and three chairs. The kitchen was a different matter: There were the beds, and they werehard for a small girl to manage, and the cupboard with its shelves ofdishes. There were three stools, and a big chair for the Shepherd, andthe great chest where the clothes were kept, and besides all thesethings there was the wag-at-the-wall clock on the mantel-shelf whichhad to be wound every Saturday night. If you want to know just wherethese things stood, you have only to look at the plan, where theirplaces are so plainly marked that, if you were suddenly to wake up inthe middle of the night and find yourself in the little gray house, you could go about and put your hand on everything in it in the dark. Jock stayed with the cow as long as he dared, and went back tothe house only when he knew he couldn't postpone his tasks anylonger. Jean was sweeping the doorstep as he came slowly up thehill. "Come along, Grandfather, " she called out, her brow sternlypuckered in front and her curls bobbing gaily up and down behind. "A body'd think you were seventy-five years old and had therheumatism to see you move! Come and work the churn a bit. 'Twilllimber you up. " Jock knew that arguments were useless. His father had told him, girl's work or not, he was to help Jean, so he slowly draggedinto the house and slowly began to move the dasher up and down. "Havers!" said Jean, when she could stand it no longer. "It'slucky there's a cover to the churn else you'd drop to sleep andfall in and drown yourself in the buttermilk! The butter won't behere at this rate till to-morrow, when it would break the Sabbathby coming!" She seized the dasher, as she spoke, and began to churn sovigorously that the milk splashed up all around the handle. Soonlittle yellow specks began to appear; and when they had formedthemselves into a ball in the churn, she lifted it out with apaddle and put it in a pan of clear cold water. Then she gaveJock a drink of buttermilk. "Poor laddie!" she said. "You are all tired out! Take a sup ofthis to put new strength in you, for you've got to go out andweed the garden. I looked at the potatoes yesterday, and theweeds have got the start of them already. " "If I must weed the garden, give me something to eat too, " beggedJock. "This milk'll do no more than slop around in my insides tomake me feel my emptiness. " Jean opened the cupboard door and peeped within. "There's nothing for you, laddie, " she said, "but this piece of ascone. I'll have to bake more for the Sabbath, and you can havethis to give yourself a more filled-up feeling. And now off withyou!" She took him by the collar and led him to the door; and there onthe step was Tam. "What are you doing here?" cried Jean, astonished to see him. "You should be with Father, watching the sheep! It's shame to adog to be lolling around the house instead of away on the hillswhere he belongs. " Tam flattened himself out on his stomach and dragged himself toher feet, rolling his eyes beseechingly upward, and if ever a doglooked ashamed of himself, that dog was Tam. Jean shook her headat him very sternly, and oh, how the jolly little curls bobbedabout. "Tam, " she said, "you're as lazy as Jock himself. Whatever shallI do with the two of you?" Jock had already finished his scone and he thought this a goodtime to disappear. He slipped round the corner of the house andwhistled. All Tam's shame was gone in an instant. He gave ajoyous bark and bounded away after Jock, his tail waving gayly inthe breeze. II. THE RABBIT AND THE GAMEKEEPER Out in the garden a rabbit had for some time been enjoyinghimself nightly in the potato-patch, biting off the young sproutswhich were just sticking their heads through the ground. When therabbit heard Tam bark she dashed out of sight behind a burdockleaf and sat perfectly still. Now if Tam and Jock had come intothe garden by the wicket gate, as they should have done, thisstory might never have been written at all, because in that casethe rabbit would perhaps have got safely back to her burrow inthe woods without being seen, and there wouldn't have been anystory to tell. But Tam and Jock didn't come in by the gate. They jumped over thewall. Jock jumped first and landed almost on top of the rabbit, but when Tam, a second later, landed in the same place, she wasrunning for dear life toward the hole in the stone wall where shehad got in. Shouting and barking, Jock and Tam tore after her. Round and round the garden they flew, but just as they thoughtthey had her cornered, the rabbit slipped through the hole in thewall and ran like the wind for the woods. Jock and Tam bothcleared the wall at a bound and chased after her, making enoughnoise to be heard a mile away. It happened that there was some one much less than a mile away tohear it. And it happened, too, that he was the one person in allthe world that Jock would most wish not to hear it, for he wasgamekeeper to the Laird of Glen Cairn, and the Laird of GlenCairn owned all the land for miles and miles about in everydirection. He owned the little gray house and the moor, themountain, and the forest, and even the little brook that sang bythe door. To be sure, the Laird seemed to care very little forhis Highland home. He visited it but once in a great while, andthen only for a few days' hunting. The rest of the year his greatstone castle was occupied only by Eppie McLean, the housekeeper, and two or three other servants. The Laird did not know histenants, and they did not know him. The rents were collected forhim by Mr. Craigie, his factor, who lived in the village, andAngus Niel was appointed to see that no one hunted game on theestate. Angus was a man of great zeal in the performance of his duty, tojudge by his own account of it. He was always telling of heroicencounters with poachers in the forests, and though he neverseemed to succeed in catching them and bringing them before themagistrate, his tales were a warning to evil-doers and few peopledared venture into the region which he guarded. He was often seencreeping along the outskirts of the woods, his gun on hisshoulder, his round eyes rolling suspiciously in every direction, or even loitering around the cow byres as if he thought gamemight be secreted there. At the very moment when Jock and Tam came flying over the fenceand down the hill like a cyclone after the rabbit, Angus waskneeling beside the brook to get a drink. His lips were pursed upand he was bending over almost to the surface of the water, whensomething dashed past him, and an instant later something elsestruck him like a thunderbolt from behind, and drove himheadforemost into the brook! It wasn't Tam that did it. It wasJock! Of course, it was an accident, but Angus thought he haddone it on purpose, and he was probably the most surprised aswell as the angriest man in Scotland at that moment. He liftedhis head out of the brook and glared at Jock as fiercely as hecould with little rills of water pouring from his hair and nose, and trickling in streams down his neck. "I'll make you smart for this, you young blatherskite, " he roaredat Jock, who stood before him frozen with horror. "I'll teach youwhere you belong! You were running after that rabbit, and yourdog is yelping down a hole after her this minute!" He was such afunny sight as he knelt there, dripping and scolding, that, scared as he was, Jock could not help laughing. More than everenraged, Angus made a sudden lunge forward and seized Jock by theear. "You come along o' me, " he said. His invitation was so urgentthat Jock felt obliged to accept it, and together the two startedup the slope to the little gray house. Tam, meanwhile, had givenup the chase and joined them, his tail at half-mast. When they reached the house Angus bumped the door open withoutknocking, and stamped into the kitchen. Jean was bending over thefire turning a scone on the girdle, when the noise at the doormade her jump and look around. She was so amazed at the sightwhich met her eye that for an instant she stood stock-still, andAngus, seeing that he had only two children to deal with, gaveJock's ear a vicious tweak and began to bluster at Jean. But, you see, he didn't know Jean. When she saw that great fatman abusing her brother and tracking mud all over her kitchenfloor at the same time, instead of being frightened, as sheshould have been, Jean shook her cooking-fork at Angus Niel andstamped her foot smartly on the floor. "You let go of my brother's ear this instant, " she shouted, "andtake your muddy boots out of my kitchen!" Angus let go of Jock's ear for sheer surprise, and Jock at oncesprang to his sister's side, while Tam, seeing that trouble wasbrewing, gave a low growl and bared his teeth. Angus gave a lookat Tam and decided to explain. "This young blatherskite here, " he began, in a voice that causedthe rafters to shake, "has been trespassing. He was after arabbit. I caught him in the very act. I'll have the law on him!He rammed me into the burn!" "I didn't mean to, " shouted Jock, "I thought you were a stone, and I just meant to step on you and jump across the burn. " "You meant to step on me, did you?" roared Angus. "Me! Do youknow who I am?" Jock knew very well, but he didn't have time tosay so before Angus, choking with rage, made a furious lunge forhis ear and left two more great spots of mud on the kitchenfloor. It was not to be borne. Jean pointed to his feet. "You're trespassing yourself, " she screamed. "You've no right inthis house, And you take yourself out of it this minute! Justlook at the mud you've tracked on my floor!" Angus did look. He looked not only at the floor but at Tam, forTam was now slowly approaching him, growling as he came. Angus thought best to do exactly as Jean said and as quickly aspossible. He reached the door in two jumps with Tam leaping afterhim and nipping his heels at each jump, and in another instantfound himself on the doorstep with the door shut behind him. Angus considered himself a very important man. He wasn't used tobeing treated in this way, and it's no wonder he was angry. Heswelled up like a pouter pigeon; and shook his fist at the door. "You just mind who I am, " he shouted. "If ever I catch youpoaching again, I'll have you up before the bailie as sure aseggs is eggs!" But the door didn't say a word, and it seemed beneath his dignityto scold a door that wouldn't even answer back, so he stampedaway growling. The children watched him until he disappeared inthe woods, and when at last they turned from the window, thescone on the girdle was burned to a cinder and had to be given tothe chickens! You might have thought that by this time Jean had done enoughwork even for Saturday, but there was still the broth to make forsupper and for the Sabbath, and the kitchen floor to be scrubbed, and, last of all, the family baths! When the little kitchen wasas clean as clean could be, Jean got the wash-tub and set it onthe hearth. Jock knew the signs and decided he'd go out behindthe byre and look for eggs, but Jean had her eye on him. "Jock Campbell, " said she, "you go at once and get the water. " In vain Jock assured her he was cleaner than anything and didn'tneed a bath. Jean was firm. She made him fill the kettles, andwhen the water was hot, she shut him up in the kitchen with soapand a towel while she took all the shoes to the front steps topolish for Kirk on the morrow. When at last Jock appeared beforeher he was so shiny clean that Jean said it dazzled her eyes tolook at him, so she sent him for the cow while she took her turnat the tub. By four o'clock, Tam, who had spent an anxious afternoon by thehole in the garden wall watching for the rabbit, suddenlyremembered his duties and started away over the moors to meet theShepherd and round up any sheep that might have strayed from theflock, and at five Jock, returning from the byre, met his fathercoming home with Tam at his heels. The regular evening tasks were finished just as the sun sank outof sight behind the western hills, and the birds were singingtheir evening songs, and when they went into the kitchen a brightfire was blazing on the hearth, the broth was simmering in thekettle, and Jean had three bowls of it ready for them on thetable. While they ate their supper Jock told their father all about therabbit and Angus Niel and his ducking in the burn, and when Jocktold about Jean's ordering him out of the kitchen, and of hisjumping to the door with Tam nipping at his heels, the Shepherdslapped his knee and laughed till he cried. Tam, sitting on thehearth with his tongue lolling out, looked as if he werelaughing, too. "Havers!" cried the Shepherd, "I wish I'd been here to see thatsight! Angus is that swollen up with pride of position, he's liketo burst himself. He needed a bit of a fall to ease him of it, but I'd never have picked out Jean Campbell to trip him up!You're a spirited tid, my dawtie, and I'm proud of you. " "But, Father, " said Jock, "whatever shall we do about therabbits? The woods are full of them, and there'll not be a sprigof green left in the garden. They can hop right over the wall, even if we do stop up the hole. " "Aye, " answered his father solemnly, "and that's a seriousquestion, my lad. They get worse every year, and syne we'll haveno tatties for the winter, let alone other vegetables. A deercame into Andrew Crumpet's garden one night last week and leftnot a green sprout in it by the morning. The creatures must livethat idle gentlemen may shoot them for pleasure, even though theyeat our food and leave us to go hungry. " His brow darkened and along-smouldering wrath burst forth into words. "There's nojustice in it, " he declared, thumping the table with his fisttill the spoons danced, "Lairds or no Lairds, Anguses or noAnguses. " The Twins had never before heard their father speak like that, and they were a little frightened. They were too young to knowthe long years of injustice in such matters that stretched farback into the history of Scotland. For a few minutes after this outburst the Shepherd remainedsilent, gazing into the fire; then he roused himself from hisbrown study and said: "I've been keeping something from you, mybairns. Mr. Craigie told me last week that the Auld Laird hastaken a whim to turn all this region into a game preserve, andthat he will not renew our lease when the time is up. It has tillautumn to run, and then, God help us, we'll have to be turned outof this house where I've lived all my life and my forebearsbefore me, and seek some other place to live and some other workto do. " "But what can you do else?" gasped Jock. He felt that his worldwas tumbling about his ears. "The Lord knows, " answered the Shepherd. "Emigrate to Americalikely. I've always been with the sheep and nothing else. It maybe I can hire out to some other body, but chances are fewhereabouts, and if the Auld Laird carries out this notion, there'll be many another beside ourselves who'll need to bewalking the world. It seems unlikely he would be for taking awaythe town too, even if it is but a wee bit of a village, and thelaw gives him the right, for times have changed since that leasewas made, long years ago, and there are few in this day who wouldventure to enforce it. But the Auld Laird's a hard man, I'm told, and he chooses hard men to carry out his will. Mr. Craigie haslittle heart, and as for Angus Niel, he'd make things worserather than better if he had his way. " Then, seeing tearsgathering in Jean's eyes, he said to comfort her, "There now, dinna greet, my lassie! There's no sense in crossing a bridgetill you come to it, and this bridge is still four months and abittock away. We've the summer before us, and the Lord's arm isnot shortened that it cannot save. We'll make the best of it andhave one more happy summer, let the worst come at the end of it. " "But, Father, " urged Jock, "will he turn every one out, do youthink?" "Who can foretell the whimsies of a selfish man?" answered theShepherd. "He has only his own will to consider, but my opinionis he'll turn out those whose holdings lie nearest the forestsand would be best for game, whatever he may do with the rest. " This was overwhelming news, and the children sat silent besidetheir silent father, trying to think of something to comforttheir sad hearts. At last Jean lifted her head with a spiritedtoss and said, "Gin we were to go to-morrow, the dishes wouldstill have to be washed, " and she began to clear the table. Her father laughed, and oh, how his laugh brightened the littlekitchen and seemed to bid defiance to the fates! "That's right, little woman, " he said. "You've the true spirit ofa Campbell in you. We must aye do the duty at hand and trust theLord for the rest. " Jock was so impressed with the solemn talk of the evening that hewiped the dishes without being asked and went to bed of his ownaccord when the wag-at-the-wall clock struck eight. The Shepherdsat alone beside the fire until the children were in bed andasleep; then he sent Tam to the straw stack, wound the clock, andtook his own turn at the tub. Last of all he covered the coalswith ashes for the night and crept into bed beside Jock. III. THE SABBATH The Sabbath morning dawned bright and clear, and the Campbellswere all up early and had the chores done before seven o'clock. Then came breakfast, and after breakfast Jean ran "ben the room, "and brought the Bible to her father. Then she and Jock sat withfolded hands while he read a long chapter about the "begats. "Jock thought there seemed to be a very large family of them. Thiswas followed by a prayer as long as the chapter. The prayer wasso long that True Tammas went sound asleep on the hearth and hada dream that must have been about the rabbit, for his earstwitched and he made little whiny noises and jerked his legs. Itwas so long that the kettle boiled clear away and made suchalarming, crackling sounds that Jean couldn't help peekingthrough her fingers just once, because it was their only kettle, and if it should go and burst itself during family prayers, whatever should they do! The moment the Shepherd said "Amen, "Jean sprang so quickly to lift it from the fire that she stumbledover Tam and woke him up and almost burned her fingers besides. The kettle wasn't really spoiled, and while the water was heatingin it for the dishes, Jean took up the little yellow book andsaid to Jock, "Come here now, laddie, and see if you can say your catechism. Doyou ken what is the chief end of man?" "Dod, and I do, " answered Jock. "You let me spier the questions. " "No, " answered Jean firmly. "I'll spier them first myself. " "You're thinking I can't answer, " said Jock. "I'll fool you. " He stood up as straight as a whole row of soldiers and fired offthe answer all in one breath. "The-chief-end-of-man-is-to-glorify-God-and-enjoy-Him-forever, "he shouted. Jean nodded approvingly. "You ken that one all right, but that isthe first one in the book and everybody knows that one. Now I'mgoing to skip around. " "Don't skip, " urged Jock. "Take them just the way they come. Ican remember 'em better. " But Jean gave no quarter. "What is predestination?" she demanded. This was a poser, but Jock tackled it bravely. "Whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate to-to-" he got sofar and stuck. "To what?" asked Jean. "To be reformed, " Jock hazarded, wallowing in difficulties. "Conformed, " corrected Jean. "You don't know that one at all!What is Saving Grace?" Jock fell down entirely on saving grace. "It's a--It's a--" hebegan. Then he bit his lip and scowled, and looked up at the hamhanging from the rafters, and out of the windows, but as nothingmore about saving grace occurred to him he said, "Aw, Jean, Iknow, but I can't think. " "If you knew, you wouldn't have to think, " Jean retorted, andthen she made him take the book and sit down on the stool by thewindow and learn both answers while she finished the dishes. It was ten miles to the village and back, and there was no way toget there except by walking, but the Campbells would sooner havethought of going without their food than of staying away from theKirk, and so by eight o'clock they were all dressed in their bestclothes and ready to start. They left True Tammas sitting on thedoorstep with his ears drooped and his eyes looking verysorrowful. He wanted to go with them, but he knew well that hemust stay at home to guard the sheep from stray dogs. It was springtime, and the world was so lovely that the troublesthe little family had faced the evening before seemed far awayand impossible in the morning light. It was as if they hadawakened from a bad dream. Who could help being happy on such amorning? The birds were flying about with straw and bits of woolin their bills to weave into their nests, and singing as if theywould split their little throats. The river splashed and gurgledand sang as it dashed over its rocky bed on its way to the sea. From the village came the distant music of the church bells. Thehawthorn was in bloom, and the river-banks and roadsides were gaywith dandelions and violets, daisies and buttercups. Far away themountains lifted their blue summits to the sky, and on a nearerhill they could see the gray towers of the castle of the Laird ofGlen Cairn. The bell was ringing its final summons and all the people werepouring into the little vestibule as the Campbells reached thesteps of the Kirk. Angus Niel pushed past them, looking as puffyas a turkey-cock with its feathers spread, and glaring at theTwins so fiercely that Jock whispered to Jean, "If I poked myfinger at him I believe he'd gobble, " and made her almost laughaloud. When they passed Mr. Craigie, who held the plate forpeople to drop their money in, Jean whispered to Jock, "He looksfor all the world like a pair of tongs in his blacks, he's thattall and thin, " and then Jock certainly would have laughedoutright if he hadn't seen Mrs. Crumpet's eye on him. The sermon was very long and the seats were hard and high, butthe service did come to an end at last, although Jock was sure itwas never going to, and afterward the children with their fatherstood about in the churchyard for a little while talking to theirneighbors and friends. The farm of Andrew Crumpet lay in the same direction as the homeof the Campbells, so it was natural that they should walk alongtogether and that the two men should talk about the thing thatwas uppermost in their minds. Mrs. Crumpet had gone on ahead withanother neighbor, and Sandy Crumpet, who was twelve too, and hadyellow hair, a snub nose, and freckles like Jock's own, walkedwith the Twins behind the two fathers. As they turned into theroad, the children heard Andrew say, with a heavy sigh: "Aye, Robin, we must just make up our minds to it. The Auld Laird'sbent on getting us out. " "Has Mr. Craigie given you notice, too?" asked the Shepherd. "Aye, has he, " Andrew answered with bitterness, "and short workhe made of it. It means little to him telling a man to leave hishome and go out in the world to seek new work at our time oflife. " "He passes for a religious man, " said the Shepherd. "So did the Pharisee in the temple, " said Andrew, "but 'by theirfruits ye shall know them, ' and we're not gathering any figs offof Mr. Craigie, nor grapes from that thorn of an Auld Laird thatI can see!" "Nor from Angus Niel, either, " agreed Robin Campbell. "The AuldLaird's servants are of a piece with himself. " "Fine I ken that, " answered Andrew. "Well, " sighed the Shepherd, "the toad under the harrow cannot beexpected to praise the plowman, and we're just like the toad. " "Very true, " said Andrew, "but the toad has the best of it. Weare being destroyed; not that some one may till the land, butthat it may go to waste, and be kept out of use. We suffer thatthe rich may be richer and the poor poorer, that less food may beproduced instead of more. I tell you, Robin, it is not justice. " "It may be so. It may be so, " sighed the Shepherd, "but it is thelaw, and we must just submit. " The two men walked on in silence to the bridge, where theCrumpets turned, while the Campbells kept on beside the river. The children were silent, too, only calling out "Good-bye" toSandy as they parted, Jock adding, "Come on by to-morrow if youcan, " and Sandy, waving his hand, calling back, "Aye, will I. " As the Twins and their father neared the "wee bit hoosie, " Tamcame bounding down the brae to meet them, and in less time thanit takes to tell it Jean had run into the house, taken off herSabbath dress, and put on her old one, with her kitchen apronover it, had mended the fire and heated the broth, and the littlefamily was seated about the table eating their frugal meal withappetites sharpened by their long walk. The afternoon seemed endless to the children, for they spent ittrying hard not to do any of the things they wanted to do. Theystudied the catechism while their father sat with his bonnet onhis head nodding over the Bible, and the wag-at-the-wall clockticked the hours solemnly away. Jock whispered to Jean that hedidn't see why Sunday was so much longer than any other day, anddidn't believe her when she said it wasn't really that it onlyseemed so. IV. THE NEW BOY Usually Jean and Jock went to school in summer, for in winter thesnow made the roads impassable, but at this time the Dominie wasill and until he should get well they had the long days tothemselves. When breakfast was over the next morning and theShepherd had gone with Tam to the hills, Jean decided to wash theclothes. Sandy Crumpet came early, and the two boys went off toplay, leaving Jean standing on a stone in the middle of the burn, soaping the clothes and scrubbing them on the flat surface of arock. The water was so cold it made her arms ache, and she soondecided to let the fast-running stream do the washing for her. She soaped the garments well, weighted them down with stones, andthen went to join the boys. She found them flat on their stomachsby the stream, gazing down into a pool of clear water. "What do you see?" she called out to them. "Trout, " answered Jock, his eyes shining with excitement. "Let me take a keek, " said Jean, flopping down beside them andcraning her neck over the edge. They were all three peering with breathless interest into thewater when a strange voice behind them made them jump. For aninstant they thought it might be Angus Niel. "Hello!" said the voice. The children whirled around, and there before them stood a boynot much older than themselves, but taller and thinner. He had apale face with large black eyes and dark hair partly covered witha Glengarry bonnet set rakishly over one ear. He wore a suit ofgray tweed with plaid-topped stockings, and carried a fishing-rodover his shoulder. "Hello!" said the stranger again. "Hello, yourself!" responded Jock. Jean and Sandy were so relieved to find it wasn't Angus Niel thatfor an instant they merely gazed at him without speaking. "What's there?" asked the new boy. "Fish, " said Jock. "Fish!" cried the new boy, shifting his rod into position. "Where? Let me have a crack at 'em!" "Na, na, don't be so hasty, " cried Jock, heading him off. "You'llget yourself into trouble! Angus Niel would be after you in notime, and if he caught you, he'd cuff your lug for you, and dragyou before the bailie for poaching!" "Who's Angus Niel?" demanded the boy. "I'm not afraid of him. " "Not yet, " answered Jock, "but just go on and you will be! He'sgamekeeper to the Laird, and he'd rather do for you than not. Aye, he'd just like the feel of you in his fingers, he would. "Jock rubbed his ear. "It's but two days gone since he nearlypulled the lug off me because I was running after a rabbit thatwas eating up our garden. He's terrible suspicious, is Angus, andhe's mad at us besides. " "What for?" asked the boy. "I stepped on him by accident, " explained Jock, "and butted himinto the burn. " "No wonder he was mad, " laughed the boy. "Come on, now. Surely abody can fish. There's no law against that!" "Well, " said Sandy, "law or no law, Angus is against it, and theAuld Laird is terrible particular. He's going to turn out all thefarmers in this region and make it into a great game preserve. Nothing else. You're strange hereabouts, I doubt, or you'd kenall this yourself. Where are you from?" "I'm from London, " replied the boy. "I'm staying with EppieMcLean at the castle. " "Are you, now?" gasped Sandy. "Is Eppie your aunt, maybe? She'llbe telling you about Angus herself. " "Eppie's not my aunt, " said the boy. "She's a friend of mymother, and my mother got her to take me in because I've beensick, and she thought I'd get strong up here, and I'm not goingto have my summer spoiled by Angus Niel or any other old bogieman. Stand back now while I cast. " He swung his rod over his head, and the fly fell with a flop inthe middle of the pool. He waited a breathless instant whileJock, Sandy, and Jean watched the fly with him, and then, asnothing happened, he cast again. When several such attemptsbrought no result, he said, "You're sure they 're there?" "They're lying at the bottom as soft as a baby in a cradle, " saidJean. "I could catch them with a skimmer! Gin they don't bite, maybe I'll try it!" Jock looked at Jean in amazement. "You're a braw lassie, Jean Campbell, " he said severely, "and youjust telling about Angus Niel!" "T'was yourself and Sandy here telling about Angus Niel, " Jeananswered. "I said nothing at all about him. I'm not afraid ofhim, either. " "Good for you!" said the new boy with admiration. "You can have aturn with my rod. Try it once before you get the skimmer!" Jean sprang to her feet and took the rod, though she had neverhad one like it in her hand before. She made a mighty sweep withit as she had seen the new boy do, but somehow the fly flew offin an unexpected direction and caught in a tree, while the linewound itself in a hopeless snarl around the tip. Jock and Sandy, who had stood by, green with envy, clapped their hands over theirmouths and danced with mirth. "It looks easy, " said poor Jean mournfully, "but maybe I'd beststick to the skimmer when I fish. " "Oh, it always does that the first time, " said the new boycomfortingly, as he rescued the fly and straightened out theline. "When a girl tries to do it, " added Jock witheringly. The new boy held out the rod. "You try it, " he said to Jock, and Jock, full of confidence, didnot wait for a second invitation. "Look here, Jean, " he said. "This is the way you do it. " He swung the rod with a mighty flourish over his head, bud alas, the fly surprised him too. It caught in Sandy's trousers andsurprised Sandy as well. Not only that, it scratched him. "Ow!" howled Sandy, leaping about like a monkey on the end of thestring. "Leave go of me!" There was a snarl even worse than Jean's, too, and between thatand Sandy's jumping about it was some time before the line wasdisentangled and the hook freed so that Sandy was able to takehis turn. Jean, meanwhile, said nothing at all, for Jock lookedso crestfallen that she hadn't the heart. When Sandy tried itthings were still worse, for the fly flew about so wildly thatJock and Jean fled before it and hid behind some bushes. "Whoever could catch fish with such gewgaws as them anyway?" saidSandy scornfully, when a second attempt brought no better result. "The fish aren't used to it. " Jock rolled up his sleeves, crept to the side of the burn, andlooked over into the pool. "Hold to me, Sandy, " he said, and Sandy immediately sat down onhis legs. Then Jock suddenly plunged his arms into the water andbefore the fish could whisk their tails he had caught one in hishand and thrown it on the grass. Springing to his feet and upsetting Sandy, he jumped to a rock inthe middle of the brook and caught two more. It was now the newboy's turn to be astonished. Apparently Jock had stirred up awhole school of trout, for Sandy, following Jock's lead, alsoleaped into the stream, and in a few moments six fine trout wereflopping about the grass. "Let's build a fire and cook them, " urged the new boy, whose namethey soon learned was Alan McRae. "And if old Angus Niel comesnosing around we'll offer him a bite! He can do nothing with fourof us, anyway, unless he shoots us, and he'd hang for that. Comeon!" By this time they were all so thrilled with the sport and werehaving such fun that nobody thought any more about Angus anyway, so Jean ran for a pan, while Jock and Sandy cleaned the fish withAlan's knife, and Alan gathered dry twigs and bracken for thefire. Jean brought down some scones, which she split and spreadwith butter while the fish were frying. When they were done to agolden brown she put a hot fish on each piece of scone and handedthem out to the boys, and when they had eaten every scrap theyburied the fish-bones in case Angus should come that way. After lunch Jean went to wring out the clothes and hang them onthe bushes to dry, while Jock and Sandy examined Alan's wonderfulbook of flies and his reel, and even the creel in which he was tohave put the fish, if he had caught any. "Losh, man!" exclaimed Sandy, swaggering about with his hands inhis pockets, "that's all very well. Aye, it's a good game, andyou might go dandering along a stream all day playing with it, but if you really want fish, just go after 'em yourself! That'smy way. Guddling for trout like you saw me and Jock do, that'sthe real sport!" "I believe you, " said Alan. "I'm going to try it myself. Come on. Let's go farther up stream and see if we can find another goodfishing-hole. I told Eppie I'd bring her a fish to her tea, andI'd hate to go back with nothing at all, " and the three boysdisappeared in the woods. Jean finished her work by the brook and went to the house to makemore scones, for the picnic had exhausted the supply and theyused no other bread. She bustled about the kitchen, mixing, spreading them on the girdle over the fire, keeping the coalsbright, and turning them out nicely browned on the mixing-board. She was just finishing the sixth one, when there was a greatthumping at the door, and she ran to see what was the matter. There on the doorstep stood the three boys, Alan dripping wetfrom head to heel, shivering with cold, and with mud and waterrunning from him in streams. Jean threw up her hands. "It's most michty, " she cried, "if I can't ever bake scones inthis kitchen without some man body coming in half drowned to messup my clean floor! However did you go and drop yourself in theburn, Alan McRae? 'Deed and I wonder that your mother lets you goout alone, you're that careless with yourself. And you not longout of a sick bed, too. " "He was guddling for trout, " shouted Jock and Sandy in onebreath; "and the hole was deep. There was no one sitting on him, and syne over he went!" Jean seized Alan by the shoulder and drew him into the kitchen, and set him to drip on the hearth while she gave her orders. "Jock, do you fill the basin with warm water, and you, Sandy, putmore peat on the fire. He must have a rinse with hot water andsomething hot to drink. " "What'll he do for clothes?" cried Jock. "Dinna fash yourself about clothes, " said Jean, rummagingfuriously in the "kist. " "I'm laying out Father's old kilts hehad when he was a boy. He can put them on till his own things aredry. Here's a towel for you, " she added, tossing one to Alan. "Rub yourself down well, and when you've dressed, just give achap at the door, and I'll come in and get you a sup of tea. " Then she disappeared. You can imagine what the kitchen lookedlike when she came back again. Alan's wet clothes were spread outon her father's chair by the fire, and Alan, gorgeous in hisplaid kiltie, was strutting back and forth giving an imitation ofthe bagpipes on his nose, with Jock and Sandy marching behind himsinging "Do ye ken John Peel with his coat so gay" at the top oftheir lungs. "Have you gone clean daft?" Jean shouted. "Sit down by the fire andget out of my way while I mop up after you!" The boys each seized one of the kitchen stools without stoppingthe song and marched with it to the hearth, and when they came to"Peel's view halloo would awaken the dead, " they gave a howl thatnearly brought down the ham from the rafters as they banged themdown on the hearth-stones. Jean clapped her hands over her earsand ran for the mop, and in no time at all the puddles haddisappeared and the boys were drinking tea by the fire. Of course, Alan had no shoes to put on because his were soakingwet, and as it was now late in the afternoon it began to be aquestion how he should get back to the castle. It was still coldfor going barefoot, and he was not used to it besides, and hisclothes certainly would not be fit to put on for a long time. They held a consultation. Alan thought he could go without shoes. "You'll do nothing of the kind, " said Jean firmly. "What sicknesswas it you had, anyway?" "Measles, " said Alan, looking ashamed of it. "Measles!" shouted Sandy. "That's naught but a baby disease. Mylittle sister had that. Sal, but I've had worse things the matterwith me! I've had the fever, and once I cut my toe with the axe!" "Hold your tongue, Sandy, " said Jean, "and dinna boast! If Alan'shad measles he can't go back to the castle barefoot; so you mustjust be stepping yourself, and stop by at the castle to tellEppie McLean that Alan will bide here till his things are dry. " Sandy rose reluctantly and set down his empty mug. "Well, then, if I must, I must, " he said, and started off down thehill whistling. V. EVENING IN THE WEE BIT HOOSIE When he was out of sight, Jean brought in the washing and then itwas time to get supper. Alan helped set the table and kept thefire bright under the pot, while Jock fed the hens and brought inthe eggs; and when the Shepherd and Tam returned from the hills, you can imagine how surprised they were to find three childrenwaiting for them instead of two. At supper the Shepherd had to betold all the adventures of the day and how it happened that Alanwas wearing the kilts, and by the time it was over you would havethought they had known each other all their lives. While Jeancleared away the dishes, the Shepherd drew his chair to the fireand beckoned Alan to him. "Come here, laddie, " he said, "and give us a look at yourplaidie. It's been lying there in the kist, and I've not seen asight of it since I was a lad. It's the Campbell plaid, ye ken, and I mind once when I was a lad I was on my way home from thekirk and a hare crossed my path. It's ill luck for a hare tocross your path, and fine I proved it. I clean forgot it was theSabbath and louped the dyke after him. My kiltie caught on astone, and there I was hanging upside down. My father loosed me, but my kiltie was torn and I had to go to bed without my supperfor breaking the Sabbath. " "Is the hole there yet?" asked Jean. "Na, na;" said the Shepherd. "You didn't think your grandmotherwas such a thriftless wifie as that! She mended the hole so thatyou could never find where it had been. " He examined fold after fold carefully. "There, now, " he exclaimed at last, "if you want to see mendingthat would make you proud to wear it, look at that. " Jean and Jock stuck their heads over his shoulder, and Alantwisted himself nearly in two trying to see his own back. "We have a plaid a good deal like this, " said Alan, lookingclosely at the pattern. "My mother's name was McGregor, but shehas relations named Campbell. " "Are you really a Scotch body, then?" cried Robin with newinterest in Alan. "I thought you were an English boy. " "I live in London, " Alan answered, "but my mother's people areall Scotch, and she loves Scotland. That's one reason why shesent me up here to be with Eppie McLean. " "Losh, mannie, " cried the Shepherd, "if you have Campbellrelatives and your mother's name was McGregor, it's likely youare a descendant from old Rob Roy himself, and if so, we're allkinsmen. Inversnaid, where Rob Roy's cave is, is but a few milesfrom here, and it was in this very country that he hid himselfamong rocks and caves, giving to the poor with his left hand whathe took from the rich with his right. Well, well, laddie, theold clans are scattered now, but blood is thicker than waterstill, and you're welcome to the fireside of your kinsman!" "Is he really a relation?" cried Jean and Jock eagerly. "Well, " said the Scotchman cautiously, "I'm not saying he isprecisely, but I'm not saying he is not, either. The Campbellsand the McGregors have lived in these parts for better than twohundred years, and it's not likely that Alan could lay claim toboth names and be no relation at all. If there were still clans, as there used to be in the old days, we'd all belong to the sameone, and that I do not doubt. " "I'm sure I'd like that, " said Alan, and Jock was so delightedwith his new relative that he stood on his head in the middle ofthe floor to express his feelings. When the excitement had dieddown a bit, Alan drew his stool up beside the Shepherd's knee andsaid: "Won't you please tell us about Rob Roy, Cousin Campbell?If he's an ancestor of mine, I ought to know more about him. " "Oh, do, Father, " echoed the Twins, planting their stools besidethe other knee. Even Tam was interested. He sat on the hearth infront of the Shepherd, looking up into his face as if heunderstood every word. The Shepherd gazed thoughtfully into the fire for a moment; then hesaid: "I can tell you what my grandsire told me, and he got it fromhis grandsire, so it must be true. In the beginning Rob Roy was asstaunch a man as any, and held his own property like other gentlemen. Craig Royston was the name of his place, and fine and proud he was ofit, too. He was a gey shrewd man in the cattle-dealing, and hisneighbor, the Duke of Montrose, thinking to benefit his own estate, lent Rob money to set him up in the trade. There was a pawky rascalnamed McDonald who was partner to Rob, and didn't he run away with themoney, leaving Rob in debt to the Duke and nothing to pay him with?The Duke foreclosed on Rob at once, and took away Craig Royston andadded it to his own estate. You can well believe that Rob was not theman to take such dealings with patience. If the Duke had not been sohasty, Rob would more than likely have got hold of McDonald and madehim pay either out of his purse or out of his skin, but he did neitherthe one nor the other. Instead he left his home and took his clan withhim into the mountains and became the terror of the wholecountry-side. " "Wasn't he a good man?" asked Jean, gazing at her father withround eyes. "Well, " said the Shepherd, "not just what you'd call pious, maybe, and it cannot be said that he was aye regular at the kirk. It's true he never forgot an enemy, but he never forgot akindness either and was loyal and true to them that were true tohim. " "What did he do when they weren't true to him?" asked Jock. "He made them wish they had been, " replied the Shepherd mildly. "But what made the Duke of Montrose take away Craig Royston?"asked Jock. "Didn't he have a great big place of his own?" "Aye, " answered Robin, "but what difference does that make? Themore land he had, the more land he wanted, the same as otherlairds. Be that as it may, Craig Royston was certainly taken awayfrom Rob, and a bitter man it made of him. " "Why, it's just like ourselves and the Auld Laird, " cried Jean. "He's going to take away our home from us!" "It's not just the same, little woman, " said the Shepherd, layinghis big brown hand on Jean's small one on his knee. "But the lossof it hurts just the same. Rob Roy loved Craig Royston no betterthan we love this wee bit hoosie. " "But why must you go, then?" asked Alan, his eyes shining withinterest and sympathy. "You see; lad, " answered the Shepherd, "it's like the tale of thedog in the manger. The Auld Laird will neither use the land norlet us. " He explained about the lease, and when he had finished, Alan said, "But what will you do when you leave this place?" "I'm spiering the same question myself, " answered the Shepherd. "As yet I dinna ken. " "I tell you what, " shouted Jock, springing to his feet andknocking over his stool. "Why don't we live in the caves the wayRob Roy did? If the Crumpets and all the people who have to giveup their homes should band together in a clan and hide themselvesin the glen, the Auld Laird could send all the Mr. Craigies andAngus Niels in the world after us and they'd never get us!" The Shepherd smiled and shook his head. "The time for that hasgone by, " he said sadly. "Na, na, we must just submit. But onething I do know, and that is, we'll not seek a place with theLaird of Kinross. They say he will let his land to none butmembers of the Established Church, and I'll not give up myreligion for any man not if I'm forever walking the world!" "But come, now, " he went on, seeing them downcast, "you all havefaces on you as long as a summer Sabbath. Cheer up, and I'll tellyou a tale my grandfather told me of the water cow of Loch Leven. You mind the song says, 'The Campbells are coming from bonnieLoch Leven. ' Well, it was around that loch that the Campbellspastured their cattle. One day when my grandsire was a young ladhe was playing with some other children on the pastures near theshore, when all of a sudden what should they see among their owncows but a fine young dun-colored heifer without any horns. Shewas lying by herself on the green grass, chewing her cud andlooking so gentle and pretty that the children played around herwithout fear. They wound a wreath of daisies and put it on herneck, and then they got on her back. The cow stretched out longerand longer to make room for them until they were all on her backexcept my grandsire. Then all of a sudden the dun cow rose up, first on her hind legs, tipping the children all forward, andthen on her forelegs tipping them all back ward, yet no one felloff at all, and when she was up on her feet, didn't she startstraight away for the deep waters of the loch? The childrenscreamed and tried to get off her back, but no matter how hardthey tried, there they stuck. My grandsire ran screaming towardthem, and put up his hand to pull them down, and his fingertouched the dun cow's back! Now never believe me, if his fingerdidn't stick so he could not pull it away, and by that he knewthe dun heifer for a water cow and that she had bewitched thechildren. He was being dragged along with them toward the water, when all of a sudden he slipped out his knife and with one blowchopped off his own finger and he was wanting that finger tillthe day of his death. " "What became of the others?" gasped Alan, his black eyes glowinglike coals. "They went on the dun cow's back into the lake, and the waterclosed over them and they were never seen again, " said theShepherd, "and that's the end of the tale. " While the Shepherd talked, the twilight had deepened intodarkness, the fire had died down, and the corners of the roomwere filled with mysterious tricky shadows that danced with theflickering flames on the hearth. Jean looked fearfully over hershoulder. There was a creepy feeling in the back of her neck, andJock's eyes were as round as door-knobs. The Shepherd laughed atthem. "Good children have little to fear from the fairy folk, " he said. "Come, now, your eyes are fair sticking out of your heads. I'llgive you a skirl on the bagpipes if Jeanie'll bring them from thecloset. Jock, stir up the fire, and Alan, give your clothes aturn and see if they are drying. " The children ran to do these errands, and in a moment the firewas flaming gayly up the chimney, chasing the murky shadows outof the corners and making the room bright and cheerful again, while the Shepherd, tucking the bag under his arm, stirred theechoes on old Ben Vane with the wild strains of "Bonnie Doon" and"Over the Water to Charlie. " At last he struck up the music ofthe Highland Fling, and the three children sprang to the middleof the floor and danced the wild Scotch dance together. Just as the fun was at its height, and Alan, looking veryhandsome in his kilts, was doing the heel and toe with greatenergy, there came a loud rap at the door. Instantly everythingstopped, just as short as Cinderella's ball did when the clockstruck twelve, and the Shepherd, laying aside his bagpipes, opened the door. There stood a man with a bundle on his arm. "Eppie McLean sent these clothes to the lad, " he said, handingthe bundle to the Shepherd, "and he's to come back along withme. " Alan took the bundle, thanked the man, and disappeared withJock into "the room, " where he changed his clothes, returning thekilts, with regret, to Jock. "I've had just a grand day, " he saidto Jean and the Shepherd as he shook hands and took leave of themin the kitchen afterward. "I'll be back to-morrow for myclothes. " "Come back and play then, " said Jock. When he was gone, Jean folded the kilts away in the closet again. "He's a fine braw laddie, " said the Shepherd. "Aye, " said Jock. "He had two suits of clothes, one as good asthe other, but he was not proud. " "I wonder what his father's work is, " said Jean. "He never spoke of his father at all, just his mother, " saidJock, and at that moment the wag-at-the-wall clock struck nine. "Havers!" said Jean. "Look at the hour, Jock Campbell! Get you toyour bed. " VI. TWO DISCOVERIES That night Jock dreamed of water cows, and clans dressed inkilts, and when Sandy appeared the next morning, his head wasstill buzzing with wild schemes of adventure. "Come awa', Sandy, " he said, "let's explore. We'll go up the burnand see if we can't find out where it begins. " "What'll we do for lunch?" asked Sandy, who was practical. "Ibrought a scone with me--but it'll never be enough for two. " "Ho!" said Jock. "If Rob Roy and all his men could live in cavesall the time and take care of themselves, I guess we can do itfor one day. We can fish, and maybe we might find some birds'eggs. I'm not afraid. " "What about Alan?" asked Jean. "If he comes to play, tell him to follow us right up the burn andkeep whistling the pewit's call three times over, and if we don'tsee him, we'll hear him, " said Jock. "There's no danger of notfinding us if he follows the water, " and he and Sandy set forthat once. Jean had finished her work and was wondering what to do with thelong day which stretched before her, when Alan came running upthe hill and burst into the kitchen. "Look here what I've got, Jean, " he said, thumping a parcel downon the kitchen table and tearing it open. "Eppie put this up forme. " Jean looked and there was a whole pound of bacon, three bigscones, and a dozen eggs. "Save us!" cried Jean, clasping herhands in admiration. "What will you do with it all?" "I'll show you!" said Alan. "Where's Jock?" "He and Sandy have gone up the burn, exploring, " said Jean. "Theysaid you were to follow, and if you didn't find them, keepwhistling the pewit's call three times till they answered you. " "What is the pewit's call?" asked Alan. "Michty me!" said Jean. "Think of not knowing that!" She pursedup her lips and whistled "Pee-wit, pee-wit, pee-wit. " "You see, we don't have them in London;" Alan apologeticallyexplained, "unless it's in the Zoo; but I say, Jean, aren't youcoming, too? You're as good as a boy any day. Come along!" "All right, " said Jean. "I wanted to dreadfully. I'll get abasket for the lunch. " She went to the closet and brought out abasket which her father had made out of split willow twigs, packed the lunch in it, and off they started. They passed the place where the fish-bones were buried, and thespot where Alan had fallen into the water the day before, andthen plunged into the deep pine forest which filled the glen andcovered the mountain-sides. The pine-needles lay thick on theground, and above them the pine boughs waved in the breeze, making a soft sighing sound, "like a giant breathing, " Jean said. The silence deepened as they went farther and farther into thewoods. There was only the purring of the water, the occasionalsnapping of a twig, or the lonely cry of a bird to break thestillness. It was dark, too, except where the sunshine, breakingthrough the thick branches overhead, made spots of golden lightupon the pine-needles. "It's almost solemn; isn't it?" said Jean to Alan in a hushedvoice. "I was never so far in the woods before. " "I wonder which side of the burn the boys went. If we shouldtake the wrong side, we might not find them, " said Alan. "Let's whistle, " said Jean. She puckered her lips and gave thepewit call, but there was no answer. "Perhaps they didn't hear it because the burn makes such a noise. It keeps growing louder and louder, " said Alan. Whistling and listening for an answer at every few steps, theyclimbed over rocks and fallen trees, keeping as close as possibleto the stream, until suddenly they found themselves gazing up ata beautiful waterfall which came gushing from a pile of giantrocks reaching up among the topmost boughs of the pines. "Oh, it's bonny! but how shall we get up?" cried Jean. "We must just find a way, " said Alan. "It's a grand place for robbers andpoachers, " said Jean, looking fearsomely at the cliffs stretchingfar above them. "Angus Niel says the forests are full of them. " "I'd as soon meet a poacher as Angus Niel himself, " said Alan, laughing, "but I'm not afraid as long as you're with me. It'sAngus that's afraid of you, Jock says. " Jean laughed too. "I'm not afraid when I'm in my own kitchen, butit's different in the woods, " she said. Alan had been nosing around among the rocks as they talked, getting nearer and nearer to the fall, and now he suddenlydisappeared, and for a few moments Jean was quite alone in thewoods. Soon Alan reappeared from behind the fall itself andbeckoned her to follow him. Jean was looking at the wall of rock which loomed above them. "Sal!" she remarked, "we'll be needing wings to get up there, orwe'll smash all the eggs for sure. " For answer Alan popped out of sight again behind the fall, andJean, following closely in his wake, was just in time to catchsight of his legs as he dived into a hole opening into the rockywall. The cliff from which the water plunged overhung the rocksbelow in such a way that she could pass behind the veil of waterwithout getting wet at all. Into this mysterious opening behind the fall Jean followed herleader, and found herself climbing a narrow dry channel throughwhich the stream had once forced its way. It was a hard, roughscramble up a narrow passage worn by the water and through holesalmost too small to squeeze through, but at last she saw Alan'sheels just disappearing over the edge of a jutting rock and knewthey were coming out into daylight again. An instant later Alan'shead appeared in the opening, his hand reached down to help herup, and with one last effort she came out upon an open ledge andlooked about her. She could not help an exclamation of delight at what she saw. Therock was so high that they could look out over the treetops clearto the slope where the little gray house stood. The waterfall, plunging from a still higher level, made a barrier on one side ofthem, and on the other side the cliff rose, a sheer wall of rock. Between the wall of water and the wall of rock there was a caveextending into the solid rock for a distance of about twentyfeet. There was absolutely no way of reaching this fastnessexcept through the hidden stair, and one might wander for yearsthrough the forest and never see it at all. "Oh, " exclaimed Jean, "it's wonderful! How Jock will love thisplace! Don't you believe this very cave was used by Rob Roy andhis men?" and Alan, swelling with pride to think he had found itall himself, said yes, he was sure of it. "I tell you what we'll do, " cried Alan, a minute later. "We'lljust leave the basket here in the cave, and when we've found theboys we'll come back and have our lunch here. " They tucked the basket away out of sight on a rocky shelf in thecave, and found their way down the steep rough stairway to thebed of the stream again and, making a wide detour, came out abovethe fall. They struggled on for nearly a mile farther stillwithout finding any trace of the boys, and were beginning to bediscouraged, when they saw a break in the trees with glimpses ofblue sky beyond, and a few moments later came out upon the shoresof a tiny mountain lake, shining like a beautiful blue jewel inthe dark setting of the pine trees on its banks. Beyond the lake the purple peaks of higher mountains made aragged outline against the sky. The sun was now almost directlyoverhead; the waters of the lake were still, and its lovelyshores were mirrored on the placid surface. A great eagle soaredin stately circles in the deep blue sky. It was so beautiful andso still that the children stood a moment among the rocks wherethe tarn emptied itself into the mountain stream to look at it. "It's just the place for a water cow, or a horse maybe, " Jeanwhispered to Alan. "Sh!" was Alan's only reply. He seized Jean's hand and dragged heardown behind a rock and pointed toward the south. There, coming out ofthe woods, was a beautiful stag. It poised its noble head, and sniffedthe air, as if it suspected there might be human beings about, andthen stepped daintily to the lake-shore and bent to drink. Its lipshad scarcely touched the water when the children were startled by theloud report of a gun. "Poachers, " gasped Jean, hiding her face and wishing they hadnever come. "Oh, where are Jock and Sandy?" Her only thought wasto make herself as small as possible and keep out of sight behindthe rocks, but Alan peered through the screen of bushes which hidthe rock and made violent gestures to Jean to make her look, too. Jean crawled on her hands and knees to Alan's side, and when shelooked, what she saw made her so angry that she would have sprungto her feet if Alan had not held her down with a fierce grip. Thestag was lying by the lake-shore, and a man with the muzzle ofhis gun still smoking was running toward it from the woods. Theman was Angus Niel! Jean was so astonished that for an instant she could not believeher own eyes. The two children flattened themselves out on theirstomachs and watched him pull a boat from its hiding-place amongsome bushes on the shore, paddle quietly to the spot where thedead stag lay, and load it swiftly into the boat. Then he racedback to the woods again and reappeared, carrying a string of deadrabbits. These also he crowded into the boat, and then, taking upthe oars, rowed across the lake to a landing-place on the otherside. The children watched him, scarcely breathing in theirexcitement, until he had unloaded his game from the boat anddisappeared into the woods, dragging the body of the stag afterhim. In a few moments he came back for the rabbits and, havingdisposed of them in the same mysterious way, returned to theboat. Then Jean exploded in a fierce whisper. "The old thief!" shesaid, shaking her fist after him. "He's the poacher himself!That's why he never brings any one before the bailie, though he'salways telling about catching them at it! And he making such afuss because Jock chased the rabbit that was eating up ourgarden! Oh, oh, oh!" She clutched Alan and shook him in her boiling indignation. Alanlaughed and shook her back. "I didn't do it, you littlespitfire!" he whispered, and Jean moaned, "Oh, I know it, Alan, but I can't catch him and I'm so angry I've just got to dosomething to somebody. " "Do you know what that old thief does?" said Alan. "He sendsthat game down to the city--to Glasgow, or Edinburgh, or evenLondon, maybe--and gets a lot of money for it! No wonder he tellsbig stories to make people afraid to go into the woods. " "I hope he won't meet the boys, " moaned Jean. "Jock would be sureto let his tongue loose, and then maybe he'd shoot him too!" "Listen, " said Alan. He gave the pewit's call and waited. It wasanswered from a point so near that they were startled. Theylooked in every direction but saw nothing of the boys. "Maybe it was a real pewit after all, " whispered Jean, but justthen a tiny pebble struck Alan's cap, and, looking around in thedirection from which it came, he saw two freckled faces rise upfrom behind the rock on the opposite side of the spring. "There they are, " he said, punching Jean and pointing; "they cameup the other side of the burn. " Then, making a cup of his hands, he called across the stream, "Did you see him?" The boys nodded. "Slip back as fast as you can down that side of the burn, " Alansaid, "and we'll meet at the fall. Wait at the foot if you getthere first. We've got something to show you. Whist, and bequick, for he'll be coming back before long, and this way like asnot. " Jock and Sandy nodded and disappeared, and Alan and Jean, springing from their hiding-place, hurried as fast as they coulddown their side of the stream to the trysting-place. VII. THE CLAN When Jean and Alan reached the waterfall, they found Jock and Sandythere before them. "Come over to our side, " Alan called. The two boysran further down stream and crossed the brook on stones which stoodout of the water, and in a moment more were back again at the foot ofthe fall. "What have you got to show us?" demanded Jock. "I hope it'ssomething to eat. " Jock had bitterly regretted his morningdecision to find his food in the forest. The scone which Sandyhad brought from home had been divided and eaten long ago; andall four of the children were now so hungry that they could thinkof nothing else, not even of Angus Niel and their adventures bythe lake. Alan looked cautiously around in every direction. "Follow me, andkeep quiet tongues in your heads, " he said. Then he disappearedunder the fall, and Jean instantly followed him. For a momentJock and Sandy were as mystified as Jean had been when Alan firstfound the secret stairway, but it was not long before they, too, saw the hole in the rock, plunged in and, following the windingpassage-way, came out upon the top of the rock. "There, " said Alan, beaming with pride, as he displayed hiswonderful lair, "doesn't this beat Robinson Crusoe all to pieces?If he had found a place like this on his desert island, hewouldn't have had to build a stockade or anything. " "It's one of the very caves where Rob Roy hid! I'm sure of it, "Jock declared with conviction, and Sandy was so overcome withadmiration that he turned a back somersault and almost upsetJean, who was coming out of the cave with the basket on her arm. "You see, " said Alan, "we could stay here a week if we had foodenough, and never come down at all. All we'd have to do for waterwould be to hold a pan under the edge of the fall. There's no wayof getting up here except by the secret stair, and that's noteasy to find. There never was such a place for fun. " Sandy had righted himself by this time and was gazingecstatically at the basket, which Jean had begun to unpack. "Losh!" he cried. "Look, Jock! Bacon and eggs and scones! Oh, myword!" Jock gave one look and whooped for joy. "Keep still, " said Alan. "Angus may be coming back this way, andhe has a gun with him. We're safe enough up here, if we keepquiet, but if you go howling around like that, he'll surely huntfor the noise. " For a moment they kept quiet and listened, but there was no soundexcept the noise of the falling waters. "Huh!" Sandy snorted, "hecouldn't hear anything, anyway. The roar of the fall hides allthe other noises. " "Oh, let's eat!" begged Jock, caressing his empty stomach andgazing longingly at the food. "You can't eat now, " said Jean; "the food must be cooked first, and what shall we do for a fire?" "We could make one right here on the rock, " said Alan, "if we hadsomething to burn. I've got matches. " "We'll have to get twigs and dry pine-needles and brokenbranches, " said Jock, "and bring them up the secret stair, thoughit'll be hard work getting them through the narrow places. Weought to have a rope. We could pull a basketful up over the edgeof the rock as easy as nothing. " "We'll bring a rope next time, " said Alan. "Hurry! I'm starving!" The three boys disappeared down the secret stair, and while theywere gone, Jean found loose stones, with which she made a supportfor the frying-pan around a space for the fire. The boys weresoon back with plenty of small fuel, and in a short time a brightfire was blazing on the rock and there was a wonderful smell offrying bacon in the air. The boys sat cross-legged around thefire, while Jean turned the bacon and broke the eggs into thesputtering fat. "You look just exactly like Tam watching the rabbit-hole, "laughed Jean. "I wonder you don't paw the ground and bark!" At last the scones were handed out, each one laden with a sliceof bacon and a fried egg, and there was blissful silence for somemoments. "Oh, aren't you glad you didn't die of the measles and missthis?" Sandy said to Alan, rolling over on his back and wavinghis legs in the air as he finished his third egg. Alan's mouthwas too full for a reply other than a cordial grunt. "Why, Sandy Crumpet!" exclaimed Jean, reprovingly, "don't youbelieve heaven is nicer than Scotland?" "Maybe it is, " Sandy admitted, doubtfully, "but I like thisbetter than sitting around playing on harps and trumpets the waythe angels do. " "Sandy Crumpet played the trumpet, " howled Jock in derision. "Indeed and indeed, Sandy, I like this better than having to hearyou. " Then, before Sandy could think of an answer a memory of thecatechism crossed his mind, and he added as afterthought, "How doyou ken you're one of the elect, anyway, Sandy Crumpet? If you'renot, you'd not be playing on any trumpets, or harps either, butlike as not frying in the hot place like that bacon there. " Sandy rushed to the defense of his character. "I'm just as electas you are, Jock Campbell, " he said. This time Jock had no answer ready, and Jean reproved them both. "Shame on you!" she said. "You'll neither one of you get so muchas a taste of heaven, I doubt, and you talking like that. " "Where will Angus Niel be going, then, when he dies?" asked Jock. "I don't just mind whether there's a chance for thieves, but theBible says drunkards and such-like stand no chance at all. " "It's not for us to judge, " said Jean primly, "but I have myopinion. " Alan had been busily eating during this conversation, and now hejoined in. "I say, " he began, "I'm not worrying about what willbecome of Angus Niel after he's dead. I want to know what's goingto be done with him right now. We're the only ones that knowabout this. Are we just going to keep whist, or shall we tell onhim?" "Let's tell on him!" shouted Sandy. "Who'll you be telling?" said Jean with some scorn. "Why, the bailie, maybe, or the Auld Laird himself, " said Sandy. "Havers!" said Jean. "You're a braw lad to go hobnobbing withthe bailie. He'll not believe you, anyway; he's a friend of Angushimself, and, as for the Auld Laird, how would you get hold ofhim at all, and he far away in London?" Sandy subsided, crushed, and then Jock had a bright idea. "I tellyou what we'll do, " he cried, springing to his feet. "Let's havea clan, like Rob Roy, and we'll just badger the life out of AngusNiel. We'll never let him know who we are, but keep kim foreverstepping and give him no rest. If he thinks somebody's followinghim up all the time, he'll not sleep easy o' nights!" This suggestion was greeted with riotous applause. "He'd notsleep easy if he knew Jean was after him, I'll go bail, " laughedAlan. "Hooray!" shouted Sandy, waving his legs frantically. "What shallwe call it?" "Let's call it the Rob Roy Clan, " said Alan. "Hooray!" roared Sandy again. "If we're a Clan, we'll have to have a chief, " said Jean, "and ifthe Chief bids us do anything, we'll just have to do it. That'sthe way it was in the real Rob Roy Clan. Father said so. " "Jock thought of it first. Let him be Chief, " said Alan. "No!" cried Jean promptly. "Are you thinking I'll put my head ina bag like that, and he my own brother? 'Deed, I'd never get alick of work out of him on Saturday if I did! Na, na, lads!Whoever's Chief, it won't be Jock. " "Maybe you'd like to be the Chief yourself, " retorted Jock, "butit's enough to be bossed by you at home! Besides, whoever heardof a girl being Chief, anyway?" "Alan can be Chief, " said Jean, and so the matter was settled. "If I'm Chief, " said Alan, "you'll all have to swear an oath offealty to me. " "What's an oath of fealty?" Jock demanded suspiciously, and Jeanadded in a shocked voice, "Alan, you'd never be asking us to takethe name of the Lord in vain!" "It's not that kind of an oath, " laughed Alan. "You just have tovow to obey the Chief in everything. " Then an idea popped intohis head. "In a real Clan they are all kinsmen, but here's Sandy, and he's neither Campbell nor McGregor. We'll have to make ablood brother of him before he can join. " "What's a blood brother? How do you make 'em?" asked Sandy. "I'll show you, " said Alan. He drew his knife from his pocket andwhile the other three watched him in breathless admiration, hemade a little cut in his wrist and immediately passed the knifeto Jock. "You do the same, " he commanded. Jock obeyed his Chief and passed the knife to Jean, who promptlyfollowed his example. "Now, Sandy, " said Alan. Sandy hated the sight of blood, and he was a little pale underhis freckles as he shut his eyes and jabbed himself gingerly withthe point. Then Alan took a drop of blood from each wrist andmingled them with a drop from Sandy's. "Now, Sandy, " he said, as he stirred the compound into a gorypaste, "you repeat after me, 'My foot is on my native heath, myname it is McGregor. '" Sandy obeyed with solemnity, and, thisimportant ceremony over, Alan pronounced him a member of the Clanin good and regular standing. Then, by the Chief's orders, Jean, Jock, and Sandy, each in turnplaced their hands under Alan's hand, while they promised to obeyhim without question in all matters pertaining to the Clan. "Only, " said Jean, "you mustn't tell us to do anything wrong. " "I won't, " promised Alan. And so the Rob Roy Clan came intobeing. Alan took command at once. "We must have a sign, " he said. "Justlike Clan Alpine in 'The Lady of the Lake. ' Go, my henchmen, " hecried, striking a noble attitude, and waving his hand toward theforest, "bring hither sprays of the Evergreen Pine, and we'llstick 'em in our bonnets just like Roderick Dhu and his men. Roderick Vich Alpine Dhu, ho! iero!" The two boys instantly disappeared down the hole in the rock onthis errand, leaving Jean and Alan to guard the cave. VIII. THE POACHERS While all these things were happening, Angus Niel had returnedfrom his errand across the little lake, and was making his wayslowly toward home, following the course of the stream. As hecame near the fall he stopped and sniffed. There was certainly amost appetizing smell of bacon in the air! "It can't be!" he said aloud to himself. He sniffed again, andhis face turned purple with rage. "Meat, " he snorted, "as I live!The bold rascals! Poaching in broad daylight and cooking theirgame right under my nose!" It wasn't under his nose at all, ofcourse, for the rock was far above him, and it wasn't gameeither. "I'll soon cure them of that trick, " he muttered, as he climbedsilently over the rocks and gazed searchingly about. It was notlong before he caught sight of a thin curl of blue smoke risingfrom the top of the rock. "Aha!" he growled under his breath, "I've got you now, my boldgentlemen! I'll teach you to flaunt your thefts in the face ofthe Laird's own gamekeeper, once I get my hands on you!" At oncehe began nosing about the rocks in search of the path by whichthe poachers had climbed the cliff. Meanwhile Sandy and Jock had found the sprays of the EvergreenPine and were on their way back to the cave with them, when Jocksuddenly seized Sandy by the arm and ducked down behind aboulder. There, not a hundred feet away, stood Angus Niel gazingup at the top of the rock! His back was toward them, and thenoise of the waterfall had drowned out the sound of voices, orthey surely would not have escaped his notice. As it was, theyslipped behind the fall, whisked into the hole, and beganclimbing the secret stair like two frightened squirrels. Aninstant later they startled Alan and Jean, who were in the cave, by dashing in after them on all fours. "What on earth is the matter?" cried Jean. "Matter, indeed!" gasped Jock, out of breath. "Angus Niel is downthere, and he's seen the smoke! He almost saw us, but we justgave him the slip and got by. " "Keep out of sight, all of you, " commanded the Chief, "and leavehim to me. " The obedient Clan flattened themselves against the back of thecave, while Alan crept to the edge of the rock on his stomachlike a lizard, and, lying there, was able to peep through thethick screen of leaves and see what was going on below. Thegamekeeper was still scrambling over the rocks and looking, asAlan said afterward, "for all the world like a dog who had lostthe trail and was trying to find it again. " As the lookout was well screened, Alan soon allowed the rest ofthe Clan to join him, and Angus Niel little guessed, as heprowled about over the rocks, that every move was watched fromabove. Despairing of finding the path, he decided at last to getup a tree and make an observation. He selected a large pine whichgrew near the cave and began to climb. So long as he stood on the ground, the children knew it wasimpossible for Angus to see them, but when he began to climb, they scuttled back into the cave as fast as they could go. Climbing is hard work for a fat man, and the gamekeeper foundhimself covered with pitch before he had gone more than halfwayup, but he puffed on in spite of difficulties and at last reacheda point from which he could look directly across the surface ofthe rock, but from which the cave was entirely hidden behind aprojection in the wall of the cliff. Angus saw what he supposed to be the whole shelf of the rock, andhe saw that there was no one there. He could see the fire and thefrying-pan, the egg shells lying about, and even the portion ofbacon that Jean had not cooked. They were all in full view, butapparently the poachers had gone away into the woods, leavingtheir airy camp deserted. There was no one there; of that hefelt, certain. "I'll just give'em a surprise, " thought the gamekeeper tohimself. "If they found a way up, I can, too. I'll help myself toa snack of that bacon, and if they come back and find me--well, Ihave my gun with me and I don't like being interrupted at mymeals. " He backed down the tree like a fat cat, and made a desperatesearch for the path, and this time he actually succeeded infinding it. He chuckled to himself as he plunged into the passageand began to climb. He had gone about a third of the way up, whenhe reached the narrowest point of the channel and tried to forcehimself through, but the space was so small that no matter howmuch he tried, he could not get by. His gun was in his way too, but he could not leave it below, as that would be putting it intothe hands of the poachers if they should return too soon. In vain he twisted and squirmed, he could get no farther, andmoreover he was afraid the gun might go off by accident in hisstruggles. When he found that he could not possibly go up, hedecided to go down; but he found, to his horror, that he couldn'tdo that either. There he stuck, and an angrier man than AngusNiel it would have been hard to find. A projecting rock punchedhim in the stomach, and when he pressed back against the rockbehind him, to free himself, he scraped the skin off his back. Casting prudence to the winds, he howled with pain and rage, andthe sound, carried up through the narrow passage, echoed in thecave like the roar of a lion. The children, meanwhile, had kept in hiding, and when they heardthese blood-curdling sounds, they at first did not know whatcaused them, because, of course, they could not see what washappening below, but they knew very soon that they were not madeby a wild animal because wild animals do not swear. "It's Angus, stuck in the secret stairway, " Alan said, smotheringhis laughter. "He's too fat to get through!" He crept to the edgeand peeped down the hole. There, far below, he could see the topof Angus's head and the muzzle of his gun. The Chief was a boy of great presence of mind. He backed hastilyaway from the hole and ran to the fall, snatching up the pan ashe passed. This he filled with water and, rushing back, heinstantly sent a small deluge down upon the head of the haplessAngus. The gamekeeper was dumbfounded by this new attack. Had he notwith his own eyes seen that the rocky shelf was empty? How, then, could this thing be? He rolled his eyes upward, but there was noone in sight. He had heard all his life tales of witches andwater cows, of spells cast upon people by fairies, of their beingborne away by them into mountain caverns and held as prisonersfor years and years; and he made up his mind that such a fate hadnow befallen him. Firmly convinced that he was the victim of enchantment, he becamepalsied with terror, arid began to plead with the unseentormentors who he believed held him in thrall. "Only leave meloose, dear good little people, " he howled, "and I'll never, never trouble you more!" At this point Alan, shaking with mirth, sent down another panfulof water, and Angus, redoubling his efforts, wrenched himselffree, scraping off quantities of skin as he did so. They couldhear him scuttling down the secret stair as fast as his legswould carry him, and when he emerged below, they watched himhurry away through the forest, casting fearful glances over hisshoulder as he ran. Alan made a hollow of his two hands and sentafter him a wild note, like the wailing of a banshee. "Angus Niel, Angus Niel, " rose the piercing note, "bring back mybeautiful stag, my stag that lived by the tarn!" As the sound reached his ears, Angus redoubled his speed, andthey could hear him crashing through the underbrush as if thedevil himself were really at his heels. When the sounds died away in the distance, the Rob Roy Clanrolled on the floor of the cave with laughter. "There!" said Alan, as he sat up and wiped his eyes. "That'll fixAngus Niel! We've scared him out of a year's growth, and he'llnever dare meddle with this place again. Come on, now. It's timeto go home, but to-morrow we'll come back and fix this place upin a way that would make Robinson Crusoe green with envy. " They carefully put water on the ashes of their fire, stuck thesprigs of Evergreen Pine in their bonnets, and sped down thesecret stairway and home. IX. A RAINY DAY The next morning, as she was finishing the beds, Jean heard thepewit call and at once knew that the Clan was abroad. She ran tothe door, and the three boys came in together, --Jock from thegarden, where he had been pulling weeds in the potato-patch, andSandy and Alan from the road. They were carrying a large basket, and Sandy was laden down with a coil of rope in addition. "What have you got there?" demanded Jean. "Stores for the Cave, " said Alan, "and a rope to let down fromthe rock. Come on; let's go as soon as we can, for it looks likerain and we've got a lot to do to get the cave ready for wetweather. " "Where did you get 'em?" asked Jock, eyeing the basket withinterest and wondering what was inside. "Oh, " said Alan, "I just asked Eppie. She lets me have anything Iwant. My mother told her to stuff me while I'm here, and if Itake the food off to the woods with me she doesn't have to cookit at home, so she's suited, and I am, too. " Jean hastily gathered together a few cooking utensils, and a fewminutes later the four set forth, carrying the provisions and wearingproudly in their bonnets the sprig of pine, the insignia of the Clan. The sky was downcast and the woods seemed dark and gloomy as theymade their way toward the waterfall. "What'll we do if it rains?" cried Sandy. "It's no such finething just sitting still in a cave. " "I've a plan in my head, " said the Chief. "Wait and see. " As they reached the fall, Alan sent Sandy and Jock to gatherwood, while Jean guarded the basket at the foot of the rock andhe himself darted up the secret stairway with the rope. From thetop he let down the rope and Jean fastened it through the handlesof the basket. Alan then drew it up, emptied the contents, andsent back the basket for the wood which Sandy and Jock had bythat time collected. They all worked as swiftly as possible, for the woods weregrowing darker and darker every minute and they could now hearthe roll of thunder above the noise of the waterfall. They hadgathered and sent up six basketfuls, when the rain came splashingdown in earnest, and the Clan scrambled up the secret stair andinto the cave for shelter. Alan had piled the wood in the cave asfast as he had pulled it up, and there was now a fine pile of dryfuel. "Sandy, you build the fire, " commanded the Chief, seating himselfon the wood-pile. "The rain will put it out, " said Sandy. "Make it in the cave, " said Alan. "Then the smoke will put us out, " cried Jean. "Try it and see, " said Alan. "We can't have lunch without a fire, for I've brought mealy puddings. " "Mealy puddings!" cried Sandy, licking his lips, and he went towork with a will. Fortunately the wind blew from the east, sothey were not absolutely choked by the smoke, and soon the firewas burning briskly; making a spot of flaming color against thedark background of the cave. Jock ran to the fall and filled thepan with water, and soon the mealy puddings were bobbing merrilyabout in the boiling water, while the boys, snug and safe in theshelter of the cave, watched the boughs of the pine trees swayingin the wind and waited for Jean to tell them that dinner wasready. She could cook but one thing at a time over the fire, butit was not long before the feast was spread, and they fell towith appetites that caused the food to disappear like dew beforethe morning sun. "Losh!" said Sandy, rolling over with his feet to the fire, whenhe could eat no more, "I thought you said you had a rainy dayplan, Chief. " "So I have, " said Alan, drawing a little book from his pocket. "I'm going to read to you. " Sandy glanced at the book. "Not poetry, Chief!" he said withalarm. "Surely you don't mean that!" "It isn't just poetry, " said Alan. "It's a story about RoderickDhu and Clan Alpine, and hunting deer in these very mountains. You'll like it, I know. " Sandy groaned and laid his head on his arm. "Go ahead, " he saidwith resignation. "You're the Chief and I can't help myself. " "I'll be washing up the dishes while you read, " said Jean. "Blaze away, " said Jock, who loved books as much as he dislikedwork. "It's 'The Lady of the Lake, '" Alan began. "Oh!" snorted Sandy, to whom Walter Scott was scarcely more thana name, "I thought it was about fighting and robbers, and thingslike that, and here it's about a lady! and it's about love too, Idoubt! I wonder at you, Alan McRae!" Alan made no reply but began to read. When he reached a lineabout "Beauty's matchless eye, " Sandy snored insultingly and waspromptly kicked by Jock. But when Alan reached the lines "The stag at eve had drunk his fill Where danced the moon on Monan's rill, " Sandy sat up and began to think the despised poem might amount tosomething after all. Jean had finished the dishes by this timeand sat cross-legged with her chin in her hand, staring into thefire, as Alan read how the splendid stag pursued by hunters, "Like crested leader proud and high Tossed his beamed frontlet to the sky; A moment gazed adown the dale, A moment snuffed the tainted gale, " Then she cried out, "Michty me! It's just exactly like the stagwe saw Angus Niel shoot by the tarn; isn't it, now, Alan?" "And Benvoirlich is the very mountain we can see far away to thesouth from our house, " interrupted Jock, when Alan reached thatpart of the poem. "Did the hunters get the stag?" demanded Sandy, and "Go on withthe tale, " shouted all three. Alan read on and on by theflickering light of the fire, and so absorbed were they all inthe story of the region they knew and loved so dearly that ashaft of sunlight from the west shot across the cave, lighting upthe gloomy corners, before they realized that the day was fargone and the rain had stopped. "It's time to go home, " said Jean. "The sun is low in the west, and Father and Tam will be coming back wet and hungry from thehills, and no broth hot. " They packed the remainder of their supper carefully away in thebasket and left it in the corner of the cave behind the wood-pile, put out every spark of the fire, and picked their way carefullydown the wet chasm to the ground. "Hark, " said Jock, as they started home. Faraway in the distancethere was the frantic barking of a dog. They stopped andlistened. "It's Tam, " said Jean, with conviction, "and he's aftersomething. It's either the rabbit or else he's found a weaselhole, " and instantly all the children were off at a bound, tearing through the woods in the direction of the sound. They hadbeen having such a good time they had not once thought of AngusNiel, but as they reached the edge of the forest, there he was, standing behind a tree with his gun pointing toward the littlegray house! They stopped short in their wild race and instantlyhid themselves among the trees. They could see Tam barking andpawing the ground with the greatest excitement in the open fieldwhich lay between the forest and the garden-patch. "Tam's after the rabbit as sure as sure, " Jock whispered to Alan, who had crept with him underneath a spreading pine. "That's thevery place where he went after him before. If that old thiefkills Tam, I'll--I'll--" Jock could think of no fit punishmentfor such a crime, and in his rage and excitement would have runright out into the open, after the dog if Alan had not held himby his jacket. "Let go--let go!" said Jock, struggling to getaway. "I tell you, if he shoots that dog. " Just then a brown flash appeared from the garden wall, and Tamwas after it at a bound, barking like mad. "It's the rabbit, andhe's got him--he's got him!" murmured Jock, bouncing up and downwith excitement with Alan still clinging to his coat. "Good olddog! good old Tam!" He was watching the dog so intently that hedid not see Angus take careful aim, but the moment Tam reachedthe rabbit, seized it in his teeth, and shook it, a shot rangout; and the dog, with a howl of pain, dropped the rabbit and ranyelping toward the house on three legs, holding the fourth one inthe air. Angus immediately ran out from his hiding-place, leaped thebrook, and, dashing up the slope toward the house, picked up thedead rabbit and ran with it back into the woods. The childrenwatched him as he fled, and, the moment he was out of sight, theyburst from the shelter of the woods and tore up the hillside tothe little gray house. They found Tam sitting on the doorstep licking his paw andhowling. He was instantly surrounded by four amateur doctors allanxious to relieve his pain. Jock ran for water to wash his leg, the flesh of which had been cruelly torn open by the bullet. Jeanransacked the kist for bandages, and Alan held up the injured pawand tried to see if any bones were broken, while Sandy helplesslystroked Tam's tail, murmuring, "Good dog! good old Tam!" as hedid so. By dint of their combined efforts the wound was cleansedand carefully bound with a rag, and by the time the Shepherd gothome, Tam was lying on the hearth beside the fire, with Alan onhis knees before him feeding him broth from a pan. The Shepherd listened with a darkening brow to the story of Tam'sinjury. He had heard an account of the stag the day before, sothe new revelation of Angus's character did not surprise him, butwhen Alan rose from his knees and said, "To-morrow the Rob RoyClan will begin to make Angus Niel wish he'd never been born, "Robin Campbell's comment was, "Give him rope enough and he'llhang himself, laddie, " and Alan, his black eyes flashing withunderstanding, answered, "We'll see to it that he gets the rope. " X. ON THE TRAIL Alan and Sandy left the little gray house in the late afternoonand walked together down the river road toward the village. Atthe bridge which spanned the stream they parted company, and Alangave Sandy final instructions as to his duties on the next day. He was to watch Angus Niel's house, which lay some distance northof the village, and see what direction he took as he started uponhis daily tour in the forests. The estate of Glencairn covered a territory so large that Anguscould not by any possibility make his rounds in one day or evenin one week. The Clan knew well where he had spent his time forthe two preceding days, and they thought he would be likely tostart in a different direction on the morrow. They did not darecount upon his doing so, however, and so Sandy was detailed togive a positive report as to his movements. The next morning, therefore, found Sandy sitting on a stone dyke not a great wayfrom Angus's house, apparently absorbed in whittling andwhistling, but in reality keeping a sharp lookout for any sign oflife in the Niel household. He had not long to wait before he sawAngus leave the house and wander away into the forest with hisgun on his shoulder. As they had surmised, he took a directionentirely different from his route of the two days before. Sandy waited until he was out of sight, and then hurried back tothe bridge, where he met Alan by appointment, and the two walkedbriskly on to the little gray house together. When they reachedit, the wag-at-the-wall clock was just striking nine, and Jean, her morning work done, was "caning" the hearth with blue chalk asa final touch of elegance to her clean kitchen. "Come on, " said Alan. "I've a plan in my head, and we'll have tostart directly if we're going to carry it out. Let me have someof that blue chalk, Jean; we may need it. I've got plenty of foodwith me, so don't wait to put up anything. " "I'm with you, " said Jean, giving a final flourish with the bluechalk before she clapped on her bonnet, and in another minute theRob Roy Clan was afoot, leaving Tam nursing his wounded paw onthe doorstep and gazing after them with pathetic eyes. They left their luncheon in the cave and hurried on at Alan'scommand to the little mountain tarn where Angus had killed thestag, and there the Clan gathered about him to hear his plan. "I've been thinking about this, " Alan began, "and I'm sure of twothings. Angus must have a place where he puts the game he kills, and he must have somebody to help him. The other man comes alongand carries it down the mountain to some point where he can shipit to the city. I say, let's find out where that hiding-placeis. " "What will we do with it when we find it?" asked Jean. "That's where the blue chalk comes in, " said Alan. "We'll let himknow we've been there!" "You'll never be writing your name there?" asked Sandy anxiously. "He'd be shooting us next!" "Oh! Sandy, you're a daft body, " said Jean, and Jock added: "Mindthe Chief, you dunderhead, and keep your tongue behind yourteeth. He's none so addled as you think!" Sandy subsided a little sulkily, and Alan went on. "When Angus crossed the lake with the stag he landed right overthere by that dead pine tree, for I watched him to see, and theplace where he hid the stag can't be far from there, because hecame back so soon. We'll just take his boat and see if we can'tfind it. " "Oh!" gasped Jean, who had never been in a boat in her life, "doyou know how to make it go?" "I can row and I can swim, " said Alan, "but I tell you if any onegoes bouncing around in the boat, it will be just as bad as beingbewitched by the water cow, you'll go to the bottom!" "I can row, too, " said Sandy. Jean wished she hadn't come, but she was bound she would not showit before the boys, so she said, "Sal! who's afraid?" and whenthey found the boat, she was the first one in it. Angus was so sure that no one would find his boat, which wascarefully screened by the bushes, that he had not even hidden theoars. So it was soon afloat with Jock at the tiller, Sandy on thebottom, Jean in the prow holding to the sides of the boat, scarcely daring to speak for fear of upsetting it, and Alan atthe oars. The lake was smooth, and they reached the oppositeshore without mishap, except that twice Alan "caught a crab" andsplashed water all over Jock, and Sandy filled both shoes as hejumped out of the boat. They pulled it up under the shelter ofthe dead pine, anchored it by a stone, and cautiously made theirway into the woods. They were now in a very wild section of the mountains, where itseemed as if no one had ever been since the beginning of theworld. "Just hear the stillness, " whispered Jean, keeping close to Jock. There was a sort of trail leading back into the woods, whichlooked as if it might have been made by wild animals going to thelake for a drink. This they followed for some distance until itbecame indistinct, and then Alan called the Clan together forcounsel. "We'll go just a little farther, " he said, "and then, if we don'tsee any sign of the place, it may be best to go back, for it iseasy to get lost in these woods. We are going east now andluckily the sun is shining. When we do turn back, we must keepthe sun behind us and we can't help coming out somewhere on thelake. Remember the pewit call if we lose sight of each other. " They resumed their stealthy walk through the woods, and a fewrods farther on came to a wide open space which sloped eastwardfor some distance down the mountain-side. Here they paused. "We're getting a good way from the boat, " said Jean. "Yes, " said Alan, "and I am just wondering whether we'd better go anyfarther. We don't want to cross this open space, and I see no sign ofAngus's storehouse. I hate to give up, though, for we must be verynear it. " He searched in every direction with his eyes, and suddenlyexclaimed under his breath, "Look there!" "Where?" breathed the Clan, rigid with excitement. "Do you see that pile of rocks?" said Alan, pointing into thewoods beyond the clearing. "Yes, " said Jock, "but there are rocks all around. I don't seethat they're any different from others. " "Maybe not, " said Alan, "but I see something that looks like thecorner of a hunter's shelter sticking out behind that bigboulder, and I say, let's skirt around this open place and see. " "Do you want us all to go?" asked Sandy, hoping the Chief wouldsay no. "You stay here, " Alan answered, to his great relief, "and Jean, you come a little farther with us. Then you and Sandy can keepout of sight and watch. If you see a man, keep still in yourplaces and give the pewit call. Jock and I will go on around theclearing and get a better look at those rocks. " Sandy crouched down in the bracken, and two or three hundred feetfarther on Jean stopped also, while Alan and Jock cautiouslycrept on toward their goal, and, by making a wide detour, approached the rocks from the north instead of the west. As theyneared them, it was plain that Alan was right. There really was ashelter built against an overhanging rock and almost concealedfrom view by pine boughs which formed a screen before it. Littleby little the boys crept nearer and nearer, stopping every fewsteps to be sure there was no sign of life about the place. Atlast they were within a few feet of the rude camp. The shelterwas scarcely more than a hole under the rocks, but there was ablackened spot where there had been a fire, a few pans werestanding about, and in one corner a pile of evergreen boughs wascovered with well-cured deer-skins. A fresh hide ready to curewas spread out on the rocks near by. "This is the place, " whispered Jock. "There is the skin of thestag. Now what are you going to do?" For answer Alan slipped frombehind the rocks, crept stealthily into the camp, and on theunderside of the rock wrote in big letters with blue chalk ANGUS NIEL POACHER Your sin has found you out! R. R. C. Then he crawled swiftly back out of sight and, followed by Jock, made his way as fast as he could toward Jean's hiding-place. ToJean the time that they were gone seemed hours long. The placewas lonely, and she was afraid, not only of their finding the manat home in his wild lodge, but even of brownies and elves. A rabbit stuck his ears up over a nearby log and scuttled awaywhen he saw her. The leaves made a lonely sound as they rustledover her head, and when at last she saw a black object movingabout among the trees at some distance beyond the rock-pile, itis not surprising that she immediately gave the pewit call, loudand clear. The boys heard it and instantly vanished behind some bushes. Thedark object moving among the trees seemed to hear it too and, springing forward, came bounding toward the rocks, barking as itcame. Jean was not much less anxious when she knew for certainthat it was a dog, for a watch dog in that lonely place might bequite as dangerous as a wolf. Moreover, she soon saw, a littledistance behind the dog, a man with a gun on his shoulder. Shesaw the dog reach the camp and go sniffing about on the rocks, and her heart almost stood still as it gave a deep howl andstarted away as if it scented game. "He's on the trail of Alan and Jock, " thought Jean, wringing herhands. "Oh, what shall I do? The man will surely follow, forhe'll think the dog is after game. " She sprang to her feet andran back to Sandy. "Come quick, " she said in a low voice. "The dog smells them; wemust get into the boat and have it ready for the boys to jumpinto. There is not a moment to lose. " She sped past him as shespoke, and Sandy came galloping after. Alan and Jock, who had seen and heard all that Jean had, were nowtearing at top speed through the woods and knew from answeringwhistles that Jean and Sandy were on the way to the boat. The man had by this time reached the camp and was staring at theblue chalk-marks on the rock, as if unable to believe his owneyes. He did not stop there long. He saw at once that an enemyhad found his hiding-place, and that the dog was on his trail. Leaping down the rocks, he started across the clearing on a runtoward the lake, his gun in his hand. Jock and Alan realized thatthey could hardly reach the landing-place before the dog did, sothey changed their course and veered a little to the north, thinking that in this way they stood more chance of concealmentand that they could signal the boat and get aboard in a lessconspicuous place. By this dodge the dog lost the scent of the boys and, nosing theground, found the trail of Sandy and Jean. Baying frightfully hecame bounding through the underbrush and arrived at the landingjust in time to see Sandy push the boat from the shore with Jeanin the bow. Furious at being cheated of his prey, the dog ranback and forth on the shore, making mad leaps in the direction ofthe boat and barking as if possessed. "Oh, where are the boys?" cried the distracted Jean. Theylingered in an agony of suspense, not daring to leave until theysaw that Jock and Alan were safe, and then from a little distanceup the shore came the pewit call. Sandy rose to the emergencyand, pulling frantically at the oars, succeeded in reaching thepoint from which the call seemed to come. The scared faces ofJock and Alan rose from the bracken, and in another moment theyhad leaped into the boat, nearly upsetting it as they did so. Alan seized an oar, and he and Sandy together got the boat out ofsight behind a bend in the shore. Here they hid among the busheson the bank until they saw the man appear at the landing-place, scan the lake carefully, and then go back into the woods, callingthe dog to go with him. Even then they were afraid to stir forthey did not know whether he had gone back to camp or wasstalking about among the trees searching for them. They waited for what seemed a week but saw nothing further of theman, and when at last they heard the report of a gun and thebarking of a dog far away down the mountain, they felt safe. Hewas evidently looking in another direction for the intruders, andat once Alan gave the word to go back to their own side of thelake. They skirted the shores, keeping a sharp lookout all thewhile, and at length reached the landing-place. The weary membersof the Clan breathed a sigh of relief as they found themselvessafe on their own ground again, arid their spirits rose. Jock told what Alan had written on the rock, and Alan was so muchimpressed by that achievement that he took out the blue chalk andon a rock by the tarn wrote "Here Angus Niel, gamekeeperand poacher, shot a stag"; and on the stone where the boat hadbeen, he put the mystic initials "R. R. C. " "There, " said Alan, pausing to admire his handiwork, "that'llkeep him guessing, and scared too. " "What can we do next?" "Take away his boat, " said Jean promptly. "Good idea!" cried Alan. "Where can we hide it?" asked Jock. "I'm mortal hungry, " said Sandy. "Couldn't we eat first?" "No food until this job is done, " said the Chief firmly. "We'llnever have another chance when we know where the other man andAngus both are. It's now or never!" "But where shall we hide it?" demanded Jock again. "I'll tell you, " cried Jean, her eyes dancing with mischief. "Wecan carry it to the burn and float it down to the cave!" This was a stroke of genius, no less, and every member of theClan looked upon Jean with respect bordering upon awe. At thepoint where the lake emptied into the burn there were looserocks, about which the water rushed in a swift cataract, but, below, the current flowed more gently toward the fall. It wasdeep only in spots where the trout loved to hide, but it was nota stream anywhere in its course upon which one would launch aboat for pleasure. The rocks were so near the surface that theweight of even one person might ground it, but afloat and emptyit might be carried clear to the rocks above the cave. The Clanconsidered the plan carefully, standing upon the rocky banks. "How would we guide it?" asked Sandy doubtfully. "There's a rope on the end of the boat, " said Jean promptly, "andwe could push it off with sticks if it got stuck. " "Come on, " cried Alan, and the four plotters rushed bask to thelake and pulled the boat out of the water. Alan took the prow andJock took the stern, while Sandy and Jean supported it on eachside, and in this way, after many struggles, they succeeded incarrying it to a place below the rapids where they dared launchit. "I'll hold the rope, " said Alan, "and you, Sandy, take an oar andgo down the other side of the stream, so you can push it off ifit gets stuck on that side. " "How'll I get across?" asked Sandy. This was a poser at first, but Alan found a way. "Get into the boat, " he said, "and we'll push it across wherethere aren't any stones sticking up. You can pole it across withyour oar, and I'll keep hold of the rope. " Sandy jumped in at once, and the boat, in spite of some swirling, was finally near enough to the opposite bank so he could jumpout. This he did, taking the oar with him. It was an excitingjourney down stream, for the boat bumped against rocks and caughton fallen trees, and it was a good hour before the children, tired out but triumphant, finally dragged it out of the waterjust above the falls. "If we had our rope, we could drag it to the edge of the cliffand let it down in front of the cave, " cried Jean in anotherflash of inspiration, and Sandy instantly rushed down the rock, made the necessary detour, and climbed the secret stair to thecave. He then whistled, and three heads appeared over the top ofthe cliff. "I'll throw up the rope and when you let the boat down, I'llsteady it, " said Sandy. "Heave away, " cried Alan, and after a few trials the rope cameflying up on the cliff and was soon looped around the boat. Thenthe three braced their feet against the rocks and slowly loweredthe boat by the rope fastened to the prow, and by their own rope, while Sandy steadied it below. They threw down the rope-end afterit, and a few moments later the rapturous Clan hauled the boatinto the cave! They sat in it to eat their luncheon and were solost in admiration of their enterprise and their booty that theydid not start home until the level rays of the sun warned themthat it was late. XI. ANGUS NIEL AND THE CANNY CLAN The days that followed were days of stirring adventure to the RobRoy Clan, and days of continuous and surprising misery to AngusNiel. Never in his history as gamekeeper of Glen Cairn had hehad such experiences. The very trees in the woods seemed to bebewitched. Wherever he went he was followed by some mysteriouspower that seemed to know his every movement. If he killed anygame, the fact was advertised and the place marked by signs inblue chalk. Not only that, but the very path of his approach tothe spot was marked by pointing arrows and some such legend as"This way to the glen where Angus Niel killed a deer" woulddecorate a neighboring rock. On other rocks appeared pertinentquestions addressed to him. "How much did you get for the stag?"was one of them, and there were also queries as to where he foundthe best market for game. He was kept so busy searching theforest for these incriminating signs and rubbing them out, thathe could not follow his regular rounds. Even this did not avail, for if he erased them on one day, it was but a matter of timebefore the letters appeared again as fresh and blue as ever. Norwas this all. He was haunted by a wailing voice which reached himeven in the remote fastnesses of the forest. He was sure to hearit if he ventured into the neighborhood of the waterfall, and heusually avoided that region as if it harbored a pestilence. Once late in the afternoon he shot two hares and hid them undersome rocks, intending to carry them across the lake in themorning, but when he went for them, they had disappearedaltogether, and above the place where they had been was writtenin blue chalk, "Sacred to the memory of two hares, killed andhidden here by Angus Niel on June 12th. " When he saw this epitaph, Angus's hair really stood on end withfright, and on the day he found that the boat was gone, leavingno trace, he became absolutely terror-stricken. He sought for itbehind every rock and in every likely nook about the lake, consuming days in the quest, and was appalled on his next tripthither to find all the incidents of his search faithfullyrecorded on the rocks, each one signed with the mystic initialsR. R. C. It took ingenuity, persistence, and some degree of danger on the partof the clan to accomplish these things, but one could depend uponfinding these qualities in any Campbell or McGregor, and Sandy, havingbeen made a blood brother, faithfully lived up to the duties itentailed. He became an expert detective and sleuth-hound, discoveringand reporting Angus's movements each day to the enterprising Clan andits resourceful Chief. At Alan's suggestion, the Clan took for its motto "We must becanny, " and canny they certainly were. They even changed theirprogramme from day to day, and in this way just when Angus felthe was about to discover his tormentors and know if they werehuman and not witches, they found some new method of annoyanceand he was all at sea again. Once they gave him a respite of nearly a week and Angus, havingerased many signs and finding no new ones, was beginning to thinkhis troubles were over, when suddenly arrows bearing bits ofpaper inviting him to visit the fall would suddenly drop at hisfeet. It had taken the Clan nearly all their spare time for theweek to make the bows and arrows, by which this wonder wasaccomplished. Meanwhile they had lived like lords, feasting upontrout and the generous store of provisions with which Alancontinued to supply the cave. They even began to see how it waspossible for Rob Roy and his men to live upon forest fare, forthe pool below the fall was a wonderful fishing-hole, and smallgame was plentiful if they had cared to become poachersthemselves. On one red-letter day, they roasted the two hares which Angus hadkilled, and cooked potatoes in the ashes. Each day was filledwith fresh adventures, and the wild outdoor life agreed withAlan so well that his thin cheeks began to fill out and glow withhealthy color and it was not long before he looked as sturdy andstrong as Jock himself. It was curious that what Alan gained in flesh and spirits, AngusNiel at the same time seemed to lose. He was so worried by thesestrange visitations that his round eyes took on a hauntedexpression, and Sandy observed that he kept looking over hisshoulder as if he thought some one were following him, even whenhe walked the village streets. He dared not stay away from the forest lest others shoulddiscover the dreadful blue signs before he did, and at the sametime he was afraid to go in. He swung like a pendulum betweenthese two difficulties and grew daily more nervous and unhappy. By the end of June he had lost ten pounds of flesh as well as themoney he might have made out of poaching and selling the game. Bythe middle of July he was so haggard that people began to remarkon his appearance. There seemed no way out of his troubles but tolie about them, and soon wild stories were circulated through thevillage about the haunted forest and its dangers. Women were warned not to let the children stray into the woods lestthey be carried away by witches or water cows, and it was alsoreported that a gang of poachers of a particularly blood-thirstycharacter infested the region, carrying off game and property andleaving no trace. Angus had been watching this band of desperadoes forsome time, he said, and knew there were at least twenty of them whowould stop at nothing. With Angus's tale of the mysterious loss of his boat, theexcitement reached a climax, and there was talk of organizing anarmed band of men from the village to protect the woods and ridthe neighborhood of the bandits. The people were surprised thatAngus himself should oppose this plan, but as he was gamekeeperand in authority, the matter was dropped. To Angus's horror, however, these rumors and events were all faithfully recorded onrocks not far from his own home soon after, and he realized thatto the very doors of his own house he was pursued by the samemysterious and vigilant power. It was then that he lost hisappetite, and if the Clan could have followed him into his homeand seen him look under his bed before he got into it at night, their joy would have been full. The wild stories he told had the effect of keeping every one elseout of the forest and made the Clan more than ever free to stalktheir prey without fear of discovery. In this occupation severalexciting weeks passed by, and then there came an unhappy surpriseto the Clan, and it was not Angus Niel who sprang it upon themeither. One morning in late July, Alan came up the road toward the littlegray house, where he was now so much at home, looking very glumindeed. Sandy was with him, wearing a face as solemn as a funeralprocession. Jock and Jean saw them coming and hailed them with ashout, and Tam, who had not quite recovered from his injury, camedashing down the brae on three legs to greet them. Even Tam'sjoyful bark did not lift the shadow from their faces. Jean cried out from the top of the brae, "Whatever can be thematter with you? You're looking as miserable as two hens in arainstorm!" "Trouble enough, " answered Sandy, and Jean and Jock at once camehurrying down the slope to hear the bad news. They met at theriver-side, and Sandy, who was bursting to tell it, cried out, "What do you think? Alan's got to go home! His mother's sent forhim!" One look at Alan's melancholy face confirmed this dreadfulstatement and the gloom instantly became general. The Clan sat down on the ground in a depressed circle to discussthe matter and its bearing on their plans. "Don't you think your mother would let you stay if you should askher?" suggested Jock. "No, " said Alan, with sad conviction. "She said I was to come atonce, and I'll have to start this very afternoon. I'm to drivedown to the boat and get to Glasgow by water; I'll spend thenight there and go on to London in the morning. " "Sal, but you'll be seeing a lot of the world, " said Jock. "Iwish I were going with you. " "I wish you all were, " said Alan. "We'll likely be having more traveling than we want, " said Jean, "when we have to give up the wee bit hoosie and go out and walkthe world. " She looked up at the little gray house as she spoke, and her eyes filled with tears. "It's the end of the Clan; that's what it is, " said Sandy withdeepening despondency. "Oh, come now!" said Alan. "It's not so bad as all that, and I'msurely coming back next summer. I know my mother'll let me, forshe'll see how much good it's done me to be here. Just look atthat, " he added, baring his arm and knotting his biceps. "Climbing around the cave and chasing after Angus Niel have mademe as tough as a knot. She won't know me when she sees me. " "I wonder if we shall know you the next time we see you, if weever do, " said Jean. "Ho!" said Alan, trying to smile gayly, "of course you will! I'llhave a sprig of the evergreen pine and give the pewit call, andthen you'll be sure. " "What good will your coming back next summer do us?" said Jock. "We shan't be here to see you! Our leases run out in October, andnobody knows where we'll go after that! We've got to move out, sothe Auld Laird can have more space to raise game for Angus Nielto kill, " he finished bitterly. There seemed no way of brightening this sad prospect, and theClan sat for a few moments in mournful silence. Alan tried hardto think of something comforting to say. "I'll tell you what, " he exclaimed at length. "We can still be aClan, whether we see each other or not. We'll remember we're allblood brothers just the same. " "And that you are our Chief, " added Jean, trying to lookcheerful. "Can't we go back to the cave just once more?" said Sandy. "I've got to be at the bridge at one o'clock, " said Alan. "I'vesaid good-bye to Eppie, and she is packing my things, and puttingup a lunch, so I don't have to do anything but step into thecarriage when I get there. What time is it now?" Jean flew up the slope to the house and called back from thedoor, "It's ten o'clock. " "Come on, then, my merry men!" cried Alan, and the four startedoff at a brisk trot, looking anything but merry as they went. "We shan't want to come here any more, " said Jock, when theyreached the cave. "So we may as well take everything away. " "Oh, " said Alan, "something might happen to keep you in theGlen Easig. You never can tell. You'd better take back the potsand pans, but leave the wood, and then if we are here nextsummer, it will be all ready for cooking a jolly old mess oftrout. " "Whatever shall we do with the boat?" asked Jean. This was aconundrum, but the Chief, as usual, was equal to the occasion. "There's only one thing we can do, " he said. "It will just dry upand fall to pieces up here; we'll let it down over the rock bythe ropes and leave it in the pool. Then when Angus finds it, he'll be perfectly sure he was bewitched and be more afraid ofthe falls than ever!" They worked hurriedly, for the time was short, and in anotherhour the boat was floating in the fishing-pool, securely tied toa pine tree on the bank. They packed pots and pans in the basketand lowered it over the rock by the rope, and when everything wasdone, Alan took the blue chalk and drew a sprig of pine on thewall of the cave with the initials R. R. C. Beside it. The fourchildren then scrambled down the secret stairway, feeling as ifthey had said good-bye forever to a dear friend. When theyreached the little gray house, they left the basket in thekitchen, and the entire Clan walked with Alan back to the bridge, where they found the carriage waiting. Alan made short work of his good-byes. He shook hands all roundand sprang quickly into the carriage, and as it rattled away withhim down the road, he stood up, waving his bonnet with the sprayof evergreen pine in it and whistling the pewit call. "Dagon't, " said Sandy, when the carriage passed out of sightaround a bend in the road. "Dagon't, we'll never find anotherlike the Chief. " If Jean and Jock had felt able to say anything, they would have echoed the statement. As it was, Sandy drew hiskilmarnock bonnet over his eyes, thrust his hands into hispockets, and started dejectedly toward his own house, leavingJean and Jock, equally miserable, to return alone to the wee bithoosie on the brae. XII. NEWS The rest of the week seemed at least a month long to the lonelytwins. Sandy came to see them, to be sure, but with the passingof the Chief, the flavor seemed gone from the play, and the Clanmade no further expeditions after Angus Niel. "He can just kill all the game he wants to, " said Jean. "It'sthe worse for the Auld Laird, I doubt, but who cares for that, solong as he leaves Tam alone and keeps away from here? It'snothing to me. " Their father had been so taken up with his work and with turningover in his mind plans for the future, when they should be"walking the world, " that he paid little attention to theirpunishment of Angus Niel, about which he knew little and caredless. He was absorbed in planning the best market for his sheepand in getting as much from his garden as he could, hoping tosell what he was unable to use himself, when the time came toleave. His usually cheerful face had grown more and more troubledas the summer wore on, and it was seldom now that his bagpipeswoke the mountain echoes, and whenever he did while away a rainyevening with music, the melodies were as wild and mournful as hisown sad thoughts. Angus Niel's barometer now rose again. Finding himself no longerpursued by his unseen foes, his waning self-confidence returned, andit was only a week or two after Alan's departure that wonderfulstories began to go about the village concerning his prowess inridding the woods of thieves and marauders single-handed. "I've even found my boat, " he announced one evening to a group ofmen lounging about the village store, "and it was no human handsthat put it where I found it either! It was below the falls, ifyou'll believe me, safe and sound and tight as ever. Any man thatis easily scared would better not be walking the woods in thatdirection, I'm telling you, or likely he'd be whisked away by thelittle people and shut up in some cave in the hills. I felt thedrawing myself once, but I knew how to manage. I was just geyfirm with them, and they knew I wasna fearful and let me go. It'snone so easy being a gamekeeper. It takes a bold man, and a cannyone, and well the poacher gang knew that. They're gone and goodriddance. It's taken me all summer to bring it about. " "Oh, " murmured Jock to Jean, when this was repeated to them bySandy the following Sabbath, "wouldn't Alan like to hear that?"It was on that very Sabbath, too, that they learned the Dominiehad recovered and that school was to reopen on the following day. This was good news to the Twins, for like all Scotch childrenthey longed for an education, and the next morning, bright andearly, they were on the road to the village, carrying some sconesand hard-boiled eggs for their luncheon, in a little tin pail. The days passed swiftly after that, for, with the house to carefor, lessons to get, and the walk of five miles to school andback, there was little time for moping or even dreading the daywhen they must leave their highland home. It was late August when they came rushing home one afternoon, bursting with a great piece of news, which they had learned inthe village. Never had they covered the five miles of thehomeward journey more quickly, but when they reached the littlegray house, their father had not yet returned from the pastures, though it was after his time. The two children ran back of thehouse to the cow byre, and there in the distance they saw himcoming across the barren moor. He was walking slowly, with hishead bent as though he were tired and discouraged, and Tam, limping along beside him, looked discouraged too. The Twins gavea wild whoop and raced across the moor to meet them. Jock gotthere first, but was too out of breath to speak for an instant. "Dear, dear! What can the matter be?" said their father, lookingfrom one excited face to the other. "Oh, Father, " gasped Jean, finding her tongue first, "you nevercan guess, so I'll tell you. The Auld Laird's dead. " The Shepherd stood still in his tracks, too stunned for words. "Aye!" cried Jock, wishing to share in the glory of such anexciting revelation. "He's as dead as a salt herring. " "Oh, Father!" cried Jean, "aren't you glad? Now we won't have toleave the wee bit hoosie and the Glen. " "I'm none so sure of that, " said the Shepherd slowly, when he hadrecovered from the first shock of surprise. "The new Laird may beworse than the old. Be that as it may, I'm not one to rejoice atthe death of any man. Death is a solemn thing, my dawtie, but theLord's will be done, and I'm not pretending to mourn. " "We went to the village, " cried Jean, "to get a bit of meat for thepot, and there was a whole crowd of people around the post-officedoor. 'T was the post-master gave us the news, and Mr. Craigie andAngus Niel have put weeds on their hats and look as mournful as Tamwhen he's scolded. We saw them out of the school-house window not twohours gone. " "They have reason to mourn, " said the Shepherd grimly, "not forthe Auld Laird's death only, but for their own lives as well. Aye, that's a subject for grief. " He shook his head dubiously, and, seeming to feel it was an occasion for a moral lesson, headded, "'Mark the perfect man and behold the upright, for the endof that man is peace. '" "What has that to do with the Auld Laird?" asked Jock, muchmystified. "Nothing at all, maybe, " answered the Shepherd, "but it's a wiseword to remember against our own time. " "I wish Angus Niel would remember it, " exclaimed Jean. "And Mr. Craigie no less, " added Jock. "Well, well, " said the Shepherd, "heard ye anything more in thevillage?" "Aye, that we did, " said Jean, who loved to prolong theexcitement of news. "Let me tell that, " said Jock. "You told about the Auld Laird. Well, then, Father, there's all kinds of tales about the newLaird. It's said he's a wee bit of a laddie, not more than fouryears old, and not the son of the Auld Laird at all, but a cousinor something. It's said he's weak and sickly-like and not longfor this world. " "Sandy's mother was in the village and walked with us to thebridge, " interrupted Jean, "and she heard that the heir is ayoung man living in Edinburgh, and not even known to the AuldLaird, who had no near kin. She had it from the minister's wife, so it must be true. " "Didn't Mr. Craigie say anything? He ought to know more about itthan any one. He's the Auld Laird's factor to carry out his willwhile he was living. It's likely he'd know more than any otherabout his will, now he's dead, " said the Shepherd. "Mrs. Crumpet says he goes about with his mouth shut up as tightas an egg, as though he knew a great deal more than other folk, being so intimate-like with the Laird, " said Jean. "Aye!" added Jock, "but she said she believed there was a mucklehe did not know at all, and he was keeping his mouth shut to makefolks think he knew but wasna telling. " Jean now took up the tale. "Mrs. Crumpet had all the news intown, " she said, "and she told us that Angus Niel said he hopedthe new Laird was fond of the hunting and would appreciate hiswork in preserving the game and driving poachers from the forestsof Glen Cairn. He said he had done the work of ten men, and itwas well that people should know it and be able to tell the newLaird, when he comes into his own!" Even the Shepherd couldn't help smiling at that, and as for Jeanand Jock, they shouted with laughter. In spite of themselves, thechildren and their father felt such relief from anxiety that theywalked back to the little gray house with lighter hearts thanthey had felt for some time. Whoever the new Laird might be, itwould take time to settle the estate and find out the will of itsnew owner, and meanwhile they could live on in their old home. Beyond that, they could even hope that they might not have to goat all. That night Jean cooked the first of their early potatoes from thegarden for supper and a bit of ham to eat with them, by way ofcelebrating their reprieve, and after supper the Shepherd got outhis bagpipes and played "The Blue Bells of Scotland" until therafters rang again. Jean stepped busily about the kitchen in tuneto the music, humming the words to herself. "Oh where, tell me where is your Highland laddie gone? He's gone with streaming banners where noble deeds are done, And it's oh! in my heart, I wish him safe at home. " And she thought of Alan as she sang. Afterward, when Jock andJean were safely stowed away for the night, the Shepherd wentover and brought from the table in the room his well-worn copy ofRobert Burns's "Poems, " and the last view Jean had of him beforeshe went to sleep, he was reading "The Cotter's Saturday Night"aloud to himself by the light of a flickering candle. XIII. THE NEW LAIRD It was Friday when news of the Auld Laird's death reached the village, and on the following Sabbath there was not an empty seat in the kirk, for every one was anxious to hear the latest gossip about the eventwhich meant so much to every one in the region. There was no newspaperin the village, and the news of the week was passed about by word ofmouth in the kirkyard after service, or on week days was retailed overthe counter at the village post-office, which was post-office andgeneral store in one. The Campbells were early in their pew, and the Twins watched theother worshipers as they came slowly up the aisle and took theirplaces before time for the service to begin. Sandy winked at themmost indecorously across the church, but his mother poked him toremind him of his duty, and he sent no more silent messages tothe other members of the Clan. There was an air of expectation, which seemed to affect every onein the kirk. Even the minister looked as if he had somethingspecial on his mind, and as for Mr. Craigie, he was as solemnlyimportant, Sandy said afterwards, "as though he were the corpsehimself, " while Angus Niel acted like nothing less than the chiefmourner. In the kirkyard he let it be known that he was entirely familiarwith the details of the Auld Laird's funeral, which had occurredin London the day before, though how the particulars reached himin so short a time must forever remain a mystery. It was Mr. Craigie, however, who gave out the important newswhich every one had felt must be coming. On the steps afterservice he said to Mr. Crumpet, "It's likely, Andrew, that youmay have more time about your lease. I've had news that the newLaird is coming soon to the castle with his lawyers and someother people to look over the estate and take possession. EppieMcLean is to get ready for quite a party of the gentry. " Mrs. Crumpet was standing near her husband, and she was a boldwoman who would have asked a question of the Auld Laird himself, if she had had occasion. "Then it's the sickly bit laddie who'sthe heir?" she said, "and not the Edinburgh man?" Mr. Craigie looked majestic and waved her aside, merely saying, as he went down the steps, "It isna an Edinburgh body, " butgiving no hint as to whether it was man, woman, or child. Thepeople who had gathered about him thinking to hear somethingdefinite looked resentfully at his back as he walked away, andMrs. Crumpet openly expressed her opinion that he knew nothingmore about it himself. "If he did, he couldn't help letting itdribble out by degrees, like a leaky kirn, being too stingy totell it out free, like any other body, " she said. Mrs. Crumpet was a woman of rare penetration. Even Sandy didn'toften get ahead of his mother. For another week the village waited in suspense for further news, and then on Saturday the report spread like wildfire through thetown that the new Laird with his party had arrived at the castlethe night before. It was Sandy who brought the news to the little gray house. "Andthey say there were three carriage-loads of them and they nevergot to Glen Cairn until dark, " he cried; "and the tale is thatthe castle ovens have never been cool since the word came a weekago! Mother says Eppie McLean has been laying in provisions as ifshe looked for seven lean years like Joseph in Egypt. " "Losh!" interrupted Jock, "I wish Alan was here. Wouldn't we getsome of those good things for the cave, though. " "But that isn't all the news, " cried Sandy, who had come threemiles to tell it and was not going to let it burst from him toosuddenly. "There's more. " "What is it, Sandy?" cried Jean, dancing with impatience. "Hurry, lad; let out what's bottled up in you or you'll blow the cork!" "Well, " exploded Sandy, "you'll get some of the good thingswithout Alan, I'm telling you, for there's to be a grand feast atthe castle, and everybody is asked to come! There's a sign up inthe village, and it's to be Monday at five o'clock. They sayEppie McLean has fowls waiting by the dozen and a barrel oftatties ready for the pot. Losh! I don't see how the new Lairdcan stay weakly with so much to fill him up. " "Sal!" cried Jean, "if he's such a wee laddie as they say, it'slikely his mother will be the one to say what's to be done inGlen Cairn, and it's not likely she'll be wanting to go rampagingover the country shooting game like the Auld Laird. " "Ye can never tell, " said Sandy, with a worldly air. "Some sayladies is worse than men. " "Never believe that, " said Jean, promptly, and then she added alittle wistfully, "especially if they are mothers. " At church the next day the congregation was in such a state ofexcitement it was with the greatest difficulty that the properSabbath decorum was observed. Sandy Crumpet brazenly looked overhis shoulder every time any one passed up the aisle, thinkingthat perhaps the new Laird and his mother might come in at anymoment, and even the grown people looked sidewise, but no newfaces appeared and fear was expressed afterwards that the motherof the heir was of the Established Church. Mrs. Crumpet said shehad always heard that among the gentry the women were fiercer intheir religion than the men. The Shepherd remembered the Laird ofKinross, but said nothing. On the way home from church Jean and Jock noticed that smoke wasissuing from all the castle chimneys. It was now early autumn, and, as Jean said, the castle must be damp from, standing so longempty, and they had the right to warm it up for the wee Laird, him being so sickly. The suspense of the long weeks of summer had now become acute. Ifthe Auld Laird's wish to turn the tenants out of their holdingsto make Glen Cairn into a large game preserve was to be carriedout, the time for doing it was near, and the people lookedforward to the supper at the castle with both hope and dread. Every one was to be there, and on Monday a wonderful amount ofpreparation was going forward in every cottage and farmhouse onthe estate. Jean had her father's blacks on the line andthoroughly brushed early in the morning, and the Sabbath clothesfor all three of them laid out on the chairs in "the room" bynoon. At four o'clock they were on their way to the castle. Jockhad wanted to start at three, but Jean was firm. "It isna genteel to be going so early, " she said. "T'will lookgreedy, and you'll not get fed the sooner. " Any one would have said Jean looked pretty that day, for she wasnot wearing her "Saturday face, " and the little curls had creptaround her head unbeknownst and were blowing in bright tendrilsabout her forehead under the edge of her bonnet with its sprig ofpine. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes bright with health andexcitement, and Robert Campbell, looking with pride at his sturdyson and daughter, said to himself, "It's a sonsie lassie and brawlad. I wish their mother could see them. " They walked down the river road, where the autumn colors werebeginning to appear, and at the bridge met the Crumpet family alldressed in their best, also on their way to the castle. Sandy hadscrubbed himself till his face was shining like a glass bottle, andthe sprig of pine waved proudly from his bonnet, too. At every branchroad they were joined by others, and when they neared the castle gatesthere was already quite a large group of people from the village aswell. Every one was in a state of tense excitement, for the fate ofall hung in the balance. Since the tenure of their homes was at themercy of the new Laird, his ideas and disposition were of vitalimportance in their lives, and they were keen to see him and find outfor themselves what manner of person he might be. Mr. Crumpet waslooking very glum. He took a morose view of life at best, and thepresent circumstances certainly warranted apprehension. "If it's a wee bit of a laddie, as we are led to expect, " he saidto the Shepherd, "he'll have no judgment of his own, and bedependent on them as has him in charge. Mr. Craigie will not beloosening his hold, and with only a weak woman and a sickly boyto deal with, he'll wind 'em around his finger like a wisp o'wool. It's my opinion we'll have Mr. Craigie to deal with morethan ever. " "Well, " said Mrs. Crumpet philosophically, "and if we jump at all't will be but from the fire back to the frying-pan again, I'mthinking. " Various other opinions were expressed by one and another as thetenants of Glen Cairn followed the wide drive which led to thecastle doors. Most of them had never before been inside the wallsof the park, and they looked about them with interest at theunkempt and overgrown drive and at the bracken and heatherspreading even over the lawns. It was evident that the place hadbeen left to take care of itself for many years. It was a warm day in late September, and though there was a touchof red in the ivy which draped the gray castle walls, the air wasmellow with the haze of autumn and musical with the buzzing ofbees. Mr. Craigie, looking more like a pair of tongs than ever, stoodon the terrace with the minister and his wife, while Angus Niel, swelling with importance, ranged round the outskirts of the crowdas they approached the castle, gradually herding them toward theentrance. When they were all gathered in front of the terrace, the minister came forward to the steps and lifted his hand. Ahush instantly fell upon the waiting people, and the ministerspoke. "Her ladyship has asked me to say to you that she and the newLaird will meet you here, " he said, "and afterward conduct you tothe banqueting-hall, where supper will be served. It is theirdesire to know you all personally, and I will be here to presentyou as you come up the steps. " There was a surprised look on every face as the minister finishedspeaking. What manner of landlord could this be, who made a point ofknowing his tenants as men and women the moment he came to the estate?It was a breathless moment when at last the great castle doors swungopen, revealing a group of people standing in the entrance. There wasan instant's pause, and then a tall strong-looking woman steppedforward upon the terrace, with her hand resting lightly on theshoulder of a sturdy black-haired boy nearly as tall as herself. Theboy was dressed in kilts, with the Campbell plaid flung over hisshoulder and a spray of evergreen pine nodding gayly from hisGlengarry bonnet. "Michty me! It's Alan!" exclaimed Jock, so stunned by surprisethat his knees nearly gave way under him, while Jean, her eyesshining like stars, clutched her father's hand, too stunned torealize at first that Alan and the new Laird of Glen Cairn wereone and the same person. In fact, nobody realized it at once, formany of the tenants had come to know and like Alan during thesummer, simply as "the boy who was staying with Eppie McLean. " They were still gazing at the castle door and wondering why the"puny wee laddie, who was not long for this world" did notappear, when the gracious lady, who still stood with her handresting proudly on Alan's shoulder, began to speak. "Many of you already know the new Laird of Glen Cairn as AlanMcCrae, " she said, smiling kindly down into their blank upturnedfaces. "He has been among you all summer and has learned to loveour Highland country without dreaming that he himself would oneday inherit this beautiful estate. He is next of kin to the AuldLaird, though not a near relative, and had no idea that I had anypurpose beyond the improvement of his health in sending him herefor the summer. I knew that which he did not, that he was likelysoon to be called to take the Auld Laird's place here, and Iwanted him to know you first, not as tenants, but as friendsmerely. He has come to love this region for its own sake, andcomes among you like a true Scotchman, meaning to make this hishome and the interests of this community his own interests. He isnot yet of age, as you see, but his purposes and plans areclearly formed, and I will leave him to explain them to youhimself. " She stopped speaking, and the people, overwhelmed with surpriseand joy, burst into a hearty and prolonged cheer, as Alan steppedforward to make his speech. He was only a boy, and a very muchembarrassed one at that, but he knew what he wanted to say and hegot to the point at once. "I just want you to know, " he said, "that nobody's going to beturned out if he doesn't want to be. I know all about the lease, and that it's going to run out this fall, but any one who wantsto stay on the land and improve it is going to have the chance todo it. My mother knows a lot about such things, and we're goingto collect the rents ourselves, and we think, maybe, when I'm ofage, there'll be some way by which people who really want to usethe land may own it instead of being obliged to rent. Mother saysthey are beginning to do it in Ireland, and in England too insome places. "I've found out that people are more important than rabbits anddeer, and they are going to have first chance at the land of GlenCairn as long as I'm Laird. " This was greeted with such a roar ofcheers that for a moment it was quite impossible for Alan toproceed. He smiled bashfully at his mother and then held up hishand for silence. "I just want to say, too, " he went on, biting his lips to keepfrom laughing, "that after this there won't be any gamekeeper onGlen Cairn. If the rabbits spoil your crops you're welcome tocatch them if you can! I've ranged these woods myself all summer, and I have found out that gamekeepers are no safeguard againstpoachers. " A gasp of astonishment greeted this statement, andAngus Niel was observed to turn ashy pale. "In fact, I know that sometimes gamekeepers turn poachersthemselves and make money selling what they have killed, " he wenton. Here Angus Niel, looking suddenly deflated, like a burstballoon, began quietly to slink out of sight, and Alan, brimfulof mischief, raised his voice so it would be sure to reach himand said, "I've seen it done myself, and if Angus Niel wants toknow any more about that gang of twenty blood-thirsty villainswhich has scared the life out of him all summer, he can come tome and I'll tell him. I'm the Chief of that gang, and there arethree others just like me, and that's all!" He winked rapturouslyat the three other members of the Clan, who were gazing up at himin a stupor of astonishment, and fired his last shot at thefleeing Angus, while the audience, catching his meaning, burstinto howls of derisive laughter. "Don't hurry, Angus, " he called. "I want to tell you about yourboat and about the water witch that haunted you. I'm the waterwitch too!" But Angus was already out of hearing and scuttling asfast as his trembling legs could carry him to get out of sight, as well. When the roars of laughter had subsided, Alan said, witha boyish grin, "It's too bad he couldn't stay to supper. And nowcome up, everybody, and meet my mother. " It was then that the Shepherd of Glen Easig astonished himself andevery one else by shouting at the top of his lungs, "Three cheers forthe young Laird!" and when they had been given with such energy thatthe hills rang with the echoes, he called for three more for herladyship, and Alan waved his cap in acknowledgment for them both. Then the people, surprised out of their usual Scotch reserve bylaughter and by the joy of good news, came swarming up the stepsand were introduced to Alan's mother by Alan himself when he knewthem, and by the minister when he did not. The Shepherd, with the bashful Clan in his wake, came last ofall, and the Twins heard him say to her ladyship, "God bless theladdie! It was a rare day for the Glen when he fell into the burnand came to dry himself by our fireside. " "It was a rare day for me, too, Cousin Campbell, " said Alan, andthen; catching sight of Sandy and the Twins hanging back behindtheir father, what did he do but pucker up his lips and whistlethe pewit call? The Clan was too overcome then even to attempt apucker, and Alan, springing forward, tried to grasp three handsat once and introduced them to his mother as his Rob Roy Clan. The Twins and Sandy were not a bit like the bold buccaneers ofthe cave when the great lady of Glen Cairn smiled on them kindly. "I told you I'd wear the sprig of evergreen pine and whistle the callof the Clan the next time you saw me, " cried Alan, as they fell inbehind the others, who were now entering the banquet-hall. "Why didn'tyou answer?" "Oh, but, " said Jean, a little sadly and blushing like a poppy, "we never thought you'd be coming back so grand like. You'llnever be playing with the Clan any more in Glen Easig, surely, now that you 're a great Laird!" "And why not, I'd like to know?" cried the great Laird, lookinghurt. "I'm still Alan McRae, Chief of the Clan, the same asbefore, and as true to my friends as Rob Roy himself was beforeme. We'll have many a good day in the woods yet before snowflies; and listen, I've a plan in my head!" "There speaks the Chief, " cried Jock, forgetting to be afraid ofhim. "He was ever having plans in his head. Out with it, man. " "It's this, " said Alan, "I'm going to have a tutor here at thecastle, and you're all to have your lessons here with me, and noend of larks!" Here Sandy, who had so far merely gazed at hisChief with speechless devotion, suddenly burst into words. "Aye, Chief, " he cried, "that was a true word you spoke about nogamekeeper being needed in Glen Cairn. I'm none so keen for thelearning, but if there should be poachers hanging about, they'llhave Sandy Crumpet to deal with; let them take warning of that!" Alan laughed and clapped Sandy on the back. "I'd rather have youthan forty Angus Niels, " he said, and then they were swept along, without a chance for further words, into the great hall, wherethey found long tables spread and Eppie McLean with a dozenhelpers bringing in such stores of food that all Sandy had saidabout the preparations at the castle was justified at a glance. Most of the people had already found places at the tables whenthe young Laird and his mother, followed by the minister and hiswife and the castle guests, cams into the hall. The Twins andSandy hung back behind all the other guests, but Alan foundplaces for them opposite his own, and then he handed his motherto the seat of honor at the head of the table. The minister andthe guests from the city ranged themselves on either side, andevery one stood with bowed head while the minister asked ablessing upon the food, upon the new Laird and his mother, andupon all the people of Glen Cairn. There was a great scraping of chairs, and then every one sat downand fell upon the good things like an army of locusts upon aharvest field. The great hall, so long silent, echoed with happyvoices and the clatter, of knives and forks, and Jean, lookingacross the table at the new Laird, in all his glory, wondered ifit could be possible that it was the very Alan whom she hadshaken when Angus shot the stag, or who had helped her set thetable in the kitchen of the little gray house, while his wetclothes were drying by the cottage fire. She ate her supper likeone in a dream, and though she kept a watchful eye on Jock'stable manners and warned Sandy's elbows off the table severaltimes in her own efficient way, she could scarcely believe suchwonderful things were really happening to her. At last the wonderful day drew to a close, and the people of GlenCairn, happier than they had been in a long time, said good-bye tothe gracious lady of the castle and to the already beloved youngLaird, and started home in the deepening twilight of the autumnevening. The Clan, lingering behind their parents, looked back at thegroup on the castle terrace before the trees hid them from sight, and Jock sent the pewit call shrilling through the dusk. It wasanswered instantly from the terrace. "He is just like Prince Charlie, I'm thinking, " said Sandy, andJock, to ease his feelings, whistled "Charlie is my darling" allthe way to the gate of the park. The evening star was shining brightly over the dark outline ofold Ben Vane as the Campbells reached the little gray house onthe brae, now safely their home forever, and Tam came boundingdown the path to meet them. Jean kissed her hand to the star andmurmured to herself, "Star light, star bright, I have the wish I wished to-night. " GLOSSARY Auld, old. Aye (pronounced i), yes. Aye (pronounced a), ever, always. Bailie, an officer of the law. Bairn, a child. Ben. See But and ben. Besom, a broom. Bide, stay. Bittock, a little bit. Blatherskite, a babbling person, a good-for-nothing. Blethering, talking nonsense. Bonny, pretty, beautiful, charming. Bracken, brake, a species of tall fern. Brae (pronounced bray), a hillside. Braw, fine, handsome. Burn, a brook. But and ben, outside and in. But the house means out of the house. But is also applied to thekitchen; going but is going from the best room to the kitchen, and going ben is going into the best room. Byre, a cow-shed. Canny, shrewd. Chap, a knock. Daft, silly, foolish. Dandering, wandering. Dawtie, darling, pet. Dinna, do not. Dod, an exclamation. Doubt, suspect. Dyke, a low fence or wall of turf or stone. Fash, disturb. Fine, finely, well. Gey, very. Gin (g as in give), if. Girdle, a griddle. Glengarry bonnet, a small cap without visor. Greet, weep. Guddling, catching fish with the hands. Havers (a as in hay), nonsense (an exclamation). Isna, is not. Keek, a peep. Ken, know. Kilmarnock bonnet, a tam-o'-shanter. Kirk, church. Biro, a churn. Kist, a chest. Laird, a lord, a landed proprietor. Laverock, the lark. Limmer, a mischievous person. Losh, an exclamation. Loup, to leap. Lug, ear. Mealy pudding, a Scotch dish made of oatmeal and suet, in formsomething like a sausage. Michty (pronounced michty, with the gutteral ch as in the Germanword ich), mighty, large, powerful. Michty me, an exclamation. Na, no, not. Pawky, sly. Pewit, the lapwing, a species of plover. Plaidie (pronounced pladie), diminutive of plaid. Each clan hadits own especial pattern which was worn by all members. Redding up, putting in order. Sal, an exclamation. Scone, a flat cake, unsweetened, baked on a griddle. Skirl, a shrill sound, especially that characteristic of thebagpipes. Slippit awa', slipped away, died. Sousie (both s's as in so), agreeable, attractive, comely, pleasant. Spier (pronounced spear), ask. Sync, afterward, since. Tarn, a small mountain lake. Tatties, potatoes. Tid, a pet name for a child. Tirley-wirley, a disturbance. Wasna, was not. Wee bit hoosie, little house. Whaup, the curlew, a large bird of the Sandpiper Family. Wifie, an endearing term for a woman. SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS This story can be read without much preparation by any fifth orsixth grade pupils. In the fifth grade it may be well to have thechildren read the story first in a study period in order to workout the pronunciation of the more difficult words and to getsufficient command of the Scotch dialect, which, however, is notused to so great an extent that it will be difficult for Americanchildren to understand. The teacher should explain the use of theglossary in this connection. In the sixth grade the children willusually be able to read the story at sight except so far asreference to the glossary is necessary to the understanding ofScottish words and phrases. As in all the Twins readers, the possibilities in this story fordramatization will be immediately apparent. The numerous outdooradventures, the discovery of the cave, and the fishing willprobably be the scenes that will make the most immediate appealto boys who are beginning to show the Boy Scout spirit; and otherphases of outdoor life, no less than the touches of housework, will appeal to members of the Girl Scout and the Girls' Camp Fireorganization. The illustrations in the book show hints for simplecostuming which may be followed when desired. Mrs. Perkins's illustrations can be used in other ways also. Children will enjoy sketching many of them, since their simplestyle makes them especially available in this way. An excellentoral exercise would be for the children after they have read thestory to take turns in telling it from the illustrations; and agood composition exercise would be for each pupil to select theillustration that he would like to write upon, to make a copy ofit, and then to tell its story in his own way. During the reading, the teacher should tell the childrensomething about Scotland, geographically and historically. A fileof the National Geographic Magazine, which is accessible in mostpublic libraries, will be found to contain many illustratedarticles which will be invaluable in this connection. Teachersshould refer also to Tomlinson's "Young Americans in the BritishIsles, " Kate Douglas Wiggin's "Penelope's Progress, " the volumesdevoted to Scotland in Longfellow's series, "Poems of Places, "and to Bradley's "The Gateway of Scotland. " Other references areHunnewell's "Lands of Scott" and Olcott's "The Country of SirWalter Scott. " (Consult the indexes for references to Rob Roy, The Lady of the Lake, etc. Also of course Scott's novels andpoems and Burns's poems contain much material that can be drawnupon. ) Particularly to be recommended are the selectionspublished in the Riverside Literature Series and in Webster andCoe's "Tales and Verse from Sir Walter Scott. " Just at the present time when the tercentenary of the landing atPlymouth occupies all our attention, it is particularly timely torecall the potent influences of the Scottish people upon thePuritans in old England and the Pilgrims who founded New England. Scott's "Tales of a Grandfather" and Dickens's "Child's Historyof England, " also Tappan's "England's Story" will give an accountof how the Scotch rose in revolt against kings and prelates, andhow they were the first nation in Europe to establish in theircountry the underlying principles of democracy. The Scottishsystems of land tenure--which may be said to be the theme of TheScotch Twins--are discussed in Beaton's "Highlands of Scotland. "Of particular bearing is his comment upon conditions resultingfrom the withdrawal of soil for purposes of sport, the poachingthat followed, etc. The spirit of Scottish history is epitomized in Burns's poem, "AMan's a Man for a' That, " and the ingenious teacher will need nofurther prompting as to the ways in which this poem and themovement for which it stands are related to the history of ourown country. A further debt to Scotland lies in the character ofthe Scotch immigrants to the United States and their descendants;Griffis's "Bonnie Scotland and What We Owe Her" will show how toapply this suggestion and others which will come to mind fromthese paragraphs.