For three weeks Ronald and Malcolm remained in hiding in the hut among
the hills. Every two or three days Malcolm went down to the village and
brought back food. He learned that the remains of the army at Ruthven had
entirely dispersed, the prince himself seeing the hopelessness of any
longer continuing the struggle. Terrible tales of slaughter and
devastation by Cumberland's troops circulated through the hills. The duke
had fixed his headquarters at Fort Augustus, and thence his troops
ravaged the whole country of the clans lately in insurrection. Villages
were burned, cattle slaughtered, women subjected to the grossest insult
and ill treatment, and often wantonly slain, and the fugitives among the
mountains hunted like wild beasts, and slain as pitilessly whenever
overtaken.
Ronald's arm was healing fast. Youth and a good constitution, and the
care and attention of Malcolm, aided perhaps by the pure mountain air,
did wonders for him. The splints had proved efficacious, and although
they had not yet been taken off, Malcolm was confident that the injury
would be completely repaired. One morning Malcolm had left but half an
hour for the village when he returned.
"The enemy are in the village," he said. "I can see clouds of smoke
rising in that direction. We had better be off at once. They will be
scouring all the hills here, as they have done elsewhere, and we had
better get out of the neighbourhood."
There was no packing to be done, and taking with them what remained of
the food Malcolm had last brought, they started on their way. They made
first for the spring from which they had drawn their water, and then
followed the little stream on its way down the hill, as it flowed in the
opposite direction to the village. An hour's walking took them into the
forest.
"Before we go further let us have a consultation," Malcolm said. "We are
safe now from pursuit, and had better settle upon what course we intend
to adopt. Shall we make for Glasgow, and lie hid there until things blow
over a little; or make for the isles, and stay there until we get a
chance of being taken off by some French ship? That is what they say the
prince has done; and indeed as there would be no chance of his getting a
ship on the east coast, and all the Lowlands are against them, he is
certain to have made for the isles. The Clanranalds and most of the other
islemen are loyal to him, and would receive and shelter him. Skye is
hostile, but elsewhere he will be safe, and would move from island to
island or get across to the mainland by night if the pursuit became too
hot. What do you say, Ronald?"
"I would not try Glasgow unless as a last resource, Malcolm; you are
known to many there, and as I was there as one of the prince's officers
on two occasions I might easily be recognized. You may be sure that there
is a very strict lookout for fugitives, and every stranger who enters a
town will be closely examined. After some time, when Prince Charles and
the principal chiefs and the leaders will either have escaped across the
water or been hunted down, things will calm down; but at present we must
not try to pass through the Lowlands."
"At any rate we cannot try to do so till your shoulder is completely
healed, and you can use your arm naturally; but I do not think that we
had better try and cross to the isles just at present. If Prince Charles
is there, or is believed by the English to be there, the search will be
so keen that every stranger would be hunted down; and although the
Highlanders might risk imprisonment and death for the prince himself,
they could not be expected to run the same risk for anyone else. If the
prince escapes it will be because the whole population are with him, and
every man, woman, and child is trying to throw the pursuers off the
scent. No, I think we should be safer in Edinburgh itself than in the
isles. We will make a shift to live as we can for a month or so; by that
time I hope you will be able to use one arm as well as the other, and we
will then boldly go down into the Lowlands in our old characters as two
drovers."
"That will be the best plan, no doubt," Ronald agreed; "the difficulty
will be the getting over the next month."
"We shall manage that," Malcolm said; "fortunately you have still got
some money left."
"Yes, I have over fifty pounds; it was lucky I was able to draw it, as we
returned north, from the man I left it with at Carlisle."
"Yes, and you wanted to give it back to the treasury," Malcolm said, "and
would have done it if I had not almost quarrelled with you about it,
saying that it had been given you for a certain purpose, that you had
carried out that purpose, and had, therefore, a right to it, and that you
would be only looked upon as a fool if you offered to pay it back.
However, there it is now, and lucky it is you have got it. However hard
the times, however great the danger, a man will hardly starve in Scotland
with fifty pounds in his pocket; so now we will turn our faces west, and
make for the head of one of the lochs; there are plenty of fish to be had
for catching, and with them and a little oatmeal and a bottle or two of
whiskey we can live like lords."
They walked for some hours, and stopped for the night in the hut of a
shepherd, who received them hospitably, but could give them but little
food, his scanty supplies being almost exhausted, for, as he told them,
"the hills are full of fugitives, and those who come all cry for meal; as
for meat, there is no want of it. Men won't starve as long as there are
sheep and cattle to be had for lifting them, and at present there are
more of these than usual in the hills, for they have all been driven up
from the villages lest they should fall into the hands of the troopers;
but meal is scarce, for men dare not go down to the villages to buy, and
we only get it when the women bring it up as they have a chance."
In the morning the shepherd gave them directions as to the way they
should take, and a few hours later they came down upon the head of one of
the many deep inlets on the western coast. A small fishing boat stood on
the shore, but they dared not descend into this, but made their way to
the point where, as the shepherd had told them, a stream which flowed
from a mountain tarn some miles inland made its way down into the sea.
The banks were thickly wooded for some two miles from its outlet; beyond
that was a moorland covered with heather. They determined to encamp near
the upper edge of the wood, and at once set to with their swords to cut
down branches and construct a hut. This was completed before dusk, and
Malcolm then started for the village on the seashore. Ronald besought him
to be most careful.
"There is likely," he said, "to be a party of soldiers in every village
round the coast, for they will know that all the chiefs and officers
would be making for the sea. The clansmen have only to remain in the
hills until this persecution dies out, and then go quietly home again;
but for the leaders the only hope is escape by sea."
"I will be careful, lad," Malcolm said. "I shall not enter the village,
but will hang about in its outskirts until I come across someone, and
with plenty of money in my pocket it is hard if I cannot manage to get a
bag of meal and a net, even if the place is full of English soldiers."
Three hours later Malcolm returned laden with a sack containing forty
pounds of meal, a jar with two gallons of whiskey, and a net.
"There," he said as he entered; "we can do for a month now, if needs be.
There is a party of militia in the village, and I hear the whole coast is
closely watched, and there are a number of English cruisers among the
islands."
"How did you get the things?"
"I waited till a woman came down with a bundle of faggots, and told her
what I wanted. She said at first it was impossible; but when I said I was
prepared to pay well she altered her tone, and said she would send her
husband out to me. He soon came, and after some bargaining he agreed to
bring me out the things I wanted for three pounds, and here they are. I
see you have got a fire alight, so we will make some cakes at once. I
have brought a griddle and two horns with me."
The next morning they set to work to fish. The net was stretched across
the lower end of a pool, and they then stripped and waded in, splashing
and throwing stones as they went. It was just up to their necks in the
deepest parts, shallowing to two feet below. When they reached the net
they found two fine salmon caught there, and carrying these ashore they
split one and placed it above the fire. The net was then removed, and in
half an hour they were sitting down to a breakfast of grilled salmon and
hot oatmeal cakes, which Ronald thought the most delicious repast he had
ever tasted.
For three weeks they remained at this spot. They were not always alone,
being sometimes joined for a day or two by other fugitives, who, like
themselves, were wandering near the sea coast seeking escape. These
seldom stayed long, for it was felt unsafe to keep in parties of more
than two or three at the utmost. Some of the fugitives were in wretched
condition, having been wandering among the moors and forests for weeks,
and as the fishing was very successful, Ronald and Malcolm were able to
give them at parting a good supply of smoked salmon, and a portion of
meal, of which Malcolm from time to time brought a fresh supply up from
the village.
The people there knew little of what was passing in the outer world; but
from the conversation of the soldiers they were sure that Prince Charles
had so far escaped capture, and an opinion began to prevail that he had
succeeded in making his escape by sea, in spite of the vigilance of the
English cruisers.
By the end of the three weeks even Malcolm admitted that Ronald's wound
was completely cured. Two large blue scars showed where the bullet had
passed through, and beneath this could be felt a lump where the broken
bone had knitted together, and this would in time become as strong as the
rest of the shoulder. Malcolm's splints had done their duty, and the eye
could detect no difference between the level or width of the two
shoulders. Ronald could move his arm freely in all directions, and,
except that he could not at present venture to put any strain upon the
arm, he might be considered as perfectly cured. They determined,
therefore, to continue their way. In the first place, however, it was
necessary to procure other clothes, for Ronald was still in uniform, and
although Malcolm's attire was not wholly military, it yet differed
materially from that of a countryman.
"We shall have to get other clothes when we get south," Malcolm said;
"for a Highlander's dress would be looked upon with as much suspicion in
Glasgow as would that uniform of yours. But until we get down to the
Lowlands the native garb will be the best."
Accordingly he paid another visit to the village, and with the utmost
difficulty persuaded the man he had before dealt with to bring him two
suits of clothes, such as were worn by the fishermen there. In these,
although Malcolm's small stock of Gaelic would betray them at once for
other than they seemed to the first clansman who might address them, they
could pass muster with any body of English troops they might meet by the
way.
Before starting they caught and smoked as many salmon as they could
carry, as the fishermen of the coast were in the habit of exchanging fish
for sheep with their inland neighbours. They cut each a short pole, and
slung some fish at each end, and then placing it on their shoulder,
started on their way. They kept along the hillside until they struck the
track--for it could scarcely be called a road--leading from the
village into the interior, and then boldly followed this; for the
difficulty of travelling across the hilly and broken country was so great
that they preferred to run the slight extra risk of keeping to the road,
feeling certain that for the first day's march at least their appearance
and the fish they carried would answer for themselves with any body of
troops they might meet.
Of this, however, they did not think there was much chance. The
authorities would have long since learned the futility of hunting the
fugitives among the hills, and would be confining their efforts to the
sea coast. They were now at a considerable distance from the scene of the
bloody persecutions of Cumberland and Hawley, and although in other parts
of Scotland severe measures might be adopted against known adherents of
the Stuarts, it was among the Highland clans only that savage and
wholesale massacres were being carried into effect.
Occasionally in the course of the day's walk they met with clansmen
passing along the road. These generally passed with a brief word of
greeting in Gaelic. One or two who stopped to speak recognized at once by
Malcolm's accent that the wayfarers were not what they pretended to be;
but they asked no questions, and with a significant smile and an
expression of good wishes went on their way.
At the village where they stopped, after a long day's journey, the same
line of conduct was observed towards them. The inhabitants guessed at
once that they were in disguise; but the edicts against those who
assisted fugitive insurgents were so severe that none made any open sign
of their recognition. They paid for their night's lodging and food with a
portion of their fish, which they were indeed glad to get rid of.
The next day they resumed their journey, and towards sunset arrived at a
village where they saw a party of English cavalry, who had apparently but
just arrived. The men were cleaning their horses, and an officer was
sitting on a bench in front of the principal house in the village; for he
had already made a close inspection of every house in the village, and
the angry faces of the women and the sullen looks of a few men there were
about showed how they resented the disturbance of their households.
It was too late to retreat, and Malcolm and Ronald walked boldly to the
public house in the centre of the village. The officer at once rose and
walked across to him.
"Who are you?" he asked; "and where do you come from?"
Malcolm shook his head and said in Gaelic:
"I do not understand English."
"What fools these people are!" the officer exclaimed. "Ho, within there!"
The landlady came to the door.
"Do you speak English?"
"I speak a little," the woman said.
"Just ask these men who they are and where they come from."
The woman asked the question in Gaelic, and Malcolm replied:
"We are, as you see, fishermen, and we come from Huish."
As he spoke there was a slight change in the woman's face; but it passed
away, and she translated Malcolm's answer to the officer.
"But that is forty miles away," the officer said. "What do they do with
their fish at this distance from their home?"
The question being put in Gaelic by the woman, Malcolm replied that owing
to the boats being seized by the soldiers, and trade being at a
standstill, they could no longer make a living at home, and were
therefore on their way to Glasgow to ship as sailors. They were carrying
their fish with them to pay for their food and lodging on the way.
The story was probable enough, and the officer's suspicion was allayed.
"They are fine looking fellows, both of them," he said to himself as he
returned to his bench. "Father and son, I suppose. The young one would
make a strapping soldier. Like enough he was at Culloden. However, thank
goodness, I have no grounds for suspecting or detaining them. I am sick
of this brutal business of fugitive hunting. We are officers and not
butchers, and this slaying of brave men who have met us fairly in battle
is a disgrace to the British name."
Ronald and Malcolm followed the woman into the house.
"I am ready to buy some of your fish," she said in a loud tone of voice
in Gaelic, "for there will be many to feed this evening; as my house is
full of soldiers I cannot take you in, but if you like you can sleep in
that shed over there. I can cook one of your fish for you, and let you
have some black bread; but that is all I can do. Now, how much do you
want for the fish?"
Malcolm named a low price, and the woman took three or four of the
largest. For these she offered him the price he had asked. He glanced
round, and seeing that they were not overlooked, he shook his head.
"We don't want money," he said. "We are well provided. Many thanks for
keeping our secret."
The woman nodded, and without another word the two went out and sat down
on a stone bench outside until the landlady brought out a platter with a
fish and some black bread. This they ate where they sat. Malcolm then
went in to get some tobacco, and returned with his pipe alight, and sat
with Ronald watching with apparent interest the operations of the
soldiers until night closed in. Then they retired to the shed the
landlady had pointed out, and found that a large bundle of freshly
gathered rushes had been shaken out to form a bed. Carrying in their
poles with their now diminished load of fish, they closed the door and
threw themselves down upon the rushes.
"That has passed off well," Malcolm said. "Tomorrow we will only go a
mile or so out of the village, and stop in the first wood we come to, and
go on at night. Thirty miles will take us close down to Dumbarton, and
there we must manage to get some fresh clothes."
"We shall be able to leave our poles behind us," Ronald said, "and that
will be a comfort. Although my load of fish was not nearly as heavy as
yours, still carrying it on one shoulder was no joke, and I shall be
heartily glad to get rid of it."
"I shall not be sorry myself," Malcolm said; "but there will be no
occasion to waste the fish. We shall be up and away long before the
soldiers are stirring, and we may as well hand them over as a present to
the landlady."
This was done, and at an early hour in the morning they were upon the
road again. After an hour's walking they stopped in a wood till evening
and then continued on their way until they reached Dumbarton, where they
threw themselves down beside some boats drawn up upon the shore, and
slept till the morning.
They then boldly entered the town, and as their garb was similar to that
of the men who brought down the fish caught at the villages on the coast,
no attention whatever was paid to them. They had no difficulty in
purchasing the clothes they required, and carrying them out of the town
they changed in the first retired spot they reached, and, as two Lowland
drovers, tramped on to Glasgow. With their bonnets pulled well down over
their eyes they entered the town. They had little fear of discovery, for
none would be likely to recognize in Ronald the gaily dressed young
officer of Prince Charles.
As to Malcolm, he felt safe from molestation. He was, of course, known to
many drovers and others, but they would not concern themselves with what
he had been doing since they last saw him, and even had they noticed him
when he was there with Ronald, would not denounce an old comrade. He
went, therefore, boldly to the little inn where he had been in the habit
of staying when in the city.
"Ah, Malcolm, is that you, man?" the landlord said as he entered. "I
didna think o' seeing you again. I thought it likely ye were laying stiff
and stark somewhere out on the muirs. Eh, man, you are a foolish fellow
to be mixing yourself up in the affairs of ithers."
"I have done with it now, Jock, for good and all," Malcolm said, "and am
going back to my old trade again."
"I think you are a fule to come back here so soon. There's mony a one
marked ye as ye rode in behind that young officer of the prince's, and if
they denounce you now they would soon clap you in between four walls."
"Hoots, man!" Malcolm laughed; "who would trouble themselves about a body
like me!"
"There are bleudy doings up i' the Highlands," the landlord said gravely,
"if a' they say is true."
"It is true, Jock, more shame to them; but they wouldn't do in Glasgow
what they are doing there. They are hunting down the clansmen like wild
beasts; but here in the Lowlands they will not trouble themselves to ask
who was for King George and who was against him, except among those who
have got estates they can confiscate."
"May be no," the landlord replied. "Still, Malcolm, if you will take my
advice you won't show yourself much in the streets, nor your friend
either," he added significantly. "You may be safe, but the citizens are
smarting yet over the requisitions that were made upon them, and your
friend had best keep in his room as long as ye stay here."
Malcolm nodded.
"He will be careful, Jock, never fear. We shall be off again as soon as
we get a chance. I will leave him here while I go down the town and find
whether there is a herd starting for England. If there is we will go with
it; if not, I shall try and get a passage by sea."
Malcolm could not hear of any drove of cattle going south. The troubles
had, for the time, entirely put a stop to the trade. After it was dark he
went to Andrew's. His brother's face expressed both pleasure and dismay
at seeing him.
"Right glad I am to see you have got safely through it all, Malcolm, but
you must be mad to show yourself here again at present. But how is the
boy? We have troubled sorely over him. I trust that he too has come
safely through it?"
"Safe and sound, Andrew, save that he had a bullet through his shoulder
at Culloden; but he is tight enough again now."
"And what have you been doing ever since?"
"Curing his shoulder and fishing;" Malcolm briefly related their
adventures since Culloden.
"And is he with you here in Glasgow, Malcolm? Surely you are not mad
enough to bring him here, where he is known to scores of people as one of
the rebel officers!"
"He is here, sure enough," Malcolm said, "and safer than he has been for
some time. It is nearly two months since Culloden, and people are
beginning to think of other things, except in the Highlands, where those
fiends Cumberland and Hawley are burning and slaying. Ronald is dressed
like a drover, and no one is likely to recognize him. However, he will
remain within doors. And now, brother, I want you to take us a passage in
the next vessel sailing for London. If I go to a shipper he may ask
questions, and like enough it may be necessary to get passes signed
before we can go on board."
"Certainly it is," Andrew said. "A strict lookout is kept to prevent the
rebel leaders from escaping, and no captain of a ship is permitted to
take a passenger unless he is provided with a pass, signed by a
magistrate, saying that he is a peaceable and well known person."
"But just at present we are both peaceable persons, Andrew, and we can
certainly claim to be well known citizens."
"It is no joking matter, Malcolm, I can tell you," Andrew said irritably;
"but of course I will see what I can do. And now I will put on my bonnet
and come with you and have a chat with Ronald. It will not do to bring
him here tonight, but we must arrange for him to come and see Janet
before he sails. I shall not tell her anything about it till he is ready
to start, for you know she is very particular, and I am afraid I shall
have to say what is not quite true to get the order. I can sign it
myself, but it must have the signature of the provost too."
So saying he took his cap and accompanied Malcolm to the lodging.
"Stay here a moment, Andrew," Malcolm said when he arrived within a few
yards of the little inn. "I will see that there is no one drinking
within. It wouldna look well to see a decent bailie of the city going
into a liquor shop after dark. It will be best for me to fetch him out
here, for I doubt there's any room where you could talk without fear of
being overheard."
Ronald, who was sitting with his cap pulled down over his eyes as if
asleep, in a corner of the room, where three or four drovers were smoking
and talking, was called out by Malcolm.
"I am right glad to see you again," Andrew Anderson said heartily. "Janet
and I have passed an ill time since the battle was fought. Elspeth has
kept up our hopes all along. She said she was sure that you were alive,
quite downright sure; and though neither Janet nor I have much faith in
superstitions, the old woman's assertions that she should assuredly know
it if you were dead did somehow keep up our spirits. Besides, I had faith
in Malcolm's knowledge of the country, and knew you were both famous for
getting into scrapes and out of them, so I thought that if neither bullet
nor sabre had stretched you on the moor of Culloden you would manage to
win your way out of the trouble somehow. However, I think you are pretty
safe here. The bloody doings of Cumberland have shocked every Scotchman,
and even those who were strongest against the Stuarts now cry shame, and
so strong is the feeling that were the prince to appear now with a
handful of followers I believe the whole country would rise in his
favour. So deep is the wrath and grief at the red slaughter among the
Highlands there would not be many Scotchmen found who would betray a
fellow Scot into the hands of these butchers. I will make inquiry
tomorrow as to what ships are sailing, and will get you a passage in the
first. There may be some difficulty about the permit; but if I can't get
over it we must smuggle you on board as sailors. However, I don't think
the provost will ask me any questions when I lay the permit before him
for his signature. He is heart and soul for the king, but, like us all,
he is sick at heart at the news from the North, and would, I think, shut
an eye if he saw a Jacobite making his escape. And now, lad, I must be
going back, for the hour is getting late and Janet does not know why I am
away. Come to us tomorrow evening as soon as the shop closes. Janet and
Elspeth will be delighted to see you, and we will have a long talk over
all that you have gone through."
On the following evening Ronald and Malcolm presented themselves at
Andrew's and were received with delight by Elspeth and Mrs. Anderson. The
latter had, while the rebellion appeared to have a chance of success,
been its bitter opponent, and had spoken often and wrathfully against her
husband's brother and Ronald embarking in such an enterprise; but with
its overthrow all her enmity had expired, and she would have been ready
to give assistance not only to them, but to any other fugitive trying to
escape.
"I have good news for you," Andrew said, when the first greetings were
over. "A vessel sails in the morning, and I have taken passages for you
in it; and what is more, have brought your permits. I went to the provost
and said to him, 'Provost, I want you to sign these permits for two
friends of mine who are wanting to go up to London.'
"'Who are they?' said he.
"'They are just two drover bodies,' I said. He looked at me hard.
"'One question, Andrew. I know how you feel just at present. You are a
loyal man like myself, but we all feel the same. I will sign your permit
for any save one. Give me your word that neither of these men is Charles
Stuart. I care not who they may be beside, but as a loyal subject of King
George I cannot aid his arch enemy to escape.'
"'I give you my word, provost,' I said. 'One is--'
"'I don't want to know who they are,' he interrupted. 'I had rather not
know. It is enough for me that you give me your word that neither of them
is Charles Stuart,' and he took the pen and signed the permit. 'Between
ourselves,' he went on, 'I shall be glad to hear that the misguided young
man is safe across the water, but as Provost of Glasgow I could lend him
no help to go.'
"'They say he has got safe away already,' I said.
"'I think not, Andrew; the coast has been too closely watched for that.
The young man is hiding somewhere among the isles, among the Clanranalds
or Macdonalds. I fear they will have him yet. I dread every day to get
the news; but I hope beyond all things, that if they do lay hands on him
it will be through the treachery of no Scot.'
"'I hope not, provost,' I said. 'They haven't got over throwing it in our
teeth that we sold King Charles to Cromwell.' So we just shook hands and
said goodbye, and here is the permit."
They spent a long evening talking over the past.
"I wonder if I shall ever see you again, Ronald!" Mrs. Anderson said,
with tears in her eyes, as they rose to say goodbye.
"You need nor fear about that, Janet, woman," her husband said. "Ronald
and Malcolm aye fall on their legs, and we shall see them back again like
two bad pennies. Besides," he went on more seriously, "there will be an
end of these savage doings in the north before long. Loyal men in
Scotland are crying out everywhere against them, and the feeling in
England will be just as strong when the truth is known there, and you
will see that before long there will be a general pardon granted to all
except the leaders. Fortunately Ronald and Malcolm are not likely to be
in the list of exceptions, and before a year is up they will be able to
come back if they will without fear of being tapped on the shoulder by a
king's officer."
"I shall come back again if I can, you may be sure," Ronald said. "Of
course I do not know yet what my father and mother's plans may be; but
for myself I shall always look upon Scotland as my home, and come back to
it as soon as I have an opportunity."
"You do not intend to stay in the French army?"
"Certainly not. After the treatment my father has received I have no
inclination to serve France. The chief reason why Scotchmen have entered
her service has been that they were driven from home, and that they
looked to France for aid to place the Stuarts on the throne again. Now
that the time has come, France has done nothing to aid, and has seen the
Stuart cause go down without striking a blow to assist it. I consider
that cause is lost for ever, and shall never again draw my sword against
the House of Hanover. Nor have I had any reason for loving France. After
living in a free country like Scotland, who could wish to live in a
country where one man's will is all powerful--where the people are
still no better than serfs--where the nobles treat the law as made only
for them--where, as in my father's case, a man may not even marry
according to his own will without incurring the risk of a life's
imprisonment? No, I have had enough of France; and if ever I get the
opportunity I shall return to Scotland to live."
The next morning early Ronald and Malcolm embarked on board a ship. Their
permits were closely scrutinized before the vessel started, and a
thorough search was made before she was allowed to sail. When the
officers were satisfied that no fugitives were concealed on board they
returned to shore, and the vessel started on her voyage for London.