Show 1IvN Of Th C3 IV Ii nc1 RtG pi f > c r SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING CHAPTERS CHAP-TERS W1lliam sixth Earl of Douglas In cossing his estates chances upon a btautiful lady one of the retinue of thl French ambassador who is on his nar to Edinburgh The young earl 10se his heart to the fair lady and on the point of promising to go with her to the court of the Scottish ling he Is forciby carrIed away under cover of a heavy storm by lfalise McKim the Douglab armor and Abbott William Douglas who think the lady a wItch On the following day at the great review re-view of 10000 Douglas retainers the earl again meets the Lady Sybilla and at once Makes her the Queen of Beauty Sholto icKim son of the ar morer distinguishes 1imselJ in arch err and Is made captain of the castle guard Sholto falls In love aith Maud Llndesa maid of honor to the earls sister and on the first night of his steardshlp Droves his valor by I wounding a huge animal which has frighteted the young ladles The next I day the French ambassador is suspiciously suspi-ciously ill but Lady Sybilla accompanied accom-panied Ly the three Douglas cousins rides away to witness the second days tourney in the precincts of the castle i of Thrieye winning on the way theo the-o ted prmie from William to accompany ac-company her to Edinburgh Sholtos archer guards protect the castle halls wound a servant of the French ambassador ambas-sador and keep Maud Lindesay and her charge imprisoned by mistake all day On the third day the Douglas cousins enter the lists as also the French ambassador am-bassador who foully casts his spear at the young Earl of Douglas and wounds him In the combat that follows Sholo shvws such bravery that he is knighted On the return to the caste Maud Lindfa3 playfully bids farewell to the Sholto of old and only appeases his sUbsequent wrath by assuming a loving penitence James earl of Ayondale Sir Alexan of the der Livingston the guardian kings person Sir William Cricton chancellor of the realm and Marshal de Ret the ambassador of France begin to plot against the earl of Douglas Through the aid of Lady Sybia the niece of De Ret lam wIth a small folowing including Sholo is induced to visit the Caste CrIchton where en flICS entertain him royally i The young earl falls deeper into love oth Sybifla and she in turn overcome by his sincerity and complete confidence I In her Corfees her love for him and then urgEs him to return home with all I speed Marshall de Retz takes S bia to Edinburgq and William accpt the invitation of the young king of Scotland I Scot-land t visit the court il the hope of mpettg his lady love The king and the two Douglas brothers become get I I friends but even the king cannot wad cf the calamity about to fall on thq I Dou1as At a banquet a huge boars heed is bought in a sign of treachery md in I ftc of the brave attempts of 8ml to protect his master the earl and his brother charged with treason lr > arrested and Put in dungeons Sholto accompanies his master Tat night the Douglas archers sot a 31 ow attached to a cord into the window I and the prisoners draw up a stout ropd William hears the Lady Sybla cryIng Ir the cte and reuses to escape David I Da-vid a true Douglas refuses to leave his brother but the two persuaded Shulto to go and seek help Early the wxt Mor ng the Douglases are brJght before the kings curt charged with high treason and sentenced to bi executed at once Sybia declares her love before the curt and the ho brothers g forth 1 their dlath the death of a faithful brother and cf the truest lover in wham God ever put hert of grace to live courteously and die greatly cT XV THE RISING OF THE DOUGLAES I was upon the earls own charger Darayay that Shlo rode southward to raise to their chiefs aistc the g a C a comptest clan that eel I even in Scotad had done the biding i Cf one man I Tht young mans heart was high and J lfu ihin him The kings guar dI < s dared not so e told himself let aught befall the puiEt D uglaces in th r tle of Edinburgh without trial aol under cover or the mOt courteous I hospl Try the earl of Douglas s Shlo I thUlt within him tie laughed at the I naj j n Why Earl lam could hy a 1J bng a hundred thousand mea of the Gallouay md the Marh to make 0 tng jury f b medittej h3 thcught run n ft and fiery to the beating of Block DaMawars feet as he clmbed tl hahry slopEs hicl lead to the I iatio of Douglas Day was brldng a f rode j55t the t1 o Lanark yet SC Ld moJce in the caller airs c f Ijr At the bate of this frontier t n hC de1iored his frt summons frT the urglers of Lanark were liege fl1fl r f tl < DmglaF of Douglasdale an wore < though not wl jih much good a i bour1 to furnish service at cal Sholto kd some difficulty In making liimcdf hcard athwfrt the ponderous wJn gates bossed with leather and I rtuiod wih iron At first he shouted to the ienle i but presently nearer and nlr came a below as of a brazen bull thurdwous and echoy Power 0 cock and a braw braw roining I was Grie Eishioner watchman of the town of Lanark evidencing to the maistrte and lieges that he was earning his 3 shillings In a weeka j hadsme wage i those had tmel anl one well ale to provide bellytim her far himself and also for the wife and weans who dwelling In a close off I i toe high stet were called by his I name I tl gholto thundered again upon the per Open there Open I say in the name lf the et of Douglas Fower 0 the morning Lord whats 0 the Sto In the name o the vnrl 0 Douglas But wha lens that it is ilo the i Eng l h Ni 1 Grice ElshIonC opens rot t eve nightrakin lon that I lkes to I 17 the name 0 < the yen 0 Douglas ewer ocr ton waT And Grice the valorous would have ten him of with a fre scpdlspel ling bellow had It not been that he beard himself summoned in a voice that I brooked 0 delay Open valet of a watchman or by 1 St Brice I will have you swinging in hal an hour from the bars of your own ortculs I who spe am Sholo Mac Kim captain of tie earls guar Eve liegeman In the town must aTm mount 1 and ride this instant to Edinburgh I t givo you far warning You hetr my words I will not enter your rascal twn But if s much a one be wanting 1 want-ing at the muster I ea In the name of m3 master thathis house shall be burned with fire ad red to the I ground that his wife shall be a wIdow or ever the cock caw on another Sabbath Sab-bath morn And wIthout waiting for a reply Sholo lad the reins Upon the neck of Black Daawa and roe on southward south-ward up Douglas Water 10 the home netst of his great house ne gef And behind him with a wall In I blared through the n row street the storny voice of Once Elahioner watch 1 i I L W man of Lanark Vauken ye wauken ye burgess a The Douglas hath sent to bide ye mount and ride The bir of the town drum salute Shoos ear er he had turned thE corer Then came the answeript shout of the burghers who thrust inquiring in-quiring and indignant heads out of h the gable windows and tretspeerIng r continued the undaunted and insistent town drum Harness your backs Fill your belles bel-les and stand red3 The Douglas has need 0 3e lieges a cried the sonorous voice of the watch Sholo smiled as lie listened r haie at least set them on the alert They will join the Douglasdale men as they pass by or we will know the reason rea-son why But they of Lanark are Ill set townward men and of no true lea heart save an i be to their own coffers cof-fers Yet they will mach with us for fear of the harrying hand and the burning rooftree The sun shone fair onthe battlements of Douglas rte zs Sholto rode up to the level mead where a little company com-pany of men was exercising He could hear the words of command cried gruffly gruff-ly in the broad Galoway speech Landless Land-less Joel was drilling his spearmen and as the shining triple line of points dropped to the ready to receive the old knight and former captain of the earls guard came forward a little way to welcome his successor with what lit tIe grace was at his command Eh sirce and what has brocht sic a braw young knight and grand frequenter fre-quenter 0 courts sae far as Douglas castle Could no even let puir auld Landless Jock hue the tilt yalrd hereto here-to exercise his handfu in and keep his auld banes a wee while frae the cOst and the green mowld But even as the crusty old soldier spoke these words the white anxiety In Sholos face struck through his hafhumorous complaint and the words died on his lips in a perturbed What is twhat is t ava laddie Sholo told him in the fewest words The yen and Davvid in the power 0 their hooses enemIes Blessed Saint Anthony and here was I fghterin and ragin boot my naethings Here lads blaw the horn and cry the slogan Fetch the horse frae the stall and stand ready in your war gear within ten minutes by the knock Aye faith will we raise Douglasdale Gang your ways to Galowathere shall not a man bide at hame this day Certes we wul that Ca in the bygun at Lanarkaye lad and gin the rascals are no willing or no ready nw ivill hang the provost and magistrates at their aln doorcheeks to learn them to bide frae the cried assembly 0 their liege lord Sholo had done enough in Douglas dale He turned north again on a yet more iiottant errand I was a forenoon fore-noon full and broad when he haled before the little town of Strathaven upon which the caste of Avondale looks down I seemed of the greatest moment that the Avondale Douglases should know that which had befallen their cousin For no befalen treachery within the house and name of Douglas touched th a shade of show the mind of Sholo MacKim He thundered at the town ward port of the caste to which a steep ascent led up where presently the outer guard soon crowded about him listening to his story and already lingering boa string and examining ropematches preparatory to the expected march I upon Edinburgh I have not time to waste comrades I must see my lords sad Sholto I I must see them Instantly And even as he spoke there on the steps appeared the dark handsome face and tall but slightly drooping figure of William Douglas of Avondale He stood with his hands clasped behind his back and his serious thoughtweighted face bent upon the concourse about Sholo With a push of his elbows this way and that the young captain of the earls gad opened a way through the press In short emphatic sentences he told his tae and at the name of prison meat and treachery the countenance of iia Douglas grew stern and hard Hs face twitched as if the news clne very near to IBm He did not answer for a moment but stood biting his lips and glooming upon bitng though the young man had been a prisoner pris-oner wnjtng sentence of pit or gallows for eldmng I mutt James S2e Jae concerning this inews lIe said when Sholt finished telling him of the black bulls head on the chmceicrs banquet table He tured to go within M3 Ibrd nail Sholto will you give me another hmse and let Darnawa rest ir your stables I must rda south again to raise Gaioway Order out all the horses Wilich are ready corparisoned commanded Vi Ham of Avondale and do you Captain CaJnn Sholo tale your choice of them He went wIthin forthwith and there I ensued a pause filled wIth the snorting du prancing ot steeds as filled ii goats g-oats and hay they issued from their stalls or wIth grass yet dewy about their noses they were led in from the field Darnawa took his leave of Sholto with a baelward neigh of regret re-gret as if to say that he was not yet tired of riding on his masters service Then presently on the terrace above appeared lazy Lord James busily buck hag the straps of his hody armor and talking hotly the while with William I care not whether our father he criel aloud ere with a restraining hand upon his wrist his elder brother could succeed in stopping him Hush James he sad At least be mindful of those that stand around I care not I tel you William cried the headstrong youth squaring his shoulders as he was wont to do be fore a fight 1 tel you that you and I are no traitors to our name and whoso meddles with our coz Will of ThrIeve hath us to reckon with William of Avondale saId nothing but held out his hand with a slow de terminate gesture Said he An it were the father that begat us Where at wIth alt the impetuousness of his race and nature Tames dashed his palm into that of his brother < Whiles William he crIed ye ap pear clerldsh and overcautious and I break out and miscall 3e for no Doug las when ye wi not spend your sier I like a man and are afraid of the honest pint stoup But at the hearts leart ye are aye a Douglasand though the silly gaping common like ye not so well as they like me you are the best 0 us a for all that I So i came to pass that within the space of half an hQur the young Avon dale Douglase had sent men to the four art young Hugh Douglas himself him-self riding west while James stirred the folk of AVondale and Strathaven and in all the courtyards mid streets of the little feudal town there began the hum and buzz of war assembh Lord William went with Sholo to see staunch Darnaway dub stabled and to approve the horse which was to bear the messenger to the south with out a hal now that his mission was I accomplished in the west When they I came out Sholos riding harness had been transferred to a noble gray steed large enough to cary the burly James J I r V I 11f 4 let alone the sUm captain of the guard of Thrieve Threve I In the court raked and ready bridle to bridle were ranged the knights and squire In waiting about the castle of Avondale while out on a lever gen spot on tile edge of the moor gathered the denser array of the townsfolk with spears and partzan The Avondale Douglases were readY enough to rIde to the assistance of their cousins Alas that Earl William would take no advice for had these and others gone il with him to the fatal town therewould have ben no black bulls head on the chancellors dinner table in the banqueting hal of Edinburgh Edin-burgh castle steCT XI I A STRANGE MEETING I I was approaching the evening of the third day after rIding forth upon his mission when Sholo sleepless yet I quite unconscious of weariness approached ap-proached the loch of Carlnwark and the cottage of Brawny Kim West and south he had raised the Douglas country coun-try as It had never been raised before And now behind him every armiger and had led his master into the power of the enemy she for whose sake he had refused the certainty of freedom and life Anger against this smiling enchantress en-chantress suddenly sure up in Sho1 s heart Halt thereon your life he cried and urged his wearied steed forward Like a winter wInd among dried leaves the children were dispersed every way by the gust of his angry shout But the maiden on the palr ang eih heeded not or did not hear Whereupon Sholo rode furiously to Intercept per He would lear what had befallen his master At least he would avenge him UIJOn onethe chief est and subtlest of his enemies But not till he had come within ten paces did the Lady SJbla turn upon him her regard Ten he saw her face It broke upon him sudden as the imminent sight of hell to one sure of favaton He had expected tfnd there gratified ambition sated lust exultant pride i cruel vengeance He saw insteaas it I had been the face at a angel cst out of heaven of a martyr who had passed through the torture chamber on her I way t the place of burning The < sight stopped Shto stricken cried pointing the blade at her breast answer if it was not It Is true I betrayed him she answered an-swered calmly You whom he lovedGod knows how unworthily God knows she sad simply and calmly You betrayed him to his death Why then should I not kill J Again she smiled upon aim that disarming dis-arming hopeless dreadful smile Because you cannot kill me Because Be-cause i were too crowning mercy to kill re Because for three Inches of that blade in my heart I would bless you through th eternities Because I must do the work that remains And that work Is VENGEANCE Sholo was silent tTing to think He found It hard to think He was but a boy and experience so strange as that of the Lady Sybia was outside him Yet vaguely he felt that he emoton wail realmor real perhaps than his own Instinct of crude itlayingthe In stnct of the wasp whose nest has been harrIed to sting the first comer This womans hatred was something dead I her surer more persistent I 0 S S i C S 1 T 1 t 4 J zt j y r S Y I j I You BEPRAYED HTh TOIS DEATH KY THEN SROULD I NOT K1LLYOU squire ever spearman and liglitfoot archer was hastening Edlnburghward eager to be first to suCcor the young and headstrong chief of this great Iioiise Sholto had ridden and cried the slo gun as was his duty without allowing his mind to dwell to much upon whether wheth-er all might not come too late And ever as he rode out of village or across the desolate moor from castle or fort fit farmhouse i seemed that not he but some other was upon this quest Something sterner and harder stirred I in hiS breast Lighthearted Sholo IacIim the careless lad of the joust ig day the proud young captain of the earls guard was dead wIth all his I vanity and in his place a man rode roe southward grim and determined with vengeful angers asmoldering in his bosomhunger thirst love the joy of living and the fear of death all being swallowed up by deadly hatred of those whIt had betrayed his master Maud Lindes was doubtless within a few miles of Sholto yet he scarcely gave even his sweetheart a thought a he urged his weary gray over the pur I pie Parton moor toward the loch of Carlmak and the little hamlet nestling nest-ling along its western side under the great ancient thorn trees of the Car bins hill He rode down over the green Cross cishal braes on which the broom pOds were crackling In the afternoon sunshine through hollows where the corn lingered as though unwilling to have done with such a scene of beauty and find itelf mewed in dusty bars ground In mills or cloepressed in thatched rick He breasted the long smooth rise and entered the woods which encircled the bright lake of Carlinwark the pearl of all the southland south-land Scottish loachs With a strange sense of detachment he looked down upon the greensward between him and his mothers gable end upon which as a child he had wandered Then it was nearly as large as the world and the grass was most comfortable to small bare fet There were children playing upon it nov even as there had been of old among them his own little sister Magdalen whose hair was spun gold and eye a blue tts the forgetme not in the marches of the Isle Wood The children were dressed in white five little girls in all as for a festal day and their voices came upward to Sholos ear through the arches of the great beeches which studded the turf even a they had done to that of Will lam Douglas in the sprIngtime of the year The minor note the dying fall of the innocent voices tugged at his heartstrings heart-strings He could hear little Iagdalen leading the chorus Margaret Douglas fresh and far A bunch of roses she shall wear Gold and silver by her side 1 know whos her bride I was at Fair Maid they were playing the mystic dace of southland south-land maidenhood at whose vestal rites no male of any age was ever permitted per-mitted to be present The words broke In upon the gloom which oppressed Sholos heart Momentarily he forgot his master and saw lIaud Llndesay with the little Margaret Douglas of whom the children sang again gathering gather-ing the gowans on the breide of Thrieve or perilously reaching for the purple Irises athwart the ditches of the Isle Take her by the lrwhle hand Lead her oer the water Give her Idsses one two Iiree For shes n ladys dnusoter As Sholto MacKlm listened to the quaint and moving lullaby suddenly there came into the field of his vision that which stiffened him into a statue of breathing marble For without clatter or accoutrement or tramp of hoof without companion Or attendant a white palfrey had appeared ap-peared through the green arches of the woodlands A girl was seated upon the saddle swaying with gentle movement move-ment to the motion of her steed At me sight of her fae as she came near er a low cry of horror and amazement broke from Sholos lns It was the lady Syila Yet he knev that he had left her behind be-hind him In Edinburgh the siren temptress of Earl Douglas she who t1 1 l I and waverIng His anger fell from him like a garment The Lady Sybla s face showed of no earthly paleness Marble white i was the eyes heavy with weeping purple rings beneath accentuating the horror that dwelt In them The lips that ha been as the bow of Apollo were parted as though they had been singing the dirge Q one beloved and ever as she rode ute tears ran down her cheeks and fell on her white robe add upon her palfrys mane She looked at Sholo when he came near but not as one who lee or recognizes recog-nizes Rather as if dumb drunken besotted be-sotted with grief looked forth the soul of the Lady Sbla upon the captain of the Douglas guard She heede not his angry shout for another voice rang ang In her ears speaking the lmlghtlest words ever uttered by a man about to die Sholos sword was threateningly in his hand but Sybia saw only another sword gleam bright in the morning sun ere it fell to rise again dimmed and red Therefore she checked not her steed nor turned aside till Sholo laid his hand upon her bridle rein and leaped quickly to the ground with his sword in his hand leaving his own beast to wan er where it would What dO you here he cried Where is my master What have I they done to him 1 bid you tel me on your life Sholtos voice had nO chivalrous courtesy in it now The time for that had gone by He lowered his sword point and there was iron in the muscleS of his arm He was ready to kilt the temptress a he would beautiful ful viper The LadY Sybla looked upon him and in a dazed fashion like one who rests between the turns of the rack In a little while she appeared to recognize him She noted the esord in his hand the death in his eyeand for the first time since the scene in the courtyard tme of Edinburg castle thhe smiled Then the fury in Sholtos heart broke suddenyforth J Woman he cried show me cause why I should not slay ydu For by God I will if aught of harm hath overtaken over-taken my master Speak I bid you Ir you have any viishto live But the Lady Sybia continued to smilethe same dreadful mocking smile and somehow Sholo with his weapon bare and his arm nerved to the thrust felt himself grow weak and helpless under the stillness and utter pltifulndss of hr look pitfuln would kill meki me you say the words came low and thrl lag forth from lips which were as those ofr the dead whose chin has yet been bound about with a napkin all would tjat you could But you cannot Steel all not slay poison will not destroy nor water drown Sybia de Tiiouarstlil her work be done Sholo escaped from the l wer of her eye My master he gasped my masteri5 he well I pray you tel md ter mdWas I a laugh that he heard In answer Rather a sound not of human mirth but of a condemned spirit laughing underground Then again out of the the low ven voicE replied expressionless face Aye your nter is well Alt thank I God burst forth Sholo he is alive The Lay Sybila moved her hand this way and that with the gesture of a blndman groping Huh she said I only said that he was well And he Is well As I am already in the place of torment I know that there is a heaven for those who die as William Douglas died Sholos cry rang sudden loud despairing de-spairing DeaddeadEarl William deadmy master deadl Re dropped the palfreys rein which till now he had held His sword fell unheeded on the turf and he flung himself him-self down In an agony of boyish grief But front tIer white palfrey sitting still where she vas the maiden watched the paroxysms of his sorrow She was dryeyed POW and her face was like a mask cut In snow Then as suddenly realizing himself Shono leaped from the ground snatched snatch-ed an his sword and again passion ateb advanced upon the Lady Sybia You It vas who betrayed him he < J I I ii I Vengeance he said at last scarce knowIng what he said whY should you vho betrayed him speak of avenging himBecause Because said the Lady Sybia I loved him as 1 never thought to love man born of woman Because when the fends of the pit tie me limb to lmb lip to lip with Judas who sold his master mas-ter with a kisswhen they burn me In the seventh hell I shall remember and rejoice because to the last he loved me believed in me gloried in his love for me And God who has been cruel to me in all else will yet do this thing for me He will not let William Douglas Doug-las know that I deceived him or that he trusted me in vn But the vengeance that you spoke of what of that said Sholo dwelling upon that whIch was uppermost in his own thought Aye said the Lady Sybia that alone can be compassed by me For I am bound bJ a chain the snapping of which is my death To him who in afar a-far land devised all these things to the man who plotted the fall of the Douglas house to Giles de Retz marshal mar-shal of France I am bound ButI shall not dieeven you cannot kill me till I have brought that head that Is so high to the hempen cord and delv ered the foul fiends body to the fires ofearth and hell And the Chancellor Crichtonand the tutor Livingstonewhat of them urged Sholo thinking like a Scot of his native traitors The Lady Sybilla wave a contemptuous contempt-uous had These are but baser rascal5the had been nothing without him You of the Douglas house must settle with themnd And why have you returned to this country of Galoway said Sholo and why are you thus alone I am alone said the Lady SYbia because none can harm me with my work undone I travel alone because it suits my mood to be alone because my master bade me join him at your town of Kirkcudbrght whence he taes ship for his own country of Brittany And why do you if as you say you hate him so continue to follow him Ah you are simple she said I follow him because it is my fate and whO can escape his doom Also because be-cause as I have said my work is note not-e done She relapse into her former listless forthlooking unconscious regardlook ing through him as if the young man had no existence He dropped the rein and the point of his sword with one forwald The white palfrey started forward with the reins loose on his neck And as she went the eyes of the Lady Sybia were fixed 01 the low h1s which hid the sea So leaving Sholo standing by the lakeside with bowed head and abased sword the strange woman went her way to work out her appointed work But ere the Lady Sybla dsappeared among the trees she turned and spoke I have but one counsel sir knight Think no more of you master Let the dead bUT their dead Ride to Thrieve and lose no sight of her whOm you call your sweetheart nor yet of her charge Margaret DouglaS the maid of Gallo way till the shadows fall and wInter comes upon the land OHPTR XV THE ACln1IS COME TO THRIV Sholo MacKim stood watching awhile as the white palfrey disappeared with Its rider Into the purple twilight of the woods which bared the way to the sea Then with a violent effort of w1 he recalled himself and looked about for his horse The tired animal was gently cropping thh lush dewy herbage on the green slope which led downward to his native cottage Sholo tool the gray by the brIdle and watke l toward his mothers door pondering 01 the j last words of the Lady Syb1a A voice at once strenuous and familiar broke upon his ea Shoo wi you impldent candies that yo are shoo Saw I ever the like aboot ony decent hoose Tha hens will drive me oot 0 my mind Sholo lad whats wrng Ist your father Din no tel me its Jour father I is worse than that mlther mine No the earlsurely no the earl him sclth laddie that I hae nursed the I laddie that was to Barbara Halburton as her ala son Mother It is the earl and DavId te too They are dead betrayed Into the hands of their enemies cruelly and treacherously slain Then the keening cry smote the aIr as Barbara MacKim sank on her knees and lifted up her hands to heaven Oh the bonny laddieste tO bonny bon-ny bonny laddie Mair than my ala balms I loved them When their ain mother wasna able for mortal weakness weak-ness to rear him William Douglas drew his life frae me What for Shol to are ye standin there to tel the tale What for couldna ye hae died wi hIm Ae mUhers milk slockene ye baih The same arms cradled ye I bade ye keep your lord safe wi your I I body and your soul And there ye da1r to stand skinhale and bane unbroken before your mither Get henceye are nae son 0 Barbara MacKIm Let me never look on your face again gIn ye bringa back the pride 0 the world the gladnes 0 the auld withered heart 0 her ye ca your miher Mother said Sholo my lord was not dead when I left him He sent me I to raise the country tohis rescue And what for are ye standin there claverlng and your lord In danger among his foes cried his mother angrily Dear mother I have something more to tel ye Aye I ken 3e neena break the news I is that Ma1se my man is dead that Laurence wha ran frae the Abbey to gag wi him to the wars is nae mair Aweel they are worthily spent since they died for their chief Ye say that ye were sent to raise the canthen what seek ye at rase Carln wark To Thrleve man to Tree as hard as ye can rIde Mother said Sholo still more gently hearken but a moment Thirty thousand men are on their way to Edinburgh Tree days and nights have I ridden without sleep Douglasdale is awake The Upper Wad is already at the gates of the iy To a man GuIle way is on the march The border is all aflame But i Is all too late S have had news of the end Before ever a man could reach within miles the fatal 1 had fallen and my lords for whom each one of us would gladly have died I with smiles upon our faces lay headless less in the courtyard of Edinburg caste And if the laddies were alive when i ye rode awa wha brocht the news afore that my Sholo could ridetel me thatI 1 came not directly to Galoway mother First I rise the west from Strthayen to Ayr Then I cried the news to Dumflies and the borderide But today I have seen the Lady Sybla on her way to tae ship fo France From her I bead the news that all I had done was too late That forelgeerin randy Wad ye believe the like 0 her Yon woman that they named queen 0 beauty at the toura by the Fords 0 Lachar Certes I wadna believe her on oath no if she swore on the blessed banes 0 Sanct Andre hlmsel To the caste man or Ill kit my coats and he there afore ye to shame ye I go mother said Sholo trying vainly to stem the torrent of denuncia ton which poured upon him I came you only to see that all was well with youAnd S And what for should a be weel wi me What can be ill wi me if it be not to gang on leevin when the noblest young men in the warldthe lads that was suckled at my bosomles could in the clay Awa wi ye Sho1o lIac Kim and come na back till ye hoe rowe every traitor in the same bloody windin sheet The foster mother of the D uglaes sank on the ground in the dusk leaning lean-ing against the wall of her house She held her face in her hands and sobbed aloud 0 WIllie Willie Douglas mail than ony 0 my ala I bed ye Bonny were yp as a barn Bonnie were ye asa as-a laddie Bonny abune a a a noble young man and the desire 0 maidens een But nae 0 them a load 3e like poor auld Barbara that wad hoe gien her life to pleasure ye And noo she canna even steck thae black een nor wind the corpsclath aboot you comely lmbssae straight and bonny as they were I hue straikit and kissed sac oft and oft 0 waes mewoes me What will 1 do withoot my bonny laddies I was wit the sound of his mothers lament stilt in his ears that Sho1o rode sadly away over the hill to Threve The way is short and easy and It was not long before the captain of the guard looked down upon the lights of the caste gleaming through the gathering gloom But instead of being be-ing a was its wont lighted from highest battement to flanking tower only one or two lamps were to be seen shining out of that vast cliff of masonry But on the ether hand lights were to be seen wandering this way and that over the long isle of Threve following fol-lowing the outlines of the winding shores shining from the sterns of boats out on the pools of the Dee water weaving Intricately this way and that among the broomy braes on either side of the ford and even streaming out across the water meadows of Ba1ma ghie Sholo was so full of his own sorrow and the certain truth of the terle news he must bring to the lady of Douglas and those two whom he loved Maud Lindesay and her far maid that he paid little heed to thee wandering lanterns and distant faring torches He was pausing at the bridge head to wait the lowering of the draw chan when out of the covert above him there dashed a desperate horseman who stayed neither for bridge nor ford bu dashed straight at the easter castle pool where It was deepest To the stir another and cup clung aother figure strange terrible seen in the uncertain light from the gate house and the beams o the rising moon The drawbridge clattered down and sending his spur home into the flanks of his tired steed in a mQment more Sholto was hard upon the track of the first headlong horseman Scarce a length separated them as they reached the outer guard of the castle Abreast they reined their horses in the quadrangle quad-rangle and in a moment Sholo had recognized In the rider hIs brother Laurence Lau-rence pale a death and in the figure that had clung to the stirrup as the horse took the water his father Maise MacKim Thus in a moment came the the acKims to the doorstep a Treve The clatter and cry of their arrival brought a pour of torches from every side of the isle and out from within the caste keep Have you found thewher are they came from ever side But Laurence seemed neither to hear nOr see seeWhere Where is my lady he cried In a hoarse mans voce and again I must see my lady Sholo stood aside for he knew well that these two brought later news than he Presently he went over to his father who leaned panting upon a stone pst and asked him what wa the news But Malice thrust him aside apparently without recognizing him my iIy lady lady he gasped 1 w01ld se Ten through the torches clustered upon the steps of the castle came the I tall erect figure of the earls mother the countess of Douglas She stood ith her head erect looking down upon th MacKms and the heaving should shoul-d rs of their horses Above and around the torches fared and their reek blew thwartwlse across the strange scene I am here she said speaking clearly clear-ly and naturally What would ye with the lady of Douglas ThrIce Laurence essayed to speak but his tongue availed him not He caught at hIs horses bridle to steady him and turned weakly to his father Do you speak to my ladyI cant he gasped A terrible figure was Malse lIaCKim the strong man of Galowa as he came forward Stained with the black peat of the morasses his armor cat of that he might run the easier his um1er apparel torn almost from his get 1 body his hair matte with the blood < < p c V wound which above still oozed his brow front a unwashe My lady he saId hoarsely his words whistng In his throat 1 haVe strange things to tel Can you bear to hear them I you have found my daughter dead or dying speak and fear not I have things mere terrIble than the death ofmay daughters to teij you Speak and fear notan It touch thb lives of my sons the mother of the e1or Douglases I has learned t eO Douglas lee sonThen Then said Malse sinking his head upon his breast God helD you lady your two sons are dead j Is David dead nIt sid the lad v of Douglas He Is dead replied ls t The lady tottered a little as jbe stood on the topmost step of the ascent to Thrieve One 01 two of the torch bear j ers ran to support her But she commanded com-manded herself and waved them aside Godhe is the God she sad In one day he hath made me a woman sol Ia and without children Son and daughter ho has taken from me But he shall not break my heart No not even he Stand UP 1Ialse IaIm and tel me how these things came to passnd 2 And there In the blown reek of torches and the huh ot the courtyard I of Tnrlye Ialse told all the tale of the black dinner and the fatal morn i jag of the short shrift and the match ls death while around him strongmen strong-men subbed and lifted U9 right hands to swear the vengeance i But alone and erect as a banner staff stood the mother of the dead Her eyes were dry her Ups compressed her n0 t tr15 a little distended like those of a warhorse that sniffs the battle from afar Outside the wall the news sread I swiftly and somewhere in the darkness a voice set up the Celtic keen Bid that woman hold her peace I 1 will hear the news and then we wilt cry the slogan Say on Ialse I Then the smith told how his horse had broken down time and again how m he had pressed on running and rest ting t-ing stripped almost naked that he might keep up with his son because that no ordinary charger could carry his great weight Then when he had finished the lady of Thrieve turned to Sholo And you i captain of the guard what have you done and wherefore left yom mater in his hour of need Ten succinctly and to the point Sholto spoke his father and Laurence assenting and confirming a he told ot t the earls commission and of how he had accomplished those tings that Ii were lad upon him I Is well saId thE la calmly i Now I also will tel you something that you do not know My little daughter whom ye cal the Far Maid of Galora with her companion MIstress j MIs-tress Maud Lindesay went more than twelve hours agone to the holt by the ford to gather hazel nuts and no eye it of man or woman hath seen them sInce And as she spoke there passed a ase quick strange Dang through the her of Sholo He remembered the warnIng of the Lady SybUa Had he once more come too late To Be Continued |