by John Galt
CHAPTER XV
When Winterton had finished his drink, which he did hastily, he proposedto my grandfather that they should take a stroll through the town; andmy grandfather being eager to throw stour in his eyes, was readilyconsenting thereto.
"Weel," said the knave, when he had warily led him into the abbeykirk-yard, "I didna think ye would hae gane back to my Lord; but it's a'very weel, since he has looked o'er what's past, and gi'en you a newdark."
"He's very indulgent," replied my grandfather, "and I would be looth towrang so kind a master;" and he looked at Winterton. The varlet,however, never winced, but rejoined lightly,--
"But I wish you had come back to Widow Rippet's, for ye would hae spar'tme a hard ride. Scarcely had ye ta'en the road when my Lord mindit thathe had neglekit to gie you the sign, by the which ye were to makeyoursel and message kent to his friends, and I was sent after to tellyou."
"I'm glad o' that," replied my grandfather; "what is't?" Winterton was athought molested by this thrust of a question, and for the space ofabout a minute said nothing, till he had considered with himself, whenhe rejoined,--
"Three lads were sent off about the same time wi' you, and the Earl wasnae quite sure, he said, whilk of you a' he had forgotten to gie thetoken whereby ye would be known as his men. But the sign for the Earl ofEglinton, to whom I guess ye hae been sent, by coming to Kilwinning, isno the same as for the Lord Boyd, to whom I thought ye had beenmissioned; for I hae been at the Dean Castle, and finding you not there,followed you hither."
"I'll be plain wi' you," said my grandfather to this draughty speech."I'm bound to the Lord Boyd; but coming through Paisley, when I reachedthe place where the twa roads branched, I took the ane that brought mehere, instead of the gate to Kilmarnock; so, as soon as my beast haseaten his corn, I mean to double back to the Dean Castle."
"How, in the name of the saints and souls, did ye think, in going fraeGlasgow to Kilmarnock, o' taking the road to Paisley?"
"'Deed, an' ye were acquaint," said my grandfather, "wi' how little Iknew o' the country, ye would nae speir that question; but since we haefallen in thegither, and are baith, ye ken, in my Lord Glencairn'sservice, I hope you'll no objek to ride back wi' me to the Lord Boyd's."
"Then it's no you that was sent to the Earl of Eglinton?" exclaimedWinterton, pretending more surprise than he felt; "and all my journeyhas been for naething. Howsever, I'll go back wi' you to Kilmarnock, andthe sooner we gang the better."
Little farther discourse then passed, for they returned to the hostel,and ordering out their horses, were soon on the road; and as theytrotted along, Winterton was overly outspoken against the papisticals,calling them all kinds of ill names, and no sparing the Queen Regent.But my grandfather kept a calm tongue, and made no reflections.
"Howsever," said Winterton, pulling up his bridle and walking his horseas they were skirting the moor of Irvine, leaving the town about a mileoff on the right, "you and me, Gilhaize, that are but servants, need naefash our heads wi' sic things. The wyte o' wars lie at the doors ofkings, and the soldiers are free o' the sin o' them. But how will ye getinto the presence and confidence of the Lord Boyd?"
"I thought," replied my grandfather, pawkily, "that ye had gotten ourmaster's token; and I maun trust to you."
"Oh," cried Winterton, "I got but the ane for the lad sent to EglintonCastle."
"And ha'e ye been there?" said my grandfather.
Winterton didna let wot that he heard this, but, stooping over on theoff-side of his horse, pretended he was righting something about hisstirrup-leather. My grandfather was, however, resolved to prob him tothe quick; so, when he was again sitting upright, he repeated thequestion, if he had been to Eglinton Castle.
"O, ay," cried the false loon; "I was there, but the bird was flown."
"And how got he the ear of the Earl," said my grandfather, "not havingthe sign?"
"In for a penny in for a pound," was Winterton's motto, and ae lie withhim was father to a race. "Luckily for him," replied he, "some of theserving-men kent him as being in Glencairn's service, so they took himto their master."
My grandfather had no doubt that there was some truth in this, though hewas sure Winterton knew little about it; for it agreed with what JamesCoom, the smith, had said about the lads from Eglinton that had been athis smiddy to get the horses shod, and remembering the leathern pursesunder the Earl his master's pillow, he was persuaded that there had beena messenger sent to the head of the Montgomeries, and likewise to otherlords, friends of the Congregation; but he saw that Winterton went byguess, and lied at random. Still, though not affecting to notice it, norexpressing any distrust, he could not help saying to him, that he hadcome a long way, and after all it looked like a gowk's errand.
The remark, however, only served to give Winterton inward satisfaction,and he replied with a laugh, that it made little odds to him where hewas sent, and that he'd as lief ride in Ayrshire as sorn about thecausey of Enbrough.
In this sort of talk and conference they rode on together, the o'ercomeevery now and then of Winterton's discourse being concerning the proofmy grandfather carried with him, whereby the Lord Boyd would know he wasone of Glencairn's men. But, notwithstanding all his wiles and devicesto howk the secret out of him, his drift being so clearly discerned, mygrandfather was enabled to play with him till they were arrived atKilmarnock, where Winterton proposed to stop till he had delivered hismessage to the Lord Boyd, at the Dean Castle.
"That surely cannot be," replied my grandfather; "for ye ken, as therehas been some mistak about the sign whereby I am to make myself known,ye'll ha'e to come wi' me to expound, in case of need. In trooth, nowthat we hae forgatherit, and as I ha'e but this ae message to a' theshire of Ayr, I would fain ha'e your company till I see the upshot."
Winterton could not very easily make a refusal to this, but he hesitatedand swithered, till my grandfather urged him again;--when, seeing nohelp for it, and his companion, as he thought, entertaining no suspicionof him, he put on a bold face and went forward.
When they had come to the Dean Castle, which stands in a pleasant greenpark about a mile aboon the town-head of Kilmarnock, on entering thegate, my grandfather hastily alighted, and giving his horse a sharpprick of his spur as he lap off, the beast ran capering out of his hand,round the court of the castle.
With the well-feigned voice of great anxiety, my grandfather cried tothe servants to shut the gate and keep it in; and Winterton alighting,ran to catch it, giving his own horse to a stripling to hold. At thesame moment, however, my grandfather sprung upon him, and seizing him bythe throat, cried out for help to master a spy.
Winterton was so confounded that he gasped and looked round like a mandemented, and my grandfather ordered him to be taken by the serving-mento their master, before whom, when they were all come, he recounted thestory of his adventures with the prisoner, telling his Lordship what hismaster, the Earl of Glencairn, suspected of him. To which, whenWinterton was asked what he had to say, he replied bravely, that it wasall true, and he was none ashamed to be so catched, when it was done byso clever a fellow.
He was then ordered by the Lord Boyd to be immured in the dungeon-room,the which may be seen to this day; and though his captivity wasafterwards somewhat relaxed, he was kept a prisoner in the castle tillafter the death of the Queen Dowager, and the breaking-up of hertwo-faced councils. This exploit won my grandfather great favour, and hescarcely needed to show the signet-ring when he told his message fromthe Lords of the Congregation.