by G. A. Henty
Chapter 14: In Hiding.
The moment the horsemen had gone by, Oswald and Roger hastily dressedagain. It was three or four minutes before the girls joined them.
"We have been a long time, Oswald, but our fingers are so cold that wecould not tie the strings."
"You will soon be warm. Climbing the hill will set your blood inmotion."
There was no hurry now. They were safe until the morning.
"We will make up the hill until you are thoroughly warm, and then wewill discuss matters."
Before they were very far up the ascent, both girls declared that theywere comfortably warm again.
"Well, Roger, what do you think our best course will be? The Bairdshave, of course, sent horsemen along the other road. They will haveheard, from the priest, that we have but a few minutes' start; and willknow that we cannot have gone far. The party who passed us willdoubtless stop at Parton, the other at the next village higher up; andthey will be sure that either we concealed ourselves as they passed, orhave taken to the hills on one side or other of the valley. They willnaturally suppose that it is this side, as it would be madness for usto plunge farther into the country to the west; and you may be surethere will be scores of men out on these hills, tomorrow, searching forus; and some of them may ride nearly to Hiniltie, to cut us off therein case we escape the searchers on the hills.
"I think that the only plan will be to hide up for a couple of days, orso; then to make our way down again to where the horses are, and thenmake a dash through Parton."
"That would certainly be far the best way," Roger said; "but how are weto manage for food for the ladies?"
"We will go on until we get to the top of the hill, Roger, and thenfind a sheltered spot, where they can stop. It is of no use trying togo on much farther, for the night is cloudy, and there are no stars tobe seen, and we should lose our way directly, for there is no wind thatwould serve as a guide as to which way we were travelling. When we finda good shelter, we must stop with them; and I will make my way down tothe place where the horses are, and warn the men as to what hashappened, and tell them to lie quiet till I come again. I will bringback whatever food they may have with them, a big jug of water, and thefour horse cloths."
"I will go, master."
"I would rather go myself, Roger. I am accustomed to traverse the moorsat night, and am sure that I can find this place again, withoutdifficulty."
On nearing the top of the hill, they came upon a number of roughstones.
"We cannot do better than stop here," Oswald said. "It will be bare onthe top of the hill. Now, Roger, help me to pile a few of these stonestogether, so as to make a sort of shelter."
They set to work at once, Roger's strength enabling him to lift stonesthat ordinary men could scarcely have moved. In a quarter of an hour alittle inclosure, six feet long by four wide and three high, had beenconstructed. An armful of dry heather was then pulled up, and laid onthe ground.
"There, girls, I think you will be able to manage to keep yourselveswarm, by lying close together."
"What are you going to do, Oswald?"
"We shall be all right; and we can, if we like, make another shelter;and, if we feel cold, can walk about to warm ourselves. Now, Roger, gethalf a dozen sticks and lay across the top."
While Roger was away getting the sticks, Oswald helped the girls overthe wall, for no entrance had been left.
"Now, Janet, give me those two wet smocks; I see that you have broughtthem with you."
"What do you want them for, Oswald?"
"I want them for the roof, Janet. It is beginning to freeze hard, andit is of no use having walls, if you have not a roof."
"Won't you take my cloak, instead?"
"Certainly not, Janet, you will want your cloak for a covering. Don'tbe silly, but hand them over."
By this time, Roger had returned with the sticks. They were laid acrossthe top, and the girls' smocks spread over them.
"Now, go to sleep," Oswald said; "we must be on foot, an hour beforedawn."
Oswald then started down the hill for Parton. When he got within a mileof the town, he could see lights moving about on the road; and guessedthat the Bairds had got torches, and were making sure that thefugitives had not hidden themselves anywhere close to the road; forthey must have felt certain that they could not have reached the town,before being overtaken. When the lights had gone along the road, hedescended to the river, took off his doublet and shirt, as before, andswam over; crossed the road, and was not long in finding the trees thatmarked the spot where he was to turn off to the farmhouse.
He made his way to the stable, raised the latch, and entered. A lampwas burning, and the two men sitting and talking together. They leaptup, with an exclamation of pleasure, as Oswald entered.
"We were afraid that something might have gone wrong; for, as I waswaiting for you in the road, I heard a body of horsemen coming along,and hid behind the trees. As they went by, one of them said, 'We musthave passed them long ago, if they came by this road. They had not morethan a quarter of an hour's start.'
"I heard no more, but it suggested that, maybe, you had managed toescape with the ladies, and that the Bairds were in pursuit of you."
"That was exactly the case. We have got them out of the hold, andmethought that we should have got two hours' start, at least, in whichcase they would not have overtaken us before we had crossed the Liddel,at the ford, six miles above the junction of the Esk with it, and werewell on our road towards Longtown; but by some accident, I know notwhat, the matter was discovered before we have been gone ten minutes.As it was certain that they would overtake us, long before we got toParton, we swam the Esk, and I have left the ladies on the hill overthere, in charge of Roger, while I came here. We know that, by morning,the countryside will be up and searching the hills; and that, with thetwo lasses, it would be hopeless for us to try and make our way on toHiniltie.
"Therefore, we decided to hide up for two or three days, then to makeour way down here at night, mount, and ride through. By that time thesearch down in the valley here will have slackened, and we shall getthrough Parton all right, and our only danger will be at the fordacross the Liddel; where, possibly, the Bairds may set a guard, lest wefind our way down there. I had intended that we should take the fourhorses, and that you should make your way to Hiniltie across the hills;but as there will now be no great occasion for speed, one of you hadbest ride with us, while the other bears the news to Hiniltie that wehave carried off the girls.
"You had better settle between yourselves which shall go with us. Youmay take it that there is about equal danger, both ways, for the onethat goes to Hiniltie must travel cautiously, as it will be a weekbefore the Bairds give up the search among the hills."
"We had best decide by lot."
Oswald picked up a piece of straw, and broke off two fragments, one aninch longer than the other; and, closing his hand on them, he held thetwo ends out.
"Do you draw," he said, holding it out to Fergus. "The longest strawgoes to Hiniltie, and shortest with us."
The man drew.
"I have the longest," he said, "and perhaps it were best that it shouldbe so, for I know the way thoroughly, having often been over the hillsin search of missing cattle."
"You will both remain here, till we come. Now, what food have you?"
"We bought a supply in Parton, yesterday evening, and have enough for aweek; for we thought that some might be needed by the whole party, onour way; and moreover, we care not to go down often to the town, as wemight attract attention."
"That is good. Keep enough for tomorrow, for yourselves; I will takethe rest."
"There is no need for that. We can get what we want from the house and,tomorrow evening, one of us will go down into Parton again."
"Or better still," Oswald said, "give the money to the hind here. Isuppose there is one."
"Yes; he sleeps in the house."
"Give him money, then, and a present for himself, and get him to fetchit for
you. Some of the Bairds may remain there, and you may be surethat every stranger will be strictly questioned. I want also the fourhorse cloths, which please make into a bundle. Is your water skinfull?"
"We filled it this afternoon, thinking it possible that we might make ahasty start tonight."
"How much does it hold?"
"About two gallons."
"It would have been better had it been four. However, we must managewith it. Now, do you know of any ford across the river? for I certainlycould not swim across, with this load."
"There is one half a mile farther up. We were asking the hind about it,the other day, thinking that it might be useful should we have to flysuddenly. I will go down with you; and indeed, I shall be glad to gothe whole way with you, for the provisions and those blankets and theskin will be no light weight; and, as I am going to Hiniltie, it willcheer Armstrong if I could tell him that I saw his daughters."
"It would be a good plan, Fergus, though in truth the weight would beno great burden; but certainly, Armstrong would be pleased to know thatyou had seen his daughters."
A few minutes later they set out, forded the river breast high,carrying the loads on their heads; and then, climbing the hill, madetheir way to the shelter, whose exact position Oswald had marked, onstarting, by a huge boulder that stood on the crest of the hill, somefifty feet above it.
Roger was on the lookout. Seeing two figures approaching, when heexpected but one, he grasped his staff firmly.
"Who comes there?" he asked.
"It is I, Roger. I have brought one of the men with me, to help carrythe things. He is going to Hiniltie, and thought that Armstrong wouldbe pleased to know he had seen his daughters. I have got plenty offood, and a skin of water."
"That is capital," Roger said cheerfully. "I was fearing that, havingso many things to think of, you might forget water."
Oswald went to the shelter.
"Are you awake, Janet?"
"Yes," she replied. "I have been anxious, while you were away."
"Are you cold?"
"I am not very warm," she answered; "but do not trouble about it, weshall do very well."
"I have two blankets here," he said, as he removed the covering. "Oneof these I will put over you both, and tuck it well in, each side, tokeep out the wind that comes in between the stones. Then I will layyour smocks over that. I wrung them well, before putting them on thesticks; and although I cannot say they are dry, yet they are not dampenough to matter, and will help keep you warm. The other blanket I willput over the sticks."
"Thank you indeed, Oswald," the girl said, gratefully. "That feels verymuch more comfortable."
"Now, Roger, there is a blanket for you, and one for me, to wrap roundus, plaid fashion."
"I do not need one, master. In faith, I have more respect for this gownthan I ever had before--it is wondrously warm and, with the hood overmy head, I want nothing more."
"That is all very well, Roger. If you don't need it for your shoulders,you need it for your legs; for being without hose, and with nought butthose sandals, you must be freezing. We will walk up and down here, fora bit, and do you wrap it round your legs, like a Highlander'spetticoat. When we have tired ourselves, we will lie down and try toget a sleep, for an hour or two."
As they walked, they talked over their plans; and Oswald decided that,before daybreak, he would set out on the search for a place ofconcealment.
"I will leave my helmet and breast and back piece behind me," he said,"and will take your staff. Then, if I am caught sight of by any partyin the distance, I shall look like a shepherd; while, had I on my ironharness, they would at once suspect me of being of the party, eventhough I were alone. As for you, your monk's robe would be detected,miles off."
"I could leave it behind me," Roger said.
"You have not much on underneath, Roger; and your bareness, in suchweather as this, would be as noticeable as your gown. Mind, before itgets light, get the ladies up, and carry our bag of victuals and thewater skin over the crest. You may be sure that, as soon as it islight, there will be many sharp eyes watching the hillside, all alonghere."
The man who had come up with them had already wrapped himself in theblanket he had brought with him, had crawled in among the bushes, andwas, as they could hear by his heavy breathing, already sound asleep.After a time Oswald said that, as they had nothing more to settle, hewould try and get a few hours' rest. There was not the slightest fearof surprise, and Roger and he were not long before they were both soundasleep. Oswald woke two or three times and, at first sign of dawn,shook Roger.
"You had better wake the ladies, in a few minutes, Roger, and get themover the crest. Let their man, as soon as he has seen them, start atonce, keeping along behind the ridge, and warn him not to go down intothe valley until he is fully a mile beyond Parton. Tell him to lookcarefully along the road, before he begins to descend, and to see thatit is clear. Even then, let him hide as much as may be, behindbrushwood and rock, until he gets down. When he has swum the river, lethim make a wide detour round Parton, so as to come down to the stableswithout being noticed.
"I shall not be very long away. 'Tis scarce likely, among these hills,that I shall find any place that we can crawl into; and I think weshall have to content ourselves with lying down among the heather. Imust find a spot where no one, on any hill above, can look down on us.We shall be quite safe from any party moving along on the same level asourselves."
Oswald had gone but a little distance, when he determined that nobetter place could be found than the plateau itself. This extended, fortwo or three hundred yards from the edge, looking down into the valley.Beyond, the ground sloped sharply down again into a deep hollow; andbeyond, it was broken into rounded swells, rising one above another. Aparty lying among the heather, where he was standing, could not be seenby watchers from any other point. Moreover, it was most important thatall should be in shelter before it was fairly daylight. He therefore,as soon as it was light enough to take in the principal features of thescene, hurried back to his companions.
"We can do no better, girls, than to lie down together, two hundredyards away. Pick your way through the bushes where they are thinnest,so as not to disturb them. Please be off at once, and choose a spotclose to where the ground falls away, on the other side. Roger and Imust tumble this shelter down, and scatter the sticks; for if anyonesearching the hillside came along, he would guess that we had slepthere, and there would be a hue and cry at once."
The man had left, sometime before, for the valley; having gone off assoon as he had spoken to the girls. Oswald and Roger ran down to theshelter, speedily threw the stones into a heap, and scattered thesticks; then, after glancing round to see that nothing had been left,they collected the blankets, provisions, and water skin; and, taking upthese and Oswald's armour, ran in the direction that Oswald had pointedout to the girls.
The ground was thickly covered with heather, and they had to stepcarefully to avoid pressing it down. They reached the edge of theplateau without seeing the girls and, after looking round for a minuteor two, Oswald called aloud.
He was answered by a merry laugh, and Jessie's head rose above theheather. They had, indeed, passed within five or six yards of thegirls.
"That is good, indeed," Oswald said, as he lay down beside them. "If Icould not see you, when I was sure that you were quite near, there isno fear of any searchers lighting upon you.
"The sun has just risen, and a mist still hangs on the top of thehills," he went on; "and I am convinced that we cannot have been seen,for men placed on the watch are sure to be high up on the hills, and itwill be some time yet before the sun rises high enough to drive awaythe mist."
Although it was freezing sharply, they felt by no means cold as theylay, wrapped in their blankets, with the heather rising well abovethem, and sheltering them from a light breeze that had sprung up atsunrise. After chatting with the girls for a time, Roger and Oswaldleft them and, crawling along on their stomachs, got to the edge of thedescent.
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By this time the sun was well above the hills, the mist had clearedoff, and they had an extensive view. From time to time they caughtsight of groups of three or four mounted men moving about, searchingthe valleys; while single men, on foot, rambled over the hills.
"They are keeping up an active search, Roger. 'Tis well that we went nofarther. They will scarce suspect us of lying close to the valley weleft. I expect the main body has gone much farther. I have no doubt theBairds have a couple of hundred men and boys out. They would call outevery man and boy from their holdings, and most likely get a couple ofscore of men from their village, and perhaps twice as many from Parton.No doubt they will think that, if we came in this direction, we should,last night, have found our way to one of the tracks across the hills,and it is near these that their search will be the keenest.Fortunately, they cannot know that I am here, nor guess that it is toYardhope that we intend to take them, and not to Hiniltie. Still, theymay expect that we shall try to cross the border, and I fancy we shallscarcely get through without a fight."
"All the better," Roger grumbled. "My fingers tingle to bring down thisstaff on the head of some of the Bairds, after all the trouble theyhave given us."
They remained watching until it became dusk, except that, twice duringthe day, they crawled back and partook of a meal with the girls. Thelast time they joined them, Oswald said:
"Now, in half an hour it will be quite dark, and then we can safely getup and walk about for a bit. I am sure you must feel stiff, lying stillso long."
"I have never kept quiet for so long a time, since I can remember,"Jessie said, laughing.
"That shows that you have had no illnesses, Jessie. However, I shall beglad to get up and stretch my limbs, myself. Half an hour will beenough, and then we will have a good, long night. Another day of it,and I think it will be safe to start."
The next afternoon they saw a number of parties searching the hills, inall directions.
"I expect they have become convinced that we have not tried to getstraight through, Roger, and are hunting back for us. It is as wellthat it will be dark in another half hour, and they will then have togive up their search, for the night. If there were a couple of hoursmore light, I should feel very uneasy."
"So should I, master. You and I would have little chance of mercy, ifwe fell into their hands. It might well be that, in their anger, theymight slay the ladies, also."
"That would be like enough, Roger. However, there can be no chance oftheir coming here, before it is dark."
At nine o'clock they started, and made their way down, with somedifficulty and many slips and falls, into the valley. Then they keptalong near the river, till Oswald was sure they were close to the ford.He bade them halt here, and went forward alone. Before he had gonefifty yards, he nearly stumbled against a man.
"Is it you, John?"
"Yes, it is I."
"Is all well?"
"It is all well, but I had a fright, yesterday morning. The Bairdssearched every cottage and hut over the hills, on this side, and theysay their men rode almost as far as Galloway; but they gave up thesearch before they got here, feeling assured that they must have passedyou, very soon after you left the hold, and you could never have got asfar down as this."
"'Tis well they did not search, indeed," Oswald said. "Your story aboutthe horses might do well enough, for those who have no interest in thematter, but it would never have done for the Bairds. All has been quiettoday?"
"They seem to have given up searching on this side. I hear that theyfeel sure, now, the ladies have made for Hiniltie; and they have hadgreat forces out among the hills, and feel confident that they mustcatch them soon."
"Have you got the horses saddled?"
"They are saddled, and brought down close to the road. Fergus is withthem."
"Then bring them across, at once. The sooner we are off now, thebetter. Are there any of the Bairds' men in the town?"
"There are a few of them, but as no one has any idea that you are liketo pass through there, they will not be on the lookout. Besides, allwill have been among the hills, from daybreak this morning; and Iexpect, by this time, there is scarce a soul awake in Parton."
Oswald returned to the girls, and they went out together to the ford.In a couple of minutes the men were seen making their way across,riding two horses, and leading the others.
"We thank you heartily," Janet said, "for having so risked your livesfor us; for, had you been caught with the four horses, they would atonce have connected you with us, and it would have gone hard with you."
"We have been keeping away from the horses, yesterday and today, justgoing to a distance and lying down where, without being seen ourselves,we could watch anyone who went up to the farm. We could have done nogood, and thought that it was better that we should be able to warnyou, if they had come and taken the horses away."
After crossing the river, Fergus at once started, on foot, forHiniltie.
They had already discussed how they should ride, and it had beensettled that, at starting, Janet should ride the fourth horse; and thatJessie should ride behind the others, by turns. If an attack wasthreatened, Jessie was to mount behind her sister, and they were totake their place between Oswald and Roger, while their own man rodeclose behind them.
It was just ten o'clock as they rode through Parton. Not a light was tobe seen. The whole place appeared wrapt in sleep. They went through ata walk, so that, if any heard them, they would suppose that it was abelated party of the searchers, and would give the matter no furtherthought.
After riding for a short distance, they put the horses into a trot.Four hours later they halted, at the point where the road down the Eskvalley divided, one going to the ferry a few hundred yards farther on,while the other turned to the left, and followed the bank of theLiddel.
John had inquired about the ferry, and learned that the ferryboat nolonger plied, as, since the troubles began, there was so little trafficthat it did not pay the ferryman to remain there. As they had alreadydecided to cross by the ford, four miles higher up, this did notmatter. As none of them was aware of its exact position, they decidedto wait where they were, until daylight.
Searching about, they found a deserted hut, with a shed adjoining it.The horses were led into this, and the party then gathered in the hut,and John struck a light, while Oswald and Roger broke up a fallen gate,and the fire was soon blazing. Although there was not the slightestchance of anyone travelling the road, at this hour, they hung one ofthe thick blankets across the window, thus keeping out the cold air, aswell as preventing the light from being seen. Then the party lay down,the men taking it by turns to stand guard outside, being relieved everytwo hours.
As soon as day dawned they again mounted. It was about four miles' rideto the point where the road divided, one branch going towards theriver, some seventy or eighty yards away. Here stood a square buildingof some size, used as a refuge by travellers who arrived when theLiddel was swollen, and the ford impracticable.
When the riders had come within a few yards of this building, two men,hearing the sound of horses' hoofs, came out. As their eye fell uponthe party they gave a shout, ran out into the road, and drew theirswords.
Roger and Oswald rode at them. Parrying a thrust of one of the men,Oswald cut him down; while Roger, with a tremendous blow from hisstaff, stretched the other man on the road.
"Ride on, girls! We will follow you," Oswald shouted.
Jessie was sitting behind John, and they and Janet dashed forward, androde into the water. Oswald and Roger followed, as six men, armed withspear and sword, ran out from the house. Seeing that they were toolate, the leader shouted to the others: "Fetch out the horses, andchase them!" and, before the party had gained the opposite bank, theirpursuers dashed into the water.
"Don't press your horses too hardly," Oswald said, as they gallopedalong. "They are too close behind us for us to get help from any of thesmall villages, but they dare not follow us into Longtown, and we havebarely a ten miles'
ride."
They had some two hundred yards' start, and for the first four milesheld their own; then their pursuers began to gain upon them. One of thehorses was carrying double, and Roger and Oswald were both heavier thanany of the moss troopers.
"We shall have a fight for it, Roger."
"That is just what I was thinking, master. Well, there are three of us;and, as there are only six of them, we ought not to have much trouble.John will be a match for one. Methinks you and I can each make shortwork of a man when they first come up; and with but three of themagainst two, it will be mere child's play."
The road was a narrow one, and little used; and, when they came to thefoot of a sharp rise, Oswald called to those ahead to stop.
"Jump down, Jessie, and mount behind Janet, and ride on ahead. We willsoon get rid of these fellows. Be quick!"
The moss troopers were now but seventy or eighty yards behind.
"I shall fight on foot," Roger said, as he leapt off his horse. "I wantboth hands, for this staff."
Turning his horse, and bidding John to do the same, Oswald reined backhis animal three or four lengths; and when the Bairds' party werewithin twenty yards, touched it with his spur and dashed at them,meeting them just abreast of Roger. The first man he met thrust at himwith his spear, but Oswald parried with his sword, and with aback-handed blow smote the man just under the chin, and he fell with acrash from his horse. At the same moment he heard a blow like that of asmith's hammer, as Roger's staff fell upon the steel cap of the firstwho attacked him.
John was less fortunate, for his opponent's spear struck him in thethroat, and he fell heavily from his saddle.
"Well stricken, Jock!" one of them shouted. "Ride on after the women.We will settle with these fellows."
But before the moss trooper could obey the order, Oswald, with a touchof the spur and the bridle, caused his horse to curvet round, and smotethe man so mighty a blow on the shoulder as well-nigh to sever his armfrom his body. As he wheeled his horse again he was nigh unseated, by aspear thrust that struck him on the breast piece; but, upon recovering,he struck his opponent, as he passed, so heavy a blow in the face, withthe pommel of his sword, that he sent him senseless to the ground.
The other two men had furiously attacked Roger, but, whirling his staffround his head, he had kept them both at bay; then the staff descendedbetween the ears of one of the horses, which fell headlong; and beforethe rider could get his foot from the stirrup, the staff struck himbelow the steel cap, just in front of the ear, and without a cry hefell dead beside his horse. At that the last of the moss troopersturned his horse, and galloped off at full speed.
"We have not taken long over that, master," Roger said, with a grimsmile. "Five men in a minute is not so bad."
"I am afraid John is killed, Roger. See to him."
"Ay, he is sped," Roger replied, as he turned the body over. "The spearstruck him full in the throat. That is what comes of not learning touse your weapons. What shall we do with him?"
"He was a faithful fellow, Roger, and as there is no need for hastenow, we will give him some sort of burial, and not let him lie here inthe road."
"We have nought to dig a grave with," Roger remarked.
"No, but there are plenty of stones about."
He dismounted, and with Roger's help carried the dead man a shortdistance away, laid him down by the side of a great boulder, and thenpiled stones around and over him.
"That will do, Roger. 'Tis not like that anyone will disturb thosestones, for years to come. He will rest as well there as if he lay in agrave. Now, let us look to the others."
The man he had struck across the throat, and the last Roger had hit,were both dead. Two of the others were but stunned, while the one uponwhose shoulder Roger's blow had fallen was lying insensible, andevidently was fast bleeding to death.
"We can do naught for him," Oswald said. "Even had we the king's leechhere, we could not save him. Now let us be off."
"Shall we take the horses, master?"
"No, they will be but an encumbrance; and now that poor fellow hasgone, we have one apiece. Bring his horse along with you."
Mounting, they rode quickly on, and at the top of the hill came up withthe girls; who, having seen the result of the combat, had waited forthem.
"Now we are safe and free, thanks to you both," Janet said. "Jessielooked back, and saw the fight as we rode. How quickly it was over! ButI am grieved, indeed, that John has fallen. We saw you carrying off hisbody, and covering it. Jessie had noticed him fall, and we feared 'twasall over with him. He was an old retainer of our father's, and afaithful one."
"I am sorry, indeed, that he has been slain, Janet; but we could hardlyexpect to come out altogether scatheless."
"Are all the others killed?" Jessie asked.
"No. Two of them are but stunned; and will, ere long, be able to mountand ride off again."
"Master Oswald has gained the most honours in the fight. I killed one,and stunned another. He has stunned one also, but has slain two."
"I had a better arm, Roger."
"I know not that," Roger replied. "A quarterstaff, of that weight, is afine weapon. I say not that it is to be compared to a mace but, when onfoot, I would as lief have it as a sword."
"Now, Jessie, do you mount John's horse. We can ride quietly, forLongtown is but some three miles ahead."
They rested there for a couple of hours, then mounted again, andcrossed the Pentlands by a horse track between Cristindury and GeleCraigs. Coming down into Tynedale, they put up for the night at thefirst place they came to. At daybreak they set off northwards, crossedReddesdale, and came down, in the afternoon, into the valley of theCoquet, within two miles of Yardhope.
Great indeed was the surprise and joy of John Forster and his wife,when they made out the two girls riding, with Oswald, towards the hold.
"What miracle is this, lad?" the former said, while his wife wasembracing her nieces. "We heard, but two days since, of the raid on theArmstrongs, and how the girls were carried off by the Bairds."
Here Oswald put his finger to his lips, to stop him from saying aughtof Jane Armstrong's death. He had, after dismounting, whispered in hismother's ear, before she had time to speak to the girls, that as yetthey knew nought of their mother's death, and that he had left it toher to break it to them.
"I have been, since, scouring the country," his father went on, "to tryto get my friends to take the matter up; but in truth, they were notover willing to do so. All know that it is no slight enterprise toattack the Bairds in their stronghold. We fared but badly, last time wewent there, though that was but a blow and a retreat; but all know thatthe Bairds' hold is not to be taken like a country tower. 'Tis greatlybigger and stronger than ours, and scarce to be attempted save by aroyal army; especially as the whole countryside would be swarming roundus, in a few hours after we crossed the border. This time, too, it isno quarrel of my people; and, as they say, the risk would be indeedgreat, and the loss very heavy.
"I sent off a messenger this morning to Armstrong, to tell him that Ifeared I could not raise more than sixty spears; but with these I wouldride to Hiniltie, and join any force he could collect, and try with himto surprise the Bairds' hold and rescue the girls, though it seemed tobe a mighty dangerous enterprise."
"He will have learnt, yesterday morning, Father, that we have carriedthem off. We could have brought you the news last night, but to do sowe must have ridden fast and, the girls being with us, we thought itwere better to take two days over the journey. So we slept in Tynedalelast night."
"And how did you manage it? For unless you and Roger flew into theBairds' hold, and carried them off on your backs, I see not how itcould be managed. Why, the place is so strong that even the Douglaseshave not cared to carry out the terms of the treaty, for the arrest ofWilliam Baird as a notorious breaker of the truce between the twocountries."
"It was because I knew Armstrong deemed that it was scarce likely aforce could be gathered, by you and his friends, st
rong enough toundertake such an enterprise, that we decided to rescue them bystrategy. The affair turned out to be easy enough."
And he then related, in detail, the manner in which he and Roger hadobtained entry into the hold, and had succeeded in rescuing hiscousins.
"By the bones of Saint Oswald, from whom you got your name, lad," JohnForster exclaimed, when he had finished his story, "you have carriedout the matter marvellously well! Hotspur himself could not havecontrived it better; and I own that I was wrong, and that that fancy ofyours, to be able to read and write, has not done you the damage that Ifeared it would. Henceforth I will maintain, with all my might, thatthese things in no way tend to soften a man; but on the contrary, insome way sharpen his wits, and enable him to carry out matters withplans, and contrivances, such as would scarce be conceived by men whohad not such advantage.
"But why do we not go inside?"
"I have been keeping you here, Father, because I doubt not that mymother has been breaking the news to the girls, of their mother'sslaughter. I said nought to them about it. They knew the hold wasburnt, and I told them that Allan was wounded; but I thought that, if Igave them the worst part of the news, it would throw them into suchdeep grief as to unfit them for the journey. It might not have beendiscovered till two hours after we had started that they had escaped,and in that case we should have been mounted before the Bairds overtookus, and it would have been a ride for life, and the girls would haveneeded all their strength and courage to keep them up."
"It was as well so, Oswald, and doubtless your mother will break itmore easily to them than you could have done. Women are better at suchthings than men, who are given to speak, bluntly and straight, what hasto be told."