An what pairt did you tak in these doins? asked Glendinning with some curiosity.
I did my best to restrain my comrades, and when they were burning the hayricks, throwing the meal on the dunghill, and wrecking the property of the farmer, I cut the cords with which they had bound the poor fellow to his chair and let him go free.
Did onybody see you do that?
I believe not; though I should not have cared if they had. Im thoroughly disgusted with the service. I know little or nothing of the principles of these rebelsthese fanatics, as you call thembut tyranny or injustice I cannot stand, whether practised by a king or a beggar, and I am resolved to have nothing more to do with such fiendish work.
Young man, said the swarthy comrade in a voice of considerable solemnity, ye hae obviously mistaen your callin. If you werena new to thae pairts, ye would ken that the things ye objec to are quite common. Punishin an harryin the rebels and fanaticsCovenanters, they ca theirselshas been gaun on for years ower a the land. In my opeenion its weel deserved, an naething that ye can do or say wull prevent it, though what ye do an say is no unlikely to cut short yer ain career by means o a rope roond yer thrapple. But losh! man, I wonder ye haena heard about thae matters afore now.
My having spent the last few years of my life in an out-of-the-way part of Ireland may account for that, said Wallace. My fathers recent death obliged my mother to give up her farm and return to her native town of Lanark, where she now lives with a brother. Poverty and the urgency of a cousin have induced me, unfortunately, to take service with the dragoons.
After what yeve said, hoo am I to coont on yer helpin me enoo? asked Glendinning.
As long as I wear the Kings uniform you may count on my obeying orders unless I am commanded to break the plainest laws of God, answered the young man. As our present business is only to discover the cottage of Andrew Black, there seems likely to be no difficulty between us just now.
Hm! Im no sure o that; but if yell tak my advice, lad, yell haud yer tongue aboot thae matters. If Clavers heard the half o what yeve said to me, hed send ye into the next warl withoot gieing ye time to say yer prayers. Freedom of speech is no permitted at the present time in Scotlandunless it be the right kind of speech, and
He stopped, for at that moment two young girls suddenly appeared at a bend of the road in front of them. They gazed for a moment at the soldiers in evident surprise, and then turned as if to fly, but Glendinning put spurs to his horse and was beside them in a moment. Leaping to the ground, he seized the girls roughly by their arms as they clung together in alarm. One of the two was a dark-eyed little child. The other was fair, unusually pretty, and apparently about fifteen or sixteen years of age.
The trooper proceeded to question them sharply.
Be gentle, said Will Wallace sternly, as he rode up, and, also dismounting, stood beside them. No fear of their running away now.
The swarthy trooper pretended not to hear, but nevertheless relaxed his grip and merely rested his hand upon the fair girls shoulder as he said to the other
Now, my wee doo, ye canna be far frae hame, Is be sworn. Whats yer name?
Aggie Wilson, answered the child at once.
And yours?
Jean Black, replied the blonde timidly.
Oho! an yer faithers name is Andrew, an his hoose is close by, Ill be bound, so yell be guid eneuch to show us the way tillt. But first, my bonny lass, yell gie me a
Slipping his arm round the waist of the terrified blonde, the trooper rudely attempted to terminate his sentence in a practical manner; but before his lips could touch her face he received a blow from his comrade that sent him staggering against a neighbouring tree.
Blazing with astonishment and wrath, Glendinning drew his sword and sprang at his companion, who, already full of indignation at the memory of what he had been so recently compelled to witness, could ill brook the indignity thus offered to the defenceless girl. His weapon flashed from its sheath on the instant, and for a few moments the two men cut and thrust at each other with savage ferocity. Wallace, however, was too young and unused to mortal strife to contemplate with indifference the possibility of shedding the blood of a comrade. Quickly recovering himself, he stood entirely on the defensive, which his vigorous activity enabled him easily to do. Burning under the insult he had received, Glendinning felt no such compunctions. He pushed his adversary fiercely, and made a lunge at last which not only passed the sword through the left sleeve of the youths coat, but slightly wounded his arm. Roused to uncontrollable anger by this, Will Wallace fetched his opponent a blow so powerful that it beat down his guard, rang like a hammer on his iron headpiece, and fairly hurled the man into the ditch at the roadside.
Somewhat alarmed at this sudden result, the youth hastily pulled him out, and, kneeling beside him, anxiously examined his head. Much to his relief he found that there was no wound at all, and that the man was only stunned. After the examination, Wallace observed that the girls had taken advantage of the fray to make their escape.
Indignation and anger having by that time evaporated, and his judgment having become cool, Wallace began gradually to appreciate his true position, and to feel exceedingly uncomfortable. He had recklessly expressed opinions and confessed to actions which would of themselves ensure his being disgraced and cast into prison, if not worse; he had almost killed one of his own comrades, and had helped two girls to escape who could probably have assisted in the accomplishment of the duty on which they had been despatched. His case, he suddenly perceived, was hopeless, and he felt that he was a lost man.
Will Wallace was quick of thought and prompt in action. Carefully disposing the limbs of his fallen comrade, and resting his head comfortably on a grassy bank, he cast a hurried glance around him.
On his left hand and behind him lay the rich belt of woodland that marked the courses of the rivers Cluden and Cairn. In front stretched the moors and hills of the ancient district of Galloway, at that time given over to the tender mercies of Graham of Claverhouse. Beside him stood the two patient troop-horses, gazing quietly at the prostrate man, as if in mild surprise at his unusual stillness.
Beyond this he could not see with the physical eye; but with the mental orb he saw a dark vista of ruined character, blighted hopes, and dismal prospects. The vision sufficed to fix his decision. Quietly, like a warriors wraith, he sheathed his sword and betook himself to the covert of the peat-morass and the heather hill.
He was not the first good man and true who had sought the same shelter.
At the time of which we write Scotland had for many years been in a woeful plightwith tyranny draining her life-blood, cupidity grasping her wealth, hypocrisy and bigotry misconstruing her motives and falsifying her character. Charles the Second filled the throne. Unprincipled men, alike in Church and State, made use of their position and power to gain their own ends and enslave the people. The King, determined to root out Presbytery from Scotland, as less subservient to his despotic aims, and forcibly to impose Prelacy on her as a stepping-stone to Popery, had no difficulty in finding ecclesiastical and courtly bravos to carry out his designs; and for a long series of dismal years persecution stalked red-handed through the land.