CHAPTER XXXIIITHE GOING OF HECTORSeptember came with all its golden glory and each day Hector became more and more restless. When the month was half sped he left us. One morning on our way home to the cave after a busy night of harvesting he said:"I'm gaun the nicht." And though I urged upon him that he could not have chosen a worse time, since we had many fields yet to cut, I failed to dissuade him from his purpose. "No," he said, "I can bide nae langer. The fever is in my bluid, and there's nae cure for it but the road."When night came I accompanied him down the course of the linn and on to the high road. At the last he laid many injunctions upon me, the chief being to take care of our companion in the cave."He's a guid man," he said, "but a thochtless. I blame mysel' yet for the crack I gi'ed him on the heid. It seems tae ha'e left him a bit confused. Ye'll tak' care o' him."When the moment of parting came he took off his bonnet, and gripping me fervently by the hand said:"I'll be back ere lang, but if I dinna return, I should like ye noo and then to gie a kindly thocht to the memory o' the packman. Maybe I may find a grave under the open sky on the purple moorland; and if that be my lot and ye should be spared for happier days and can fin' the place where I lie, maybe ye'll see that my cairn is no' left withoot a name. But dinna be carvin' ony extravagant eulogy on the stane. Juist put the words 'Hector the packman.' That'll be enough for me--but it's the prood man I wad be, lying in the mools beneath, if ye wad add a line or twa o' Latin juist to let the unborn generations ken that I was a scholar. There are twa bit legends that come ready to my min'; ane is,"Sciro potestates herbarum usumque medendiMaluit, et mutas agitare inglorius artes.'He was skilly in the knowledge o' herbs and o' their healing powers, and wi' nae thocht o' higher glory he liked to practise that quiet art'--that's frae Virgil, as ye will nae doot remember an' of course refers to my salve. But there's anither word frae my auld frien' Horace; it's a fit epitaph for a man like me wha's life has never been what it micht ha'e been:"... Amphora coepitInstitui: currente rota cur urceus exit?'The potter was minded to make a bonnie vessel; why does naething but a botchery come frae the running wheel?'"Before I could make a fitting reply he dropped my hand and left me. I stood in the dusk watching him go. He glided into the shadows and soon he had become as incorporeal as one of them. With a sense of desolation upon me, I made for the field where my night's task awaited me, and laboured steadily till the dawn.As I made my way back to the cave I could not help wondering where Hector might be.There had been something almost ominous in the manner of his parting. Had he felt the shadow hovering over him?--or was his farewell and his reference to his possible death nothing more than an expression of his curiously sentimental nature?I could not decide: but I trusted that his natural caution and his mother-wit, of which I knew something, would carry him safely through.Consoling myself with this thought, I entered the wood and proceeded to make my way up the bed of the stream.A week or two passed undisturbed by any eventful happening. Night after night I continued my work in the fields. More than once the minister joined me, lending me what aid he could. But his spirit was greater than his strength, and at last I had to ask him for his own sake, and for the sake of those who counted upon his ministrations, to reserve his energies for their own special work. Recognising his physical limitations, he took my advice."Maybe," he said, "you're right. Perhaps it was given to me to be a sower only, and not a harvester. The fields you are reaping were sown by other hands than yours, and mayhap the ripe fruit which in the good Providence of God may spring from the seed I have sown will be gathered by other hands than mine. But it matters little. The thing is to sow honestly and to reap faithfully, so that at the end of the day when we go home for our wages we may win the Master Harvester's 'Well done.'"Even had he been physically capable of doing useful work in the fields, it would have been unfair to expect him to do it at this time. His days were already full. He was making preparations for a great Conventicle to be held among the Closeburn hills early in October. It was to be a very special occasion--a gathering together of all the faithful to unite in that simple love feast which has inspired with fresh courage and inflamed with new devotion men and women throughout the ages. It was a brave, a hazardous thing to venture on.I was more than a little uplifted when he honoured me by asking me if I would care to be a sentinel.His request touched me deeply, and I felt that Mary was smiling upon me with radiant eyes out of the unknown.A few more days elapsed. Another Sunday came and went, the last before the great occasion. I had spent the day in the coolness of the cave, and the minister had been out about his spiritual duties. I stole out and sitting on the ledge above the pool sat dreaming in the twilight. Far off in the fields beyond the wood I heard a corncrake rasping out his raucous notes. There was a twitter of birds in the trees above me as they settled down to sleep.As I sat there I was joined by Mr. Corsane, who came through the narrow defile below the pool. He looked weary and somewhat distraught; but though I surmised that some anxiety oppressed him, he did not offer to share it with me, so I held my peace. Soon he retired to rest and when midnight came I set off to my labours. I did not see him on my return to the cave in the morning, nor had he come back by evening when I left again. But when on the morning of Tuesday I came in sight of the pool, I discovered him waiting for me on the ledge outside the cave. He hailed me at once:"I have been watching anxiously for your return. I am in sore perplexity.""Can I help you, sir?" I asked."If I were younger," he replied, "and could perform the task myself, I would gladly do it; but it is past my power. It is an urgent matter--for it concerns the safety of one dear to me and very precious to the Cause.""Command me," I exclaimed. "I am ready to do anything I can; only tell me how I may help.""I have a friend in Edinburgh," he said, "Peter Burgess by name. His life is in danger. I must get a message to him ere Friday. Will you take it?""Gladly," I cried. "Trust me--and all the persecutors in Scotland shall not prevent me."A smile flickered upon his face. "That is a reckless boast," he said. "But I trust you, and thank you.""I am ready to start at once," I said."What?" he exclaimed. "Weary as you are!""Certainly," I answered, "one must needs haste. I'll have a plunge in the pool while you write your letter, and after a mouthful of food, I'll be off."By the time I had bathed and eaten, his message was ready, and with a few last words of instruction I was about to set off. But he called me back."Have a care to your goings, my son. Be wary! be brave! I trust you will succeed in reaching my friend ere it is too late; but you cannot be back in time for the great Assembly on Sabbath. I shall miss you."He raised his hand in blessing, and, secreting the letter about me, I turned, and was gone.CHAPTER XXXIVTHE FLIGHT OF PETER BURGESSWhen night fell I was far away among the hills. I had made good progress and was well content. I should accomplish the journey in good time--of that I was confident--so I crawled into a bed of heather and slept soundly.In the early morning I was awakened by the call of the moor birds. Before starting on my journey again, I thought it wise to secrete the letter with greater care, so I took off one of my shoes, and, making a hollow in the heel, folded the letter tightly and placed it there. Then I took to the road again.I had hoped to reach Edinburgh by noon on Thursday, but when I came in sight of the city it was past five o'clock. The journey had proved more arduous than I expected; but I was still in time. The last long mile accomplished, I reached the city. The moon had risen, and as I swung round beneath the grey shadow of Holyrood I caught a glimpse of the noble brow of Arthur's Seat towering high behind it. I passed the guard of soldiers at the Canongate without challenge, for, apparently, they saw in me nothing more than a travel-stained and dusty wanderer--some gangrel body.I did not wish to draw suspicion upon myself by asking anyone to direct me to Halkerstone Wynd where Peter Burgess dwelt. But, meeting a boy, I stopped him to ask where I could find the Tron Kirk, which Mr. Corsane had given me as a landmark. His reply was explicit enough, if somewhat rude. "Follow yer nose," he said, "and ye'll be there in five meenutes," which I took to mean that I was to continue my journey up the hill. Very shortly a large church came into view, and as it took shape in the moonlight a clock in its tower struck ten. I counted the strokes, and, turning, retraced my steps and found at no great distance from the Church, as the minister had told me, the Wynd which I sought. The minister had given me careful instructions, so that when I entered the Wynd I had no difficulty in finding the house in which his friend lived. The outer door stood open, and I entered, passing at once into the confusion of darkness; but I had learned from Hector the wisdom of carrying a candle in one's pocket, and lighting it, I looked around me. I knew that I should find Peter Burgess on the top floor of the house, so, shading the candle with one hand, I began the ascent. Up, and up and up, in never ceasing spirals wound the stair. To me, weary with my journey, it seemed interminable. Between two of its flights I paused, and leaning over the balustrade looked downwards. A chasm, black as pitch and unfathomable to my straining eyes, gaped below me. After a moment's rest I continued my ascent, and by and by, breathless, I came to the top. An oaken door barred my further progress. An iron knocker, shaped like a lady's hand, hung gracefully upon its middle beam. I remember that as I seized it to knock, I held it for a second while I looked at the delicate metal filigree of lace that adorned the wrist. Then I knocked three times--first gently, then more firmly and, as no answer came, more loudly still. At last I heard movements on the other side, and in the flickering candle-light I saw a little peep-hole open, and a voice said "Who is it?" I bent my head to the tiny aperture and said in a whisper "Naphthali," the password I had been told to use. Instantly the peep-hole was closed, and the door was thrown open. "Enter and welcome," said the voice, and I needed no second invitation. I found myself in a narrow passage at the end of which was a room through whose open door a light shone. The man who had admitted me closed and barred the door and then led the way to the room. Then turning to me he said:"To what do I owe this late visit?""I bring," I replied, "a message from a friend, but before I give it to you I must know who you are."He went to a bookcase that stood against one of the walls and from it withdrew a little calf-bound volume. Opening it he pointed to the book-plate within.On the scroll I read the legend "Ex libris Petri Burgess," and I saw that the book was a copy of Rutherford'sLex Rex. I sat down at once on a high-backed oak chair, and, taking off my shoe, found the letter and handed it to him. He took it with a grave bow, and, breaking its seal, sat down at the black-oak table in the centre of the room.As he did so, I looked about me. The room was furnished with considerable taste and was lit by two candles which stood in silver candlesticks on the table. Between the candlesticks lay a sheet of paper. Beside them stood an ink-horn and a little bowl of sand in which was a small bone spoon. The light was somewhat uncertain, and to read with greater ease he drew one of the candlesticks nearer to him.When he had read the letter through, he sat in a fit of meditation, beating a gentle tattoo with the fingers of his left hand upon the top of the table. He read it again, and went towards the fireplace where he tore the missive into tiny pieces and dropped them into the fire. Then he came back to the table."Forgive," he said, "my seeming lack of hospitality; you must be worn out and famished. Let me offer you some refreshment."I thanked him heartily, and in a few minutes he had set food and wine before me.He joined me in the repast, and as we sat at the table I had an opportunity of studying him with some care. I judged him to be a man over sixty. His face was refined and the delicate line of his mouth which his beard did not conceal bespoke a sensitive nature. He treated me with a courtly grace, asked interestedly as to my journey, and inquired earnestly as to the progress of the Cause in the South. I told him all I knew, and when he heard from my lips how Mr. Corsane, though evicted from his Church, still regarded himself as the shepherd of his people and was constant in his devotion and instant in his service to them, he said:"Good! good! But how he must have suffered! As for me," he continued, "I have no cave in which to take refuge, so I must steal away like a thief in the night. Please God, ere morning I may find a boat in which to escape to the Low Countries. But you must have bed and lodging; and ere I leave the city I shall see you safely housed with a friend in the Lawn Market."When our meal was over my host pushed back his chair and said:"Now I must go." He went to the bookcase, and taking from it two or three volumes put them in the pockets of his coat. Turning to me with a smile, he said: "A fugitive had best go unencumbered; but I should be lost without a book."He made up a small parcel of food, and then, extinguishing one candle and taking the other from its candlestick, he led the way to the door, and together we passed out. He locked the door from the outside, and lighting the way with the candle, which he still held in his hand, he conducted me downstairs.When we entered the High Street, we turned and walked up past the Tron Kirk.The streets were deserted, save for ourselves, for midnight was at hand."The Castle," he said, "is just ahead of us, but we are not going so far. This is our destination," and he turned into a narrow Wynd on the right side of the street and passed through an open door just beyond its mouth. In the shadow of the doorway he lighted his candle and proceeded to climb the stair. On the second floor he knocked gently at a door which, after a pause, was opened noiselessly by an old woman.We entered. My companion whispered a word or two in her ear, and taking a leathern pouch from one of his pockets pressed some money into her hand."Be kind to the lad," he said, "he has travelled far."The old woman looked at me, and with the coins still gleaming in her open palm, said: "Ye can trust me, Maister Burgess. He's no' to peety if he has ane o' my guid cauf beds to sleep on, and a bowl o' parritch in the morning."Mr. Burgess held out his hand to me in farewell. "God keep you," he said. "And when you see my friend again, tell him I thank him with all my heart. If God will, I shall communicate with him when I reach a place of safety. If not----" and he raised his eyes to the low ceiling and, dropping my hand, turned and was gone.CHAPTER XXXVWITHIN SIGHT OF ST. GILESThe old woman closed the door, and lighting a candle led me to a room and left me. I found that the bed was all that she had claimed for it; and after my many months of fitful sleep on my bracken couch on the hard floor of the cave, and my weary journey, this mattress of chaff, into which I sank as soon as I lay down, seemed a couch for a king. As I turned over on my side and composed myself to sleep, I had but one regret. Weary as I found myself, it would be impossible for me to get back to the cave in time for the great Conventicle which was to be held among the Closeburn hills upon the coming Sabbath.My sleep was dreamless, and when I awoke the torch of the sun was blazing outside my narrow window. Having dressed myself, I made for the kitchen, where I found the good-wife busy over the fire. She turned as she heard my footsteps and asked:"Are ye weel rested? Ye maun be, for ye've sleepit the better pairt o' twal 'oors. I knocked at your door at ten o'clock; syne I tappit again at half-eleeven, but for a' the answer ye gi'ed, ye micht ha'e been the Castle Rock. So I juist left ye your lane, and here ye are at lang last, famished nae doot!" I was surprised to learn that I had slept so long, but the rest had done me good service and I felt greatly refreshed. "There's ae virtue aboot parritch, forby ithers," she said--"a wee bit extra boilin' does nae hairm, which is mair than can be said for ony ither dish except sheep's-heid broth."When my meal was over I rose to go, and as I did so I offered to pay the good woman for her hospitality."No, no," she said, as she shook her head. "Maister Burgess paid your lawin' for ye; and indeed there was nae necessity, for ony frien' o' that saint o' God is aye welcome to a bed and a sup o' parritch frae Betty Macfarlane."As I had given up all intention of trying to reach Closeburn by the following Sunday, I thought I might with advantage spend the rest of the day in rambling round the historic town. Such an opportunity might not offer again, and I knew that Scotland's story was graven upon the face of her Capital. Under the cover of the night I would begin my journey home. So I walked down the Lawn Market, and descended the Canongate until I came within sight of Holyrood. As I went I admired the lordly houses which flanked each side of the thoroughfare--some of them gaunt, grey and forbidding; others finely timbered; others again turreted and adorned with stone-fretwork that proclaimed the high skill of the carvers' art. I lingered for a time in front of Holyrood, thinking of the tragic career of her whose spirit still seemed to haunt the pile. Then I made my way by the Cowgate to the Grassmarket, where, sombre and menacing--the symbol of the dark days through which this tortured land was passing--stood the scaffold. On that forbidding gibbet I knew that many a brave martyr had met his end. The walls around me had heard the intrepid challenge of their testimonies, while the grim Castle rock, towering above, looked down silent and frowning as though it scorned the cruelties of man to his brother man.From the Grassmarket I climbed up a tortuous and steep wynd to the Lawn Market again. By this time the afternoon was far advanced, and evening was at hand. In the High Street, not far from the church of St. Giles, I entered a tavern, and having supped I looked at the clock in the Church Tower and saw that it was close upon six. I judged it would be well to set out in another hour. By so doing I should have left the city behind me and be far in the open country ere it was time to sleep; so I settled myself comfortably on a chair in the inglenook and called for another pot of ale.When the clock in the church tower struck seven I called for my score, and, having settled it, made my way out into the High Street. As I came out of the tavern door two officers passed me. I was less than a couple of paces behind them as they walked down the street. Had I willed it so, I could not have failed to catch some fragment of their talk, but my ears were pricked to a lively attention when I heard one of them say: "... Among the hills ... Closeburn." I caught a few disjointed words. "Sabbath ... three or four thousand ... a great occasion ... Claver'se, Lag, ... something complete ... no miserable failure ... Drumclog ... stamp out... no quarter ... woman or child." A horror so sudden seized me that I stood stock still, and the officers, unaware that I had overheard them, walked on.What had I heard? The fell purport of the stray words I had caught blazed before me in letters of fire. I knew of the great Conventicle that was to take place among the hills above Closeburn. I knew that every little cottage and every homestead for miles around that held a soul who professed allegiance to the Cause would have its witness there. By some mischance the enemy had learned of the intended gathering, and had plotted a master-stroke to destroy the Covenanters.The Cause was in jeopardy! Destruction threatened it. And I, Walter de Brydde--one-time moss-trooper, could save it! I alone. My hour had come.The clock struck, and, startled, I awoke to action.Forgetful that the news must be carried far, I began to run. Down past the Tron Kirk and on past Halkerstone Wynd and on down the Canongate I ran, until as I drew near the Town Port and saw the scarlet colour of the soldier's uniforms, some gleam of caution returned to me, and I slowed down to a walking pace lest my speed should excite suspicion. I shambled past the sentinels unchallenged, but when I had put a sufficient distance between them and myself, I broke into a run once more and headed for the hills. As I sped along I made a hasty calculation. It was now eight o'clock on Friday evening. To prevent the massacre, I must reach Closeburn not later than midnight on Saturday. That would give time for a message to be spread broadcast by willing couriers in the darkness of the night, and faithful men could be posted to give warning at every cross-road by which the worshippers must pass as they made their way, in the early dawn, to the appointed trysting-place.CHAPTER XXXVIFOR THE SAKE OF THE COVENANTI had twenty-eight hours in which to reach Closeburn--time sufficient to cover the distance, if I made an average of three miles an hour. And three miles an hour was well within the compass even of a man lame like myself. Already I saw my task accomplished, and the joy that filled my heart lent wings to my feet. With hands clenched, and chest thrown forward, I raced along until my breathing became a torment and I had to stop. I leaned against a wall by the roadside panting violently, and as I rested, soberer thoughts came to me. This was foolishness!Not in this way would I ever complete the journey; nor was there need of such impetuous haste. A moderate speed on the level, a steady struggle up the hills and all the speed I could command down them would bring me safely to my goal within the allotted time. I looked back along the way I had come. Far off I could see the light gleaming in the windows of the city, and high up, where a great black mass threw its bulk towards the sky, I saw the red glare of the brazier upon the Castle walls. Already I had travelled far, and when I had recovered my breath, I took to the road again. This time I did not run, but walked steadily.The moon climbed the heavens, and all the sky was glad with little stars. A gentle breeze had arisen and white clouds were scurrying overhead; but the cool of the wind was as refreshing balm and I plodded steadily on. Hour followed hour, and the moon sank to rest and still I followed the winding road. The first rosy streaks of dawn were warming the eastern sky when I sat down to rest. I was well content. My steady pace had carried me far and though I was weary I was confident. In the daylight I should be able to make better progress than during the darkness. As I rested I became aware that the strength of the wind had increased, and great leaden clouds were beginning to sweep across the sky. Rain began to fall upon my upturned face. The cooling drops were welcome; it would be but a passing shower! Thinking thus I rose and continued my journey. Then the heavens opened and the rain came down in a flood. Blown by the wind it struck my face and hands with missile force and to shelter myself I left the road and crawled under a whin-bush on the hill-side. For a time this gave me protection; but as the storm increased the rain-drops beat their way through the palisade of thorns, and poured mercilessly upon me once more. There was nothing to be gained by resting here. I was losing time. Better up and on! So I took to the road again. The wind had waxed to a tempest and beat direct upon me, so that I had to bend my head and put forth all my strength to fight it. I had not looked for this, but with dogged determination I clenched my teeth and battled on.On I struggled, unable to see more than a few paces ahead of me; for the rain was like a cloud--so wet that with every step the water streamed from my shoes. Should I ever reach the end of the journey? I would though I fell dead! It was for Mary's sake.Hour after hour passed, and at last the storm began to abate. The fury of the rain lessened, and the downpour settled into a drizzle. The sky began to clear. There were breaks in its leaden vault through which a white tuft of cloud thrust an infrequent pennon, and by and by the sun broke through the dull veil that had hidden it, and the rain ceased.Still the wind blew upon me with such force that every now and then I was brought to a standstill. When a lull came between one and the next more stern blast, I would run a pace or two; but only to be baffled again when the wind had gathered strength. I cast an anxious look up to the sky; the sun was visible now, but there was no vigour in his rays. It seemed as though the rain had quenched his fire, and that instead of looking into the heart of a furnace I gazed upon a ball of grey ashes. But what gave me pause and filled me with sudden dread was his place in the sky. He was already well past the meridian. The steady progress of the night, in which I had taken such satisfaction, counted for little set against the small tally of the miles covered since the dawn. The agony in my heart whipped me to greater effort, and I tried to run. But the wind seized me, and smote me with mighty buffets so that I had to desist and content myself by making what poor speed I could. On and on I trudged--hour after hour boring my way head downwards against the relentless wind, ashamed to count my paces, for I knew that the tale of them, as each minute slipped past, was less than a quarter of what it would have been if fortune had not turned against me. I had left the moorland track now and was upon a stretch of better road, sheltered in some fashion by trees upon either side. They broke the sterner fury of the blast and the better surface of the road made speedier progress possible. Spurring myself to the effort I sprang forward. Suddenly, to my joy, I saw on the hill-side above the road a little white cottage. I dragged myself up the slope, sodden and weary, and as I drew near I noticed the iron tyre of a cart-wheel leaning against the side of the house, and near by a rusty anvil. I knocked at the door, which was opened immediately by a young woman."What's yer pleesure?" she asked."Something to eat--and the time o' day," I answered."It's past five on the nock, an' if ye'll come awa' ben ye can ha'e some provender."She led the way into a large kitchen, and as she busied herself in setting oat cakes and ale before me I warmed myself by the fire. I was in no mood for delay, so I ate some of the food hastily, stored a little in my pockets, drank my ale, and called for my score. As I paid her I asked the distance to Moffat."Eight miles and a bittock, and the first bit is a' uphill--an awfu' road: but easy after ye pass the Beef-tub."My heart sank, the hour was late--far later than I had thought, and I had still far to go.Bidding my hostess good day I hurried to the door, threw it open--and walked into the arms of two troopers. Taken unawares I was startled, but quickly recovering myself I bade them good day and tried to pass them."No' sae fast, young man--no' sae fast. Ye're in a de'il o' a hurry," said one of the troopers--a towering brawny giant--as he seized me by the coat."Unhand me," I cried. "What right have you to interfere with a loyal subject, engaged on his lawful occasions?""Hear tae him, Sandy," said my captor. "He talks like a mangy lawyer. 'Lawful occasions!' We'll see aboot that. What are ye daein' here?"Eager to satisfy the man, and in the hope that by doing so I should be permitted to continue on my way, I answered:"I am a traveller on my way to Dumfries--I have been caught in the storm, and sought shelter and refreshment in this house"--and I tried to wrench myself from his grasp."A gey thin tale. Whit think ye, Sandy? As like as no' he's a Covenanter." And Sandy grunted "Umphm."Again I tried to shake myself free--but the giant flung his arms about me, and lifting me up, struggle how I might, as though I had been a child he carried me back into the kitchen and thrust me roughly on a chair.The woman of the house looked on open-eyed."Whit ken ye o' this man?" said the trooper, turning towards her, but all the while keeping a firm hold of me."Naething mair than yersel," she answered. "He cam' tae the door a bittock syne, and asked for something tae eat--and he peyed his lawin' like a gentleman.""Umphm," growled my tormentor; and Sandy standing beside him answered "Umphm.""Bring us something tae drink, Mirren, Solway waters if ye hae them. We're fair drookit," said my captor. "As for you," he said, tightening his grip on my arm, "we'll ha'e to look into your case. Sandy--fetch a tow."Sandy followed the woman into another room, and in a moment returned with a rope in his hand."What does this mean?" I shouted. "You have no right to interfere with me--and when I reach Moffat I shall lodge a complaint with the Officer Commanding.""Shut yer jaw," bellowed the giant, and shook his fist at me.I sprang up--my clenched left fist smashed into his face, and the blood streamed from him--but still he held me.Sandy sprang to his aid, and though I struggled like one possessed I was quickly overpowered, flung roughly on the chair and bound there. The rope that surrounded me, and held my arms close to my sides, was drawn so tightly that I could hardly breathe. They ran it round the back of the chair and under the legs shackling each ankle. I was helpless. As he bound me the giant cursed me soundly, pausing only to spit blood from his foul mouth."Ye blasted hound! Ye're no' what ye pretend. We'll mak' ye talk in a wee. Eh, Sandy?" And Sandy, binding my ankles, answered "Umphm."When I was tied securely they stood away from me and surveyed their handiwork."Umphm," said Sandy--as he poured out a glass of Solway waters from the bottle which the woman had brought, and raised it to his lips. The two sat down by the fire--the bottle between them--and for a time turned all their attention to its contents. I tried to move--=but I was gripped as in a vice. I was in sore case. I cared not what happened to myself, but there was my message. I alone could prevent the massacre on the morrow, and now the proud hope I had cherished of doing service to the Covenant was brought to naught. Was there a God in heaven, that such things could be? I was not left long to my thoughts.Suddenly the giant rose, and standing over me glowered into my eyes as he shouted:"Are ye a Covenanter?"Temptation assailed me. If I denied the Covenant, I could with a firmer claim demand to be set free--and then I might yet carry my message through. "No" was upon my lips--but it died unspoken there. I heard the notes of a flute on a heather-clad hill-side: saw again a heap of smouldering ashes where a home of love had been. I could not deny the Covenant.Firmly I answered "I am"--and in the gathering shadows I saw the radiant face of Mary smiling upon me--as she blew me a kiss with either hand."Umphm," said Sandy, "I thocht as muckle.""So ye're a Covenanter, are ye?" roared the giant. "I'll learn ye! Wull ye say 'God save the King?'""God save the King," I answered promptly. "I am a loyal subject and a Covenanter.""Ye lie," he shouted. "The Covenanters are a' rebels. Wull ye tak' the Test?"In the cave at the Linn I had heard Hector repeat the involved sentences of the Test with scorn upon his lips, and I knew that this half-drunken trooper could not possibly find his way through them; so I answered:"If you can put the Test to me you shall have my answer."Sandy--with the bottle in his hand--looked over his shoulder and laughed softly. The giant turned upon him. "Whit the deevil are ye lauchin' at"--and then turning to me, "I'm nae scholar--and I canna min' the words, but if I canna pit the Test to you I can pit you tae the test--and by heaven I will." A look of fiendish cruelty swept over his hard face."Try him wi' the match," said Sandy."Ay--that'll test him."While Sandy busied himself about my fastenings to free my left arm for the ordeal, the other trooper was trying to make the long match he had unwound from his head-gear take light. It was damp and would not burn. I watched in a strange state of abstraction. Only a few minutes ago the vision of Mary had smiled upon me. Pain and torture were nothing to me now. Let them do their worst!"It winna burn: it's wat," said the giant. Throwing the match on the floor, he gripped my left arm savagely and pushed back the sleeve of my coat."Rax me a live peat," he said, and Sandy picked one up with the tongs and handed it to him. He seized the tongs, and held the peat against my arm just above the wrist where the blue veins showed. "That'll mak' ye talk, ye dog," he shouted. But no word escaped my lips. My eyes sought the distance--and there I saw the face of Mary--twin tears upon her eyelids. The pain was swallowed up by the joy."He's a dour deevil," growled Sandy."Ay: but we'll ha'e him yelling for mercy yet. The peat's gaen cauld. Gar it lowe, Sandy."Sandy bent his head and blew upon the peat. It began to glow again--but I did not flinch."Rax me anither," said my tormentor, letting the first fall and relaxing his grip of my arm. For a moment he turned to watch his companion pick up another glowing peat--and in that moment I eased the ropes about my right arm with my left hand. They slipped upwards and my right arm was free.My tormentors did not observe it when they came to me again and applied the torture to my left arm once more.Again Sandy lowered his head to blow upon the peat--and in that instant my right arm shot out like a steel spring, my fist crashed into his jaw and he fell in a heap, knocking the legs from under the giant, who fell heavily upon him."Ye clumsy lout!" he cried, as he rose in drunken fury, and as Sandy lay motionless he kicked him savagely with his heavy boots in the chest.The kitchen door opened softly, and for a moment I caught a glimpse of the woman's frightened face: then she withdrew."Get up--I tell ye," roared the giant, kicking the recumbent figure again.My blow could have caused him only temporary damage--but this savagery of the giant would kill him.My eyes were on Sandy. His pallid face grew ashen: his chest was raised from the ground in a curve like a bow as he took a convulsive breath: blood and froth bubbled at his lips--and he lay still, his ashen pallor deepening.Fear seized the giant. He dropped on his knees beside the body. "Get up, Sandy my lammie"--he said, drunken tears falling down his cheeks. "Ye're no' deid. Ye'll be a' richt in a meenute. Get up, lad. Say ye're no' deid."But Sandy lay motionless."You have killed him," I said."You lie," roared the trooper, springing to his feet and facing me. "You did it--an' ye'll pey for 't."He seized me by the throat, and readjusted my fastenings--binding me cruelly tight. Then he took a long draught from the bottle, and sat down. I watched him as he took a knife from his pocket, and ran his thumb along its edge."I'll bluid him like a sheep," he muttered, as he bent down and tried to sharpen the blade on the hearth-stone.I knew I could expect no mercy from this frenzied, half-drunken brute.A prayer stole up from my heart--not for mercy, but for the safety of the hill-folks on the morrow, and for the pardon of my own sins. Only a shriven soul could hope to be reunited with my beloved:--please God, Mary would be waiting for me on the other side.The trooper rose and came towards me."I'll bluid ye like a sheep," he snarled, and seizing me by the hair swung my head over to one side.Death stared me in the face, and, let me set it down for the comfort of those who live in daily terror of death, at that moment I felt no fear."Like a sheep," he mumbled--and swung his arm back for the blow; but at that instant he crashed forward carrying me before him, and his open knife clattered on the floor."Thank God--oh, thank God," whispered a woman's voice, as she drew me, still bound to the chair, from under the heavy body of the giant. In a trice she had cut my bonds--and was chafing my numbed limbs."Ha'e I killed him?" she asked anxiously.I looked at the giant. He was breathing heavily--and a long gash on the back of his head was spurting jets of blood."No," I said--"only stunned him. I owe my life to you.""Ay. Tae me an' the tatie-beetle," she answered, pointing to her weapon on the floor. "But haste ye. Tie him up afore he comes tae."I bound him, hands and feet, with a grim satisfaction, and left him lying on his face.The woman watched me anxiously, urging me to greater haste."And now," I said--"what of you? You must escape.""Oh, I'll be a' richt," she said, leading the way to the other room. "My man will be back in an 'oor. Tie me in a chair--and gag me: and I'll tell a bonnie story when Peter comes hame."I did her bidding quickly, pouring out my gratitude with fervent lips.As I was about to gag her with her kerchief, she forbade me for a moment, and said with tears in her eyes:"God forgi'e me! My mither was a Covenanter--an'--I mairrit a trooper."I bent down reverently and kissed her bound hands."You have done a greater service to the Covenant than you know," I said, then springing up I dashed from the house into the gathering darkness.I had lost two precious hours--but by the mercy of God I was still alive, and I should carry my message through.I raced down the slope to the road, and turned my face to the long ascent. The wind had abated, and I could make better progress. The cold air stung my burnt arm, but as I set my mind to my task the pain ceased to trouble me.With hope still rising within me I struggled on--breaking into a steady, mechanical trot. As the woman had said, the road was very bad, but, after my strange deliverance from death, nothing could daunt me, and I fought my way on. The stars were looking down upon me now, and I looked up at them with a grateful heart. At last I reached the top of the hill, and the long descent lay before me. I paused for a moment to regain my breath, and saw far below me that tender light which always hangs in the sky, when night comes, above the habitations of men, and I knew that I was looking down on Moffat. As though the light were a beacon which beckoned me, I started to run down-hill.My stiff limbs warmed to their work and soon I was running with some freedom. On and on ... splashing through the pools of water that lay in the path, with eyes strained ever towards the gleam in the sky; on, and on ... with clenched teeth and parted lips through which my hurrying breath issued with the poignant sound of a sob. On, and on ... the rhythmic sound of my footsteps throbbing through my brain. Faster now, for the light was drawing nearer; on, and on ... till just without the confines of the little town I turned to the right lest the sound of my racing feet should awake suspicion. Skirting the township cautiously, I came out upon the road again beyond it.On, and on ... fear and desire lending speed to my feet; and behind me the town clock striking ten. God help me!--a score of miles still lay before me; had I strength to accomplish the task? The perspiration broke out upon me, and for very weariness I reeled as I ran. At last I came to the place where I must leave the highway and take to the open country. It was harder going thus, but the way was more direct and every moment was precious. On, and on ... until my mind divorced itself from my body, and in a mood of abstraction contemplated the running figure alongside which it sailed so easily. On, and on ... the mind holding itself aloof and regarding with a kind of pity the struggles of the tired body that was plunging headlong across the fields. Suddenly I was conscious that something other than myself was running along beside me ... keeping step with my step, measuring its paces with my paces, neck and neck with me. What ghostly companion was this? I looked to the right and left but saw nothing, and, as I looked, the sound of the attendant footsteps ceased and I heard nothing but the tick-tack of my own feet. On, and on ... crashing through the hedges, leaping over the low dykes, stumbling in the ruts of the ploughed fields, wading the little streams, ... still I pressed on. I was panting wildly now, so that my breath whistled as the wind whistles through a keyhole in winter. Nothing mattered: come life, come death, I should carry the tidings through. Once more the ghostly feet were audible, keeping time with my own--pit-pat, pit-pat, step for step. I flung my arms to right and left, but they touched vacancy, and the ghostly footsteps ceased. On, and on, ... until a heavy languor stole over me and filled me with the hunger of sleep. My eyelids drooped, so that for an instant I did not see the ground before me, and I stumbled and almost fell. I sprang erect and shook myself. Sleep meant death--not for myself, but for thousands of others who had grown to be dear to me, and on and on I ran. But the things that a man would do are conditioned by the strength which God has given him, and the body, though an obedient slave to the mind, sometimes becomes a tyrant. My limbs were heavy--no longer things of flesh and blood, but compact of lead. On, and on ... knowing nothing now but that my task was a sacred one, deaf to the sound of my own footsteps, blind to the things around me, on and on I reeled till sleep or something akin to it, seized me, and for a time I raced on unconscious of what I did. Stumbling, I fell to spring up again wildly alert. I should win through or die! On and on--and on and on ... till I sank helpless to the ground.I slept: I dreamed:--It was a peaceful Sabbath day. In a hollow among the hills above Closeburn a great gathering of men and women and children was assembled to keep the feast. On a low table covered with a fair white cloth stood the sacred elements. Behind the table I saw my friend of the cave at the Linn standing with a look of rapture on his face. The gathered people were singing a psalm, when, suddenly, there was a loud alarm. The posted sentinels came hot-foot with cruel tidings on their lips. But it was too late. From north and south and east and west, on horses at the gallop, poured the dragoons--Claver'se's men, Lag's men, Winram's men, Dalzell's men, all with the blood-lust in their eyes--and in a moment that peaceful hollow was a bloody shambles. Muskets rattled on every side; men, women and children fell. Through and through that defenceless company the wild troopers rode, spurring their horses to their sickening task, trampling the women and children underfoot, shooting the men with their bullets or beating them down with the stocks of their muskets. Screams and wild blasphemy rent the air that but a moment before had been fragrant with the melodies of love and adoration. Lag himself I saw spur his charger over a tangled mass of dead and dying right at the sacred table. The horse leaped, spurning to the ground the Bread and Wine, and the man of blood, swinging his sword high, brought it down upon the head of the sainted minister, who fell cleft to the chin. And I, by whose failure such deeds of blood had been made possible, lay bound, a prisoner, hand and foot.
CHAPTER XXXIII
THE GOING OF HECTOR
September came with all its golden glory and each day Hector became more and more restless. When the month was half sped he left us. One morning on our way home to the cave after a busy night of harvesting he said:
"I'm gaun the nicht." And though I urged upon him that he could not have chosen a worse time, since we had many fields yet to cut, I failed to dissuade him from his purpose. "No," he said, "I can bide nae langer. The fever is in my bluid, and there's nae cure for it but the road."
When night came I accompanied him down the course of the linn and on to the high road. At the last he laid many injunctions upon me, the chief being to take care of our companion in the cave.
"He's a guid man," he said, "but a thochtless. I blame mysel' yet for the crack I gi'ed him on the heid. It seems tae ha'e left him a bit confused. Ye'll tak' care o' him."
When the moment of parting came he took off his bonnet, and gripping me fervently by the hand said:
"I'll be back ere lang, but if I dinna return, I should like ye noo and then to gie a kindly thocht to the memory o' the packman. Maybe I may find a grave under the open sky on the purple moorland; and if that be my lot and ye should be spared for happier days and can fin' the place where I lie, maybe ye'll see that my cairn is no' left withoot a name. But dinna be carvin' ony extravagant eulogy on the stane. Juist put the words 'Hector the packman.' That'll be enough for me--but it's the prood man I wad be, lying in the mools beneath, if ye wad add a line or twa o' Latin juist to let the unborn generations ken that I was a scholar. There are twa bit legends that come ready to my min'; ane is,
"Sciro potestates herbarum usumque medendiMaluit, et mutas agitare inglorius artes.
"Sciro potestates herbarum usumque medendiMaluit, et mutas agitare inglorius artes.
"Sciro potestates herbarum usumque medendi
Maluit, et mutas agitare inglorius artes.
'He was skilly in the knowledge o' herbs and o' their healing powers, and wi' nae thocht o' higher glory he liked to practise that quiet art'--that's frae Virgil, as ye will nae doot remember an' of course refers to my salve. But there's anither word frae my auld frien' Horace; it's a fit epitaph for a man like me wha's life has never been what it micht ha'e been:
"... Amphora coepitInstitui: currente rota cur urceus exit?
"... Amphora coepitInstitui: currente rota cur urceus exit?
"... Amphora coepit
"... Amphora coepit
Institui: currente rota cur urceus exit?
'The potter was minded to make a bonnie vessel; why does naething but a botchery come frae the running wheel?'"
Before I could make a fitting reply he dropped my hand and left me. I stood in the dusk watching him go. He glided into the shadows and soon he had become as incorporeal as one of them. With a sense of desolation upon me, I made for the field where my night's task awaited me, and laboured steadily till the dawn.
As I made my way back to the cave I could not help wondering where Hector might be.
There had been something almost ominous in the manner of his parting. Had he felt the shadow hovering over him?--or was his farewell and his reference to his possible death nothing more than an expression of his curiously sentimental nature?
I could not decide: but I trusted that his natural caution and his mother-wit, of which I knew something, would carry him safely through.
Consoling myself with this thought, I entered the wood and proceeded to make my way up the bed of the stream.
A week or two passed undisturbed by any eventful happening. Night after night I continued my work in the fields. More than once the minister joined me, lending me what aid he could. But his spirit was greater than his strength, and at last I had to ask him for his own sake, and for the sake of those who counted upon his ministrations, to reserve his energies for their own special work. Recognising his physical limitations, he took my advice.
"Maybe," he said, "you're right. Perhaps it was given to me to be a sower only, and not a harvester. The fields you are reaping were sown by other hands than yours, and mayhap the ripe fruit which in the good Providence of God may spring from the seed I have sown will be gathered by other hands than mine. But it matters little. The thing is to sow honestly and to reap faithfully, so that at the end of the day when we go home for our wages we may win the Master Harvester's 'Well done.'"
Even had he been physically capable of doing useful work in the fields, it would have been unfair to expect him to do it at this time. His days were already full. He was making preparations for a great Conventicle to be held among the Closeburn hills early in October. It was to be a very special occasion--a gathering together of all the faithful to unite in that simple love feast which has inspired with fresh courage and inflamed with new devotion men and women throughout the ages. It was a brave, a hazardous thing to venture on.
I was more than a little uplifted when he honoured me by asking me if I would care to be a sentinel.
His request touched me deeply, and I felt that Mary was smiling upon me with radiant eyes out of the unknown.
A few more days elapsed. Another Sunday came and went, the last before the great occasion. I had spent the day in the coolness of the cave, and the minister had been out about his spiritual duties. I stole out and sitting on the ledge above the pool sat dreaming in the twilight. Far off in the fields beyond the wood I heard a corncrake rasping out his raucous notes. There was a twitter of birds in the trees above me as they settled down to sleep.
As I sat there I was joined by Mr. Corsane, who came through the narrow defile below the pool. He looked weary and somewhat distraught; but though I surmised that some anxiety oppressed him, he did not offer to share it with me, so I held my peace. Soon he retired to rest and when midnight came I set off to my labours. I did not see him on my return to the cave in the morning, nor had he come back by evening when I left again. But when on the morning of Tuesday I came in sight of the pool, I discovered him waiting for me on the ledge outside the cave. He hailed me at once:
"I have been watching anxiously for your return. I am in sore perplexity."
"Can I help you, sir?" I asked.
"If I were younger," he replied, "and could perform the task myself, I would gladly do it; but it is past my power. It is an urgent matter--for it concerns the safety of one dear to me and very precious to the Cause."
"Command me," I exclaimed. "I am ready to do anything I can; only tell me how I may help."
"I have a friend in Edinburgh," he said, "Peter Burgess by name. His life is in danger. I must get a message to him ere Friday. Will you take it?"
"Gladly," I cried. "Trust me--and all the persecutors in Scotland shall not prevent me."
A smile flickered upon his face. "That is a reckless boast," he said. "But I trust you, and thank you."
"I am ready to start at once," I said.
"What?" he exclaimed. "Weary as you are!"
"Certainly," I answered, "one must needs haste. I'll have a plunge in the pool while you write your letter, and after a mouthful of food, I'll be off."
By the time I had bathed and eaten, his message was ready, and with a few last words of instruction I was about to set off. But he called me back.
"Have a care to your goings, my son. Be wary! be brave! I trust you will succeed in reaching my friend ere it is too late; but you cannot be back in time for the great Assembly on Sabbath. I shall miss you."
He raised his hand in blessing, and, secreting the letter about me, I turned, and was gone.
CHAPTER XXXIV
THE FLIGHT OF PETER BURGESS
When night fell I was far away among the hills. I had made good progress and was well content. I should accomplish the journey in good time--of that I was confident--so I crawled into a bed of heather and slept soundly.
In the early morning I was awakened by the call of the moor birds. Before starting on my journey again, I thought it wise to secrete the letter with greater care, so I took off one of my shoes, and, making a hollow in the heel, folded the letter tightly and placed it there. Then I took to the road again.
I had hoped to reach Edinburgh by noon on Thursday, but when I came in sight of the city it was past five o'clock. The journey had proved more arduous than I expected; but I was still in time. The last long mile accomplished, I reached the city. The moon had risen, and as I swung round beneath the grey shadow of Holyrood I caught a glimpse of the noble brow of Arthur's Seat towering high behind it. I passed the guard of soldiers at the Canongate without challenge, for, apparently, they saw in me nothing more than a travel-stained and dusty wanderer--some gangrel body.
I did not wish to draw suspicion upon myself by asking anyone to direct me to Halkerstone Wynd where Peter Burgess dwelt. But, meeting a boy, I stopped him to ask where I could find the Tron Kirk, which Mr. Corsane had given me as a landmark. His reply was explicit enough, if somewhat rude. "Follow yer nose," he said, "and ye'll be there in five meenutes," which I took to mean that I was to continue my journey up the hill. Very shortly a large church came into view, and as it took shape in the moonlight a clock in its tower struck ten. I counted the strokes, and, turning, retraced my steps and found at no great distance from the Church, as the minister had told me, the Wynd which I sought. The minister had given me careful instructions, so that when I entered the Wynd I had no difficulty in finding the house in which his friend lived. The outer door stood open, and I entered, passing at once into the confusion of darkness; but I had learned from Hector the wisdom of carrying a candle in one's pocket, and lighting it, I looked around me. I knew that I should find Peter Burgess on the top floor of the house, so, shading the candle with one hand, I began the ascent. Up, and up and up, in never ceasing spirals wound the stair. To me, weary with my journey, it seemed interminable. Between two of its flights I paused, and leaning over the balustrade looked downwards. A chasm, black as pitch and unfathomable to my straining eyes, gaped below me. After a moment's rest I continued my ascent, and by and by, breathless, I came to the top. An oaken door barred my further progress. An iron knocker, shaped like a lady's hand, hung gracefully upon its middle beam. I remember that as I seized it to knock, I held it for a second while I looked at the delicate metal filigree of lace that adorned the wrist. Then I knocked three times--first gently, then more firmly and, as no answer came, more loudly still. At last I heard movements on the other side, and in the flickering candle-light I saw a little peep-hole open, and a voice said "Who is it?" I bent my head to the tiny aperture and said in a whisper "Naphthali," the password I had been told to use. Instantly the peep-hole was closed, and the door was thrown open. "Enter and welcome," said the voice, and I needed no second invitation. I found myself in a narrow passage at the end of which was a room through whose open door a light shone. The man who had admitted me closed and barred the door and then led the way to the room. Then turning to me he said:
"To what do I owe this late visit?"
"I bring," I replied, "a message from a friend, but before I give it to you I must know who you are."
He went to a bookcase that stood against one of the walls and from it withdrew a little calf-bound volume. Opening it he pointed to the book-plate within.
On the scroll I read the legend "Ex libris Petri Burgess," and I saw that the book was a copy of Rutherford'sLex Rex. I sat down at once on a high-backed oak chair, and, taking off my shoe, found the letter and handed it to him. He took it with a grave bow, and, breaking its seal, sat down at the black-oak table in the centre of the room.
As he did so, I looked about me. The room was furnished with considerable taste and was lit by two candles which stood in silver candlesticks on the table. Between the candlesticks lay a sheet of paper. Beside them stood an ink-horn and a little bowl of sand in which was a small bone spoon. The light was somewhat uncertain, and to read with greater ease he drew one of the candlesticks nearer to him.
When he had read the letter through, he sat in a fit of meditation, beating a gentle tattoo with the fingers of his left hand upon the top of the table. He read it again, and went towards the fireplace where he tore the missive into tiny pieces and dropped them into the fire. Then he came back to the table.
"Forgive," he said, "my seeming lack of hospitality; you must be worn out and famished. Let me offer you some refreshment."
I thanked him heartily, and in a few minutes he had set food and wine before me.
He joined me in the repast, and as we sat at the table I had an opportunity of studying him with some care. I judged him to be a man over sixty. His face was refined and the delicate line of his mouth which his beard did not conceal bespoke a sensitive nature. He treated me with a courtly grace, asked interestedly as to my journey, and inquired earnestly as to the progress of the Cause in the South. I told him all I knew, and when he heard from my lips how Mr. Corsane, though evicted from his Church, still regarded himself as the shepherd of his people and was constant in his devotion and instant in his service to them, he said:
"Good! good! But how he must have suffered! As for me," he continued, "I have no cave in which to take refuge, so I must steal away like a thief in the night. Please God, ere morning I may find a boat in which to escape to the Low Countries. But you must have bed and lodging; and ere I leave the city I shall see you safely housed with a friend in the Lawn Market."
When our meal was over my host pushed back his chair and said:
"Now I must go." He went to the bookcase, and taking from it two or three volumes put them in the pockets of his coat. Turning to me with a smile, he said: "A fugitive had best go unencumbered; but I should be lost without a book."
He made up a small parcel of food, and then, extinguishing one candle and taking the other from its candlestick, he led the way to the door, and together we passed out. He locked the door from the outside, and lighting the way with the candle, which he still held in his hand, he conducted me downstairs.
When we entered the High Street, we turned and walked up past the Tron Kirk.
The streets were deserted, save for ourselves, for midnight was at hand.
"The Castle," he said, "is just ahead of us, but we are not going so far. This is our destination," and he turned into a narrow Wynd on the right side of the street and passed through an open door just beyond its mouth. In the shadow of the doorway he lighted his candle and proceeded to climb the stair. On the second floor he knocked gently at a door which, after a pause, was opened noiselessly by an old woman.
We entered. My companion whispered a word or two in her ear, and taking a leathern pouch from one of his pockets pressed some money into her hand.
"Be kind to the lad," he said, "he has travelled far."
The old woman looked at me, and with the coins still gleaming in her open palm, said: "Ye can trust me, Maister Burgess. He's no' to peety if he has ane o' my guid cauf beds to sleep on, and a bowl o' parritch in the morning."
Mr. Burgess held out his hand to me in farewell. "God keep you," he said. "And when you see my friend again, tell him I thank him with all my heart. If God will, I shall communicate with him when I reach a place of safety. If not----" and he raised his eyes to the low ceiling and, dropping my hand, turned and was gone.
CHAPTER XXXV
WITHIN SIGHT OF ST. GILES
The old woman closed the door, and lighting a candle led me to a room and left me. I found that the bed was all that she had claimed for it; and after my many months of fitful sleep on my bracken couch on the hard floor of the cave, and my weary journey, this mattress of chaff, into which I sank as soon as I lay down, seemed a couch for a king. As I turned over on my side and composed myself to sleep, I had but one regret. Weary as I found myself, it would be impossible for me to get back to the cave in time for the great Conventicle which was to be held among the Closeburn hills upon the coming Sabbath.
My sleep was dreamless, and when I awoke the torch of the sun was blazing outside my narrow window. Having dressed myself, I made for the kitchen, where I found the good-wife busy over the fire. She turned as she heard my footsteps and asked:
"Are ye weel rested? Ye maun be, for ye've sleepit the better pairt o' twal 'oors. I knocked at your door at ten o'clock; syne I tappit again at half-eleeven, but for a' the answer ye gi'ed, ye micht ha'e been the Castle Rock. So I juist left ye your lane, and here ye are at lang last, famished nae doot!" I was surprised to learn that I had slept so long, but the rest had done me good service and I felt greatly refreshed. "There's ae virtue aboot parritch, forby ithers," she said--"a wee bit extra boilin' does nae hairm, which is mair than can be said for ony ither dish except sheep's-heid broth."
When my meal was over I rose to go, and as I did so I offered to pay the good woman for her hospitality.
"No, no," she said, as she shook her head. "Maister Burgess paid your lawin' for ye; and indeed there was nae necessity, for ony frien' o' that saint o' God is aye welcome to a bed and a sup o' parritch frae Betty Macfarlane."
As I had given up all intention of trying to reach Closeburn by the following Sunday, I thought I might with advantage spend the rest of the day in rambling round the historic town. Such an opportunity might not offer again, and I knew that Scotland's story was graven upon the face of her Capital. Under the cover of the night I would begin my journey home. So I walked down the Lawn Market, and descended the Canongate until I came within sight of Holyrood. As I went I admired the lordly houses which flanked each side of the thoroughfare--some of them gaunt, grey and forbidding; others finely timbered; others again turreted and adorned with stone-fretwork that proclaimed the high skill of the carvers' art. I lingered for a time in front of Holyrood, thinking of the tragic career of her whose spirit still seemed to haunt the pile. Then I made my way by the Cowgate to the Grassmarket, where, sombre and menacing--the symbol of the dark days through which this tortured land was passing--stood the scaffold. On that forbidding gibbet I knew that many a brave martyr had met his end. The walls around me had heard the intrepid challenge of their testimonies, while the grim Castle rock, towering above, looked down silent and frowning as though it scorned the cruelties of man to his brother man.
From the Grassmarket I climbed up a tortuous and steep wynd to the Lawn Market again. By this time the afternoon was far advanced, and evening was at hand. In the High Street, not far from the church of St. Giles, I entered a tavern, and having supped I looked at the clock in the Church Tower and saw that it was close upon six. I judged it would be well to set out in another hour. By so doing I should have left the city behind me and be far in the open country ere it was time to sleep; so I settled myself comfortably on a chair in the inglenook and called for another pot of ale.
When the clock in the church tower struck seven I called for my score, and, having settled it, made my way out into the High Street. As I came out of the tavern door two officers passed me. I was less than a couple of paces behind them as they walked down the street. Had I willed it so, I could not have failed to catch some fragment of their talk, but my ears were pricked to a lively attention when I heard one of them say: "... Among the hills ... Closeburn." I caught a few disjointed words. "Sabbath ... three or four thousand ... a great occasion ... Claver'se, Lag, ... something complete ... no miserable failure ... Drumclog ... stamp out... no quarter ... woman or child." A horror so sudden seized me that I stood stock still, and the officers, unaware that I had overheard them, walked on.
What had I heard? The fell purport of the stray words I had caught blazed before me in letters of fire. I knew of the great Conventicle that was to take place among the hills above Closeburn. I knew that every little cottage and every homestead for miles around that held a soul who professed allegiance to the Cause would have its witness there. By some mischance the enemy had learned of the intended gathering, and had plotted a master-stroke to destroy the Covenanters.
The Cause was in jeopardy! Destruction threatened it. And I, Walter de Brydde--one-time moss-trooper, could save it! I alone. My hour had come.
The clock struck, and, startled, I awoke to action.
Forgetful that the news must be carried far, I began to run. Down past the Tron Kirk and on past Halkerstone Wynd and on down the Canongate I ran, until as I drew near the Town Port and saw the scarlet colour of the soldier's uniforms, some gleam of caution returned to me, and I slowed down to a walking pace lest my speed should excite suspicion. I shambled past the sentinels unchallenged, but when I had put a sufficient distance between them and myself, I broke into a run once more and headed for the hills. As I sped along I made a hasty calculation. It was now eight o'clock on Friday evening. To prevent the massacre, I must reach Closeburn not later than midnight on Saturday. That would give time for a message to be spread broadcast by willing couriers in the darkness of the night, and faithful men could be posted to give warning at every cross-road by which the worshippers must pass as they made their way, in the early dawn, to the appointed trysting-place.
CHAPTER XXXVI
FOR THE SAKE OF THE COVENANT
I had twenty-eight hours in which to reach Closeburn--time sufficient to cover the distance, if I made an average of three miles an hour. And three miles an hour was well within the compass even of a man lame like myself. Already I saw my task accomplished, and the joy that filled my heart lent wings to my feet. With hands clenched, and chest thrown forward, I raced along until my breathing became a torment and I had to stop. I leaned against a wall by the roadside panting violently, and as I rested, soberer thoughts came to me. This was foolishness!
Not in this way would I ever complete the journey; nor was there need of such impetuous haste. A moderate speed on the level, a steady struggle up the hills and all the speed I could command down them would bring me safely to my goal within the allotted time. I looked back along the way I had come. Far off I could see the light gleaming in the windows of the city, and high up, where a great black mass threw its bulk towards the sky, I saw the red glare of the brazier upon the Castle walls. Already I had travelled far, and when I had recovered my breath, I took to the road again. This time I did not run, but walked steadily.
The moon climbed the heavens, and all the sky was glad with little stars. A gentle breeze had arisen and white clouds were scurrying overhead; but the cool of the wind was as refreshing balm and I plodded steadily on. Hour followed hour, and the moon sank to rest and still I followed the winding road. The first rosy streaks of dawn were warming the eastern sky when I sat down to rest. I was well content. My steady pace had carried me far and though I was weary I was confident. In the daylight I should be able to make better progress than during the darkness. As I rested I became aware that the strength of the wind had increased, and great leaden clouds were beginning to sweep across the sky. Rain began to fall upon my upturned face. The cooling drops were welcome; it would be but a passing shower! Thinking thus I rose and continued my journey. Then the heavens opened and the rain came down in a flood. Blown by the wind it struck my face and hands with missile force and to shelter myself I left the road and crawled under a whin-bush on the hill-side. For a time this gave me protection; but as the storm increased the rain-drops beat their way through the palisade of thorns, and poured mercilessly upon me once more. There was nothing to be gained by resting here. I was losing time. Better up and on! So I took to the road again. The wind had waxed to a tempest and beat direct upon me, so that I had to bend my head and put forth all my strength to fight it. I had not looked for this, but with dogged determination I clenched my teeth and battled on.
On I struggled, unable to see more than a few paces ahead of me; for the rain was like a cloud--so wet that with every step the water streamed from my shoes. Should I ever reach the end of the journey? I would though I fell dead! It was for Mary's sake.
Hour after hour passed, and at last the storm began to abate. The fury of the rain lessened, and the downpour settled into a drizzle. The sky began to clear. There were breaks in its leaden vault through which a white tuft of cloud thrust an infrequent pennon, and by and by the sun broke through the dull veil that had hidden it, and the rain ceased.
Still the wind blew upon me with such force that every now and then I was brought to a standstill. When a lull came between one and the next more stern blast, I would run a pace or two; but only to be baffled again when the wind had gathered strength. I cast an anxious look up to the sky; the sun was visible now, but there was no vigour in his rays. It seemed as though the rain had quenched his fire, and that instead of looking into the heart of a furnace I gazed upon a ball of grey ashes. But what gave me pause and filled me with sudden dread was his place in the sky. He was already well past the meridian. The steady progress of the night, in which I had taken such satisfaction, counted for little set against the small tally of the miles covered since the dawn. The agony in my heart whipped me to greater effort, and I tried to run. But the wind seized me, and smote me with mighty buffets so that I had to desist and content myself by making what poor speed I could. On and on I trudged--hour after hour boring my way head downwards against the relentless wind, ashamed to count my paces, for I knew that the tale of them, as each minute slipped past, was less than a quarter of what it would have been if fortune had not turned against me. I had left the moorland track now and was upon a stretch of better road, sheltered in some fashion by trees upon either side. They broke the sterner fury of the blast and the better surface of the road made speedier progress possible. Spurring myself to the effort I sprang forward. Suddenly, to my joy, I saw on the hill-side above the road a little white cottage. I dragged myself up the slope, sodden and weary, and as I drew near I noticed the iron tyre of a cart-wheel leaning against the side of the house, and near by a rusty anvil. I knocked at the door, which was opened immediately by a young woman.
"What's yer pleesure?" she asked.
"Something to eat--and the time o' day," I answered.
"It's past five on the nock, an' if ye'll come awa' ben ye can ha'e some provender."
She led the way into a large kitchen, and as she busied herself in setting oat cakes and ale before me I warmed myself by the fire. I was in no mood for delay, so I ate some of the food hastily, stored a little in my pockets, drank my ale, and called for my score. As I paid her I asked the distance to Moffat.
"Eight miles and a bittock, and the first bit is a' uphill--an awfu' road: but easy after ye pass the Beef-tub."
My heart sank, the hour was late--far later than I had thought, and I had still far to go.
Bidding my hostess good day I hurried to the door, threw it open--and walked into the arms of two troopers. Taken unawares I was startled, but quickly recovering myself I bade them good day and tried to pass them.
"No' sae fast, young man--no' sae fast. Ye're in a de'il o' a hurry," said one of the troopers--a towering brawny giant--as he seized me by the coat.
"Unhand me," I cried. "What right have you to interfere with a loyal subject, engaged on his lawful occasions?"
"Hear tae him, Sandy," said my captor. "He talks like a mangy lawyer. 'Lawful occasions!' We'll see aboot that. What are ye daein' here?"
Eager to satisfy the man, and in the hope that by doing so I should be permitted to continue on my way, I answered:
"I am a traveller on my way to Dumfries--I have been caught in the storm, and sought shelter and refreshment in this house"--and I tried to wrench myself from his grasp.
"A gey thin tale. Whit think ye, Sandy? As like as no' he's a Covenanter." And Sandy grunted "Umphm."
Again I tried to shake myself free--but the giant flung his arms about me, and lifting me up, struggle how I might, as though I had been a child he carried me back into the kitchen and thrust me roughly on a chair.
The woman of the house looked on open-eyed.
"Whit ken ye o' this man?" said the trooper, turning towards her, but all the while keeping a firm hold of me.
"Naething mair than yersel," she answered. "He cam' tae the door a bittock syne, and asked for something tae eat--and he peyed his lawin' like a gentleman."
"Umphm," growled my tormentor; and Sandy standing beside him answered "Umphm."
"Bring us something tae drink, Mirren, Solway waters if ye hae them. We're fair drookit," said my captor. "As for you," he said, tightening his grip on my arm, "we'll ha'e to look into your case. Sandy--fetch a tow."
Sandy followed the woman into another room, and in a moment returned with a rope in his hand.
"What does this mean?" I shouted. "You have no right to interfere with me--and when I reach Moffat I shall lodge a complaint with the Officer Commanding."
"Shut yer jaw," bellowed the giant, and shook his fist at me.
I sprang up--my clenched left fist smashed into his face, and the blood streamed from him--but still he held me.
Sandy sprang to his aid, and though I struggled like one possessed I was quickly overpowered, flung roughly on the chair and bound there. The rope that surrounded me, and held my arms close to my sides, was drawn so tightly that I could hardly breathe. They ran it round the back of the chair and under the legs shackling each ankle. I was helpless. As he bound me the giant cursed me soundly, pausing only to spit blood from his foul mouth.
"Ye blasted hound! Ye're no' what ye pretend. We'll mak' ye talk in a wee. Eh, Sandy?" And Sandy, binding my ankles, answered "Umphm."
When I was tied securely they stood away from me and surveyed their handiwork.
"Umphm," said Sandy--as he poured out a glass of Solway waters from the bottle which the woman had brought, and raised it to his lips. The two sat down by the fire--the bottle between them--and for a time turned all their attention to its contents. I tried to move--=but I was gripped as in a vice. I was in sore case. I cared not what happened to myself, but there was my message. I alone could prevent the massacre on the morrow, and now the proud hope I had cherished of doing service to the Covenant was brought to naught. Was there a God in heaven, that such things could be? I was not left long to my thoughts.
Suddenly the giant rose, and standing over me glowered into my eyes as he shouted:
"Are ye a Covenanter?"
Temptation assailed me. If I denied the Covenant, I could with a firmer claim demand to be set free--and then I might yet carry my message through. "No" was upon my lips--but it died unspoken there. I heard the notes of a flute on a heather-clad hill-side: saw again a heap of smouldering ashes where a home of love had been. I could not deny the Covenant.
Firmly I answered "I am"--and in the gathering shadows I saw the radiant face of Mary smiling upon me--as she blew me a kiss with either hand.
"Umphm," said Sandy, "I thocht as muckle."
"So ye're a Covenanter, are ye?" roared the giant. "I'll learn ye! Wull ye say 'God save the King?'"
"God save the King," I answered promptly. "I am a loyal subject and a Covenanter."
"Ye lie," he shouted. "The Covenanters are a' rebels. Wull ye tak' the Test?"
In the cave at the Linn I had heard Hector repeat the involved sentences of the Test with scorn upon his lips, and I knew that this half-drunken trooper could not possibly find his way through them; so I answered:
"If you can put the Test to me you shall have my answer."
Sandy--with the bottle in his hand--looked over his shoulder and laughed softly. The giant turned upon him. "Whit the deevil are ye lauchin' at"--and then turning to me, "I'm nae scholar--and I canna min' the words, but if I canna pit the Test to you I can pit you tae the test--and by heaven I will." A look of fiendish cruelty swept over his hard face.
"Try him wi' the match," said Sandy.
"Ay--that'll test him."
While Sandy busied himself about my fastenings to free my left arm for the ordeal, the other trooper was trying to make the long match he had unwound from his head-gear take light. It was damp and would not burn. I watched in a strange state of abstraction. Only a few minutes ago the vision of Mary had smiled upon me. Pain and torture were nothing to me now. Let them do their worst!
"It winna burn: it's wat," said the giant. Throwing the match on the floor, he gripped my left arm savagely and pushed back the sleeve of my coat.
"Rax me a live peat," he said, and Sandy picked one up with the tongs and handed it to him. He seized the tongs, and held the peat against my arm just above the wrist where the blue veins showed. "That'll mak' ye talk, ye dog," he shouted. But no word escaped my lips. My eyes sought the distance--and there I saw the face of Mary--twin tears upon her eyelids. The pain was swallowed up by the joy.
"He's a dour deevil," growled Sandy.
"Ay: but we'll ha'e him yelling for mercy yet. The peat's gaen cauld. Gar it lowe, Sandy."
Sandy bent his head and blew upon the peat. It began to glow again--but I did not flinch.
"Rax me anither," said my tormentor, letting the first fall and relaxing his grip of my arm. For a moment he turned to watch his companion pick up another glowing peat--and in that moment I eased the ropes about my right arm with my left hand. They slipped upwards and my right arm was free.
My tormentors did not observe it when they came to me again and applied the torture to my left arm once more.
Again Sandy lowered his head to blow upon the peat--and in that instant my right arm shot out like a steel spring, my fist crashed into his jaw and he fell in a heap, knocking the legs from under the giant, who fell heavily upon him.
"Ye clumsy lout!" he cried, as he rose in drunken fury, and as Sandy lay motionless he kicked him savagely with his heavy boots in the chest.
The kitchen door opened softly, and for a moment I caught a glimpse of the woman's frightened face: then she withdrew.
"Get up--I tell ye," roared the giant, kicking the recumbent figure again.
My blow could have caused him only temporary damage--but this savagery of the giant would kill him.
My eyes were on Sandy. His pallid face grew ashen: his chest was raised from the ground in a curve like a bow as he took a convulsive breath: blood and froth bubbled at his lips--and he lay still, his ashen pallor deepening.
Fear seized the giant. He dropped on his knees beside the body. "Get up, Sandy my lammie"--he said, drunken tears falling down his cheeks. "Ye're no' deid. Ye'll be a' richt in a meenute. Get up, lad. Say ye're no' deid."
But Sandy lay motionless.
"You have killed him," I said.
"You lie," roared the trooper, springing to his feet and facing me. "You did it--an' ye'll pey for 't."
He seized me by the throat, and readjusted my fastenings--binding me cruelly tight. Then he took a long draught from the bottle, and sat down. I watched him as he took a knife from his pocket, and ran his thumb along its edge.
"I'll bluid him like a sheep," he muttered, as he bent down and tried to sharpen the blade on the hearth-stone.
I knew I could expect no mercy from this frenzied, half-drunken brute.
A prayer stole up from my heart--not for mercy, but for the safety of the hill-folks on the morrow, and for the pardon of my own sins. Only a shriven soul could hope to be reunited with my beloved:--please God, Mary would be waiting for me on the other side.
The trooper rose and came towards me.
"I'll bluid ye like a sheep," he snarled, and seizing me by the hair swung my head over to one side.
Death stared me in the face, and, let me set it down for the comfort of those who live in daily terror of death, at that moment I felt no fear.
"Like a sheep," he mumbled--and swung his arm back for the blow; but at that instant he crashed forward carrying me before him, and his open knife clattered on the floor.
"Thank God--oh, thank God," whispered a woman's voice, as she drew me, still bound to the chair, from under the heavy body of the giant. In a trice she had cut my bonds--and was chafing my numbed limbs.
"Ha'e I killed him?" she asked anxiously.
I looked at the giant. He was breathing heavily--and a long gash on the back of his head was spurting jets of blood.
"No," I said--"only stunned him. I owe my life to you."
"Ay. Tae me an' the tatie-beetle," she answered, pointing to her weapon on the floor. "But haste ye. Tie him up afore he comes tae."
I bound him, hands and feet, with a grim satisfaction, and left him lying on his face.
The woman watched me anxiously, urging me to greater haste.
"And now," I said--"what of you? You must escape."
"Oh, I'll be a' richt," she said, leading the way to the other room. "My man will be back in an 'oor. Tie me in a chair--and gag me: and I'll tell a bonnie story when Peter comes hame."
I did her bidding quickly, pouring out my gratitude with fervent lips.
As I was about to gag her with her kerchief, she forbade me for a moment, and said with tears in her eyes:
"God forgi'e me! My mither was a Covenanter--an'--I mairrit a trooper."
I bent down reverently and kissed her bound hands.
"You have done a greater service to the Covenant than you know," I said, then springing up I dashed from the house into the gathering darkness.
I had lost two precious hours--but by the mercy of God I was still alive, and I should carry my message through.
I raced down the slope to the road, and turned my face to the long ascent. The wind had abated, and I could make better progress. The cold air stung my burnt arm, but as I set my mind to my task the pain ceased to trouble me.
With hope still rising within me I struggled on--breaking into a steady, mechanical trot. As the woman had said, the road was very bad, but, after my strange deliverance from death, nothing could daunt me, and I fought my way on. The stars were looking down upon me now, and I looked up at them with a grateful heart. At last I reached the top of the hill, and the long descent lay before me. I paused for a moment to regain my breath, and saw far below me that tender light which always hangs in the sky, when night comes, above the habitations of men, and I knew that I was looking down on Moffat. As though the light were a beacon which beckoned me, I started to run down-hill.
My stiff limbs warmed to their work and soon I was running with some freedom. On and on ... splashing through the pools of water that lay in the path, with eyes strained ever towards the gleam in the sky; on, and on ... with clenched teeth and parted lips through which my hurrying breath issued with the poignant sound of a sob. On, and on ... the rhythmic sound of my footsteps throbbing through my brain. Faster now, for the light was drawing nearer; on, and on ... till just without the confines of the little town I turned to the right lest the sound of my racing feet should awake suspicion. Skirting the township cautiously, I came out upon the road again beyond it.
On, and on ... fear and desire lending speed to my feet; and behind me the town clock striking ten. God help me!--a score of miles still lay before me; had I strength to accomplish the task? The perspiration broke out upon me, and for very weariness I reeled as I ran. At last I came to the place where I must leave the highway and take to the open country. It was harder going thus, but the way was more direct and every moment was precious. On, and on ... until my mind divorced itself from my body, and in a mood of abstraction contemplated the running figure alongside which it sailed so easily. On, and on ... the mind holding itself aloof and regarding with a kind of pity the struggles of the tired body that was plunging headlong across the fields. Suddenly I was conscious that something other than myself was running along beside me ... keeping step with my step, measuring its paces with my paces, neck and neck with me. What ghostly companion was this? I looked to the right and left but saw nothing, and, as I looked, the sound of the attendant footsteps ceased and I heard nothing but the tick-tack of my own feet. On, and on ... crashing through the hedges, leaping over the low dykes, stumbling in the ruts of the ploughed fields, wading the little streams, ... still I pressed on. I was panting wildly now, so that my breath whistled as the wind whistles through a keyhole in winter. Nothing mattered: come life, come death, I should carry the tidings through. Once more the ghostly feet were audible, keeping time with my own--pit-pat, pit-pat, step for step. I flung my arms to right and left, but they touched vacancy, and the ghostly footsteps ceased. On, and on, ... until a heavy languor stole over me and filled me with the hunger of sleep. My eyelids drooped, so that for an instant I did not see the ground before me, and I stumbled and almost fell. I sprang erect and shook myself. Sleep meant death--not for myself, but for thousands of others who had grown to be dear to me, and on and on I ran. But the things that a man would do are conditioned by the strength which God has given him, and the body, though an obedient slave to the mind, sometimes becomes a tyrant. My limbs were heavy--no longer things of flesh and blood, but compact of lead. On, and on ... knowing nothing now but that my task was a sacred one, deaf to the sound of my own footsteps, blind to the things around me, on and on I reeled till sleep or something akin to it, seized me, and for a time I raced on unconscious of what I did. Stumbling, I fell to spring up again wildly alert. I should win through or die! On and on--and on and on ... till I sank helpless to the ground.
I slept: I dreamed:--
It was a peaceful Sabbath day. In a hollow among the hills above Closeburn a great gathering of men and women and children was assembled to keep the feast. On a low table covered with a fair white cloth stood the sacred elements. Behind the table I saw my friend of the cave at the Linn standing with a look of rapture on his face. The gathered people were singing a psalm, when, suddenly, there was a loud alarm. The posted sentinels came hot-foot with cruel tidings on their lips. But it was too late. From north and south and east and west, on horses at the gallop, poured the dragoons--Claver'se's men, Lag's men, Winram's men, Dalzell's men, all with the blood-lust in their eyes--and in a moment that peaceful hollow was a bloody shambles. Muskets rattled on every side; men, women and children fell. Through and through that defenceless company the wild troopers rode, spurring their horses to their sickening task, trampling the women and children underfoot, shooting the men with their bullets or beating them down with the stocks of their muskets. Screams and wild blasphemy rent the air that but a moment before had been fragrant with the melodies of love and adoration. Lag himself I saw spur his charger over a tangled mass of dead and dying right at the sacred table. The horse leaped, spurning to the ground the Bread and Wine, and the man of blood, swinging his sword high, brought it down upon the head of the sainted minister, who fell cleft to the chin. And I, by whose failure such deeds of blood had been made possible, lay bound, a prisoner, hand and foot.