army had travelled the whole village was in flames. He
felt that he could not travel far, for the intense sufferings which he
had endured for twenty-four hours without food or water had exhausted
his strength.

His limbs were swollen and bruised from the tightness of the cords, the
agony of his burned wrists was terrible, and after proceeding slowly for
about a mile he drew off from the broad trampled track which the army
had made in passing, and dragging himself to a clump of trees a short
distance from the road, made his way through some thick undergrowth and
flung himself down. The night was intensely cold, but this was a relief
to him rather than otherwise, for it alleviated the burning pain of his
limbs while he kept handfuls of snow applied to his wrists.

Two hours after he had taken refuge he heard a number of men come along
the road at a run. Looking through the bushes he could see by their
figures against the snow that they were peasants, and had no doubt that
they were the men of the village who had returned and at once started in
pursuit of him.

An hour later, feeling somewhat relieved, he left his hiding place and
moved a mile away from the road, as he feared that the peasants, failing
to overtake him, might, as they returned, search every possible hiding
place near it. He had no fear of the track being noticed, for the
surface of the snow was everywhere marked by parties going and returning
to the main body. He kept on until he saw a small shed. The door was
unfastened; opening it he found that the place was empty, though there
were signs that it was usually used as a shelter for cattle.

A rough ladder led to a loft. This was nearly full of hay. Malcolm threw
himself down on this, and covering himself up thickly, felt the blood
again begin to circulate in his limbs. It brought, however, such
a renewal of his pain, that it was not until morning that fatigue
overpowered his sufferings and he fell asleep.

It was late in the afternoon when he woke at the sound of shouts and
holloaing. Springing to his feet he looked out between the cracks in the
boards and saw a party of forty or fifty peasants passing close by the
shed. They were armed with hatchets, scythes, and pikes. On the heads of
four of the pikes were stuck gory heads, and in the centre of the party
were three prisoners, two Swedes and a Scot. These were covered with
blood, and were scarcely able to walk, but were being urged forward with
blow