er again, coming in violent contact with those following them; all
then hurried round behind the church. Malcolm stamped his feet with
vexation.

"What a fool I am," he muttered, "not to have thought of a sortie! If
we had all held ourselves in readiness to spring out, we might have cut
down the whole of them; at any rate none would have got off with their
barrels."

This unexpected failure greatly damped the spirit of the peasants, and
there was much consultation among them before any fresh move was made.
As he saw that they were fully occupied, and paying no heed to the
tower, Malcolm said to his men:

"I am going outside; prepare to help me up over the door again quickly
if necessary."

Leaving his sword behind him, he took a leap from the step above the
inclined plane and landed at the bottom, and at once threw himself down
outside. With his dagger he removed the hoops of one of the barrels, and
scattered the contents thickly along the front of the tower. None of the
peasants perceived him, for there were many bodies lying round the
foot of the tower; and even had any looked that way they would not have
noticed that one prone figure had been added to the number.

Crawling cautiously along Malcolm pushed two other barrels before him,
and opening them as before, spread the contents of one upon the ground
near the side of the tower, and the other by the hinder face. The thick
black layer on the snow would have told its tale instantly to a soldier,
but Malcolm had little fear of the peasants in their haste paying
attention to it. When his task was completed he crawled back again
to the door and laid a train from the foot of the slide to the powder
without.

"I will remain here," he said, "for the present. Do one of you take your
place in the belfry. Tell Cameron to shout down to you what is passing
behind, and do you run instantly down the stairs to tell me."

The peasants advanced next time accompanied by a strong force of their
armed comrades. As before they came round from behind, intending to
stack their barrels in the angle there. As the bearers of the first two
or three powder barrels came round the corner Cameron shouted the news,
and the soldier below ran down to Malcolm, who fired his pistol into
the train. A broad flash of fire rose round the tower followed
instantaneously by two heavy explosions. There was silence for an
instant, and then a chorus of shrieks and yells.

The powder barrels borne by t