rung with the
clatter of horses and the bustle of preparation. Still more solitary
did they sound as he passed on his way through the deserted passages,
and found himself once more in the old banqueting-hall, where the feast
remained still on the board, and the empty chairs all round, just as the
clansmen had left them to obey the sudden and urgent order to march
forth.

But dreariest of all did they sound as, forcing open a small and long
disused door, which grated back on its hinges and groaned as he did so,
he stepped out on to the east terrace.

Before he did this, however, he took all the wise precautions necessary
to insure, as far as possible, the safety of the old castle, and in some
respects this was not a difficult task, for Singleton Towers stood at
the head of a narrow arm of the sea, which on three sides completely
surrounded it, leaving only the east side assailable by land.

On the sides of the sea the castle rose perpendicularly from the water,
the only entrance being by way of a creek, half cave, half boathouse,
the entrance to which could at pleasure be barred by a portcullis. This
precaution Singleton took, and had the satisfaction of feeling that on
its seaboard at least the castle was as secure as if a garrison of a
hundred men watched it.

On the land side, however, security was not so possible. The water was
continued in the form of a ditch twelve yards wide round this side also;
but it was a narrow protection at the best. The drawbridge which
spanned it was, as we have already seen, drawn up; and the great iron
gate connecting with the outside world, carefully barred and bolted.
Still, as Singleton looked down, he felt concerned to think how easily a
few bold men could swim the moat and assault the place. But he was in
for it now!

As auld Geordie had said, the guns of the castle were all loaded and
ready for action; and Singleton was relieved to see that one of these
was mounted on the turret over the great gate; and a further discovery
relieved him still more, and that was that the woods on this side were
so dense that, except along the narrow clearing through the trees, it
would hardly be possible for any number of troops, especially if they
brought artillery, to approach.

He therefore took advantage of the moonlight to point the gun carefully
so as exactly to cover the entrance to this narrow path, a precaution
which, as will be seen, stood him in good stead before the night was