Bruce. When you reach the top signal to us the direction in which
he has gone. Follow ever on his track without stopping; he must at
last take to the low country again. Some of my men shall remain
here, others a mile further on, and so on round the whole foot of
the hills. Do you, when you see that, thinking he has distanced
you, which he may well do being more lightly armed and flying for
his life, he makes for the low country again, send men in different
directions to give me warning. The baying of the dog will act as
a signal to us."

While the men had been dismounting and Pembroke was giving his
orders Archie had proceeded up the hill with the hound. The path
was exceedingly steep and difficult.

"Do not hurry, sirrah," Pembroke called; "hold in your hound till
the others join you." But Archie paid no attention to the shout,
but kept up the steep path at the top of his speed. Shouts and
threats followed him, but he paused not till he reached the top
of the ascent; then he unfastened Hector's collar, and the dog,
relieved from the chain which had so long restrained him, bounded
away with a deep bay in pursuit of his master, whose scent was now
strong before him. As Archie looked back, the four knights and
their followers, in single file, were, as yet, scarce halfway up
the ascent. Lying round were numbers of loose boulders, and Archie
at once began to roll these down the hillside. They went but slowly
at first, but as they reached the steeper portion they gathered
speed, and taking great bounds crashed down the hillside. As these
formidable missiles burst down from above the knights paused.

"On!" Pembroke shouted from below; "the Scot is a traitor, and he
and the hound will escape if you seize him not." Again the party
hurried up the hill. Three of them were struck down by the rocks,
and the speed of all was impeded by the pauses made to avoid the
great boulders which bounded down toward them. When they were
within a few yards of the top Archie turned and bounded off at full
speed. He had no fear of being himself overtaken. Lightly clad and
unarmed, the knights and men-at-arms, who were all in full armour,
and who were already breathed with the exertions they had made,
would have no chance of overtaking him; indeed he could safely have
fled at once when he loosed Hector, but he had stopped to delay the
ascent of his pursuers solely to give the hound as long a start
as possible. He himself could have kept up