s, swears that he will not be caught asleep as were
those of Linlithgow and Castle Douglas. I fear," he concluded,
"that we of Dunottar will be the last in Scotland to be free from
the English yoke."

"That is as it may be. Other castles have been captured, and maybe
the lion of Scotland may float on those walls ere long."

The man looked keenly at him.

"Methinks there is meaning in your words," he said, "and your
language does not accord with your attire. I ask no questions; but
be sure that should an attempt be made, there are a score of strong
fellows among us who will be ready to strike a blow for freedom."

"Is that so?" Archie replied; "then, man, taking you to be a true
Scot, I will tell you that the attempt will be made, and that
soon, and that, if you will, you can aid the enterprise. I am Sir
Archibald Forbes, of whom, perhaps, you have heard."

"Assuredly," the man said in a tone of deep respect, "every Scotsman
knows the name as that of one of the king's truest and bravest
knights."

"My purpose is this," Archie said. "On a dark night some ninety-five
of my men will march hither; I need a faithful friend to meet them
outside the village to lead them in, and to hide them away in the
cottages, having already arranged beforehand with their owners to
receive them. I, myself, with four of my men will come hither in a
fishing boat well laden with fish; we will choose a time when the
wind is blowing, and will seem to have been driven here by stress
of weather and disabled. Then I shall try to sell our cargo for the
use of the garrison. As we carry it in we shall attack the guard,
and at the signal those hidden will rush out and cross the drawbridge."

"The plan is a good one," the fisherman said; "its difficulty mainly
lies in the fact that the drawbridge will be raised the moment you
have crossed it, and long before your followers could arrive it
would be high in the air, and you would be cut off from all aid. It
never remains down for an instant after men have passed over it."

"That adds to the difficulty," Archie said thoughtfully; "but
I must think of some plan to overcome it. Do you quietly go about
among those you can surely trust and arrange for them to be ready
to open their doors and take my men in without the slightest noise
which might attract the sentries on the walls. So long as the wind
is quiet and the sea smooth we shall not come, but the first day
that the wind blows hard you may expect