r the king," he said in a voice scarcely above a
whisper.

"Yes, it is for the king, therefore the king demands it. Give the
order instantly that it be brought to the landing, well manned with
twenty-six rowers."

All colour left MacLeod's face. His next words were to MacDonald.

"Is this true?" he said.

"Yes," answered MacDonald, "it is true."

The girl, her wide eyes distended with fear, clutched the arm of her
lover. Even she knew this was a case for the headsman, but MacLeod,
with not a quiver in his voice, called down to his followers,--

"Bring round the king's barge, and see it is well manned. I myself
will take the rudder."

The stern face of the king relaxed as he saw this chieftain stand
straighter than ever before since he had known him, ready to take on
his head whatever might befall.

The girl impetuously flung herself at the king's feet, and in her
excitement forgetting the limitations of his learning, she poured
forth a plea for her father in Gaelic. The king smiled as he stooped
and raised the suppliant.

"My dear," he said, "I shall never hear that language without thinking
of you, and of my own discomfiture. If it were not that MacDonald
stands there with that dour Highland look on his face, it is I would
kneel at your feet. Your father is to come with me to Stirling, for
I have said he should, and I must keep my word with myself as well
as I have kept it with him. Do not draw away your hand, in spite of
MacDonald's scowls, for I have this to promise you. If you and he will
accompany us to Stirling, I pledge to you the king's word that I
shall grant you whatever you ask. So you see you need have no fear for
your father's safety." Saying this, the king, with that courtly manner
which so well became him, gave the hand of the girl into that of
MacDonald.

Thus it came about that the MacLeod took a voyage he had not intended,
and came so unscathed from it that he long outlived the man who was
the cause of his journey.

THE KING WEDS

Even a stranger in Stirling must have been impressed by the fact
that something unusual was afoot, not to be explained by the mere
preparation for ushering in the New Year. Inquiry soon solved the
problem of the decorations and the rejoicings. James the Fifth, the
most popular king Scotland had possessed since the days of Bruce, was
about to be married, and most of his subjects thought it high time,
for he had reached the mature age of twenty-six, and