shall only be too
glad to escape from the consequences of my unfortunate position; but do
not misunderstand me: although neither a spy nor a Covenantor I am a
loyal subject, and would not now be a deserter if that character had not
been forced upon me, first by the brutality of the soldiers with whom I
was banded, and then by the insolence of my comrade-in-arms to your
daughter--"

"Niece; niece," interrupted Black; "I wish she _was_ my dauchter, bless
her bonny face! Niver fear, sir, I've nae doot o' yer loyalty, though
you an' yer freends misdoot mine. I claim to be as loyal as the best o'
ye, but there's nae dictionary in _this_ warld that defines loyalty to
be slavish submission o' body an' sowl to a tyrant that fears naether
God nor man. The quastion noo is, Div ye want to escape and wull ye
trust me?"

The sound of horses galloping in the distance tended to quicken the
young trooper's decision. He submitted to be blindfolded by his captor.

"Noo, Peter," said Andrew, as he was about to lead Wallace away, "ye ken
what to dae. Gie them plenty to eat; show them the rum bottle, let them
hae the rin o' the hoose, an' say that I bade ye treat them weel."

"Ay," was Ramblin' Peter's laconic reply.

Leading his captive out at the door, round the house, and re-entering by
a back door, apparently with no other end in view than to bewilder him,
Andrew went into a dark room, opened some sort of door--to enter which
the trooper had to stoop low--and conducted him down a steep, narrow
staircase.

The horsemen meanwhile had found the cottage and were heard at that
moment tramping about in front, and thundering on the door for
admittance.

Wallace fancied that the door which closed behind him must be of amazing
thickness, for it shut out almost completely the sounds referred to.

On reaching the foot of the staircase, and having the napkin removed
from his eyes, he found himself in a long, low, vaulted chamber. There
was no one in it save his guide and a venerable man who sat beside a
deal table, reading a document by the light of a tallow candle stuck in
the mouth of a black bottle.

The soldiers, meanwhile, having been admitted by Ramblin' Peter,
proceeded to question that worthy as to Andrew Black and his household.
Not being satisfied of the truth of his replies they proceeded to apply
torture in order to extract confession. It was the first time that this
mode of obtaining information had been used in Blac