?"

"Thou art a sorry fool, Murdock," retorted another voice, ere the
countess could reply, and hastily glancing around, she beheld herself
surrounded by armed men; "a sorry fool, an thou wastest the precious
darkness thus. Is not one rank rebel sufficient, think you, to satisfy
our lord? he will get intelligence enough out of her, be sure. Isabella
of Buchan is not fool enough to hold parley with such as we, rely on't."

A suppressed exclamation of exultation answered the utterance of that
name, and without further parley the arms of the countess were strongly
pinioned, and with the quickness of thought the man who had first spoken
raised her in his arms, and bore her through the thickest brushwood and
wildest crags in quite the contrary direction to the encampment; their
movements accelerated by the fact that, ere her arms were confined, the
countess, with admirable presence of mind, had raised to her lips a
silver whistle attached to her girdle, and blown a shrill, distinct
blast. A moment sufficed to rudely tear it from her hand, and hurry her
off as we have said; and when that call was answered, which it was as
soon as the men scattered on the mountain sufficiently recognized the
sound, they flung down their tools and sprung to the side whence it
came, but there was no sign, no trace of her they sought; they scoured
with lighted torches every mossy path or craggy slope, but in vain;
places of concealment were too numerous, the darkness too intense, save
just the space illumined by the torch, to permit success. The trampling
of horses announced the return of the king and his companions, ere their
search was concluded; his bugle summoned the stragglers, and speedily
the loss of the countess was ascertained, their fruitless search
narrated, and anxiety and alarm spread over the minds of all. The agony
of the youthful Alan surpassed description, even the efforts of his
sovereign failed to calm him. Nor was the Bruce himself much less
agitated.

"She did wrong, she did wrong," he said, "to leave herself so long
unguarded; yet who was there to commit this outrage? There is some
treachery here, which we must sift; we must not leave our noble
countrywoman in the hands of these marauders. Trust me, Alan, we shall
recover her yet."

But the night promised ill for the fulfilment of this trust. Many hours
passed in an utterly fruitless search, and about one hour before
midnight a thick fog increased the dense gloom, and ev