Day followed day with no sign of the soldiers, and as time passed, Rob wished most fervently1 that Muckle John had not disappeared so abruptly2, leaving him in an unknown country with a helpless old man.
One morning there was a movement in Lovat's hut and the old chief stood peering out of the doorway3 looking very savage4 and uncouth5. He had forgotten to place his wig6 on his head and the scattered7 tags of grey hair were caught by every gust8 of wind.
"Rob," he said at last, shivering with the cold, "take a day in the hills and learn where the English are and whether a French frigate9 is off the coast."
Only too glad to fall in with such a suggestion Rob prepared to set off at once. Suddenly Lord Lovat called to him.
"Rob," he said, "where did you come from that night?"
"I came from Culloden."
"Culloden—and did you meet anyone on the road?"
"Only Muckle John."
"Muckle John," he repeated, "I seem to know the name—so you came with him did ye? And where were you, Rob, when the horsemen arrived? Was Muckle John with you then?"
"No, he had left me."
"Of course—of course—and then he came back and told you he was going away on important business, Rob."
"He said he would return."
At that Lovat left him, laughing as though something mightily12 funny had been said. But at the door he turned, still convulsed with his humour, and wagging a finger at him remarked:
"Mind my words, laddie, the race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong."
Then setting out upon the heather he made for the head of Loch Arkaig.
Throughout the day he saw no glimpse of red-coats, and when evening was falling he stepped boldly down upon the shore of the loch, and thence onward14 to Lochnanuagh, where, to his excitement, the white sails of a frigate were bellied15 out with the breeze. Hastily concealing16 himself he peered through the heather upon the beach where a great number of people, principally Camerons and Macdonalds, were collected, and with them a squarely built, consequential17 little man very plainly dressed, who seemed greatly agitated18 about the numbers on the shore and anxious to disperse19 the crowd at all costs. But the more he cajoled and threatened the more closely they thronged20 the beach, and in the meanwhile the frigate had run down her anchor and lowered a boat. In it Rob could distinguish four men and some cargo21, which had been slung22 down from the deck. On the shore there was a sudden silence almost startling after the clash of voices before. The creak of the rowlocks came nearer, and though far up the hill—so still was the day—Rob could catch the French manner of their speech, and once he heard the small man upon the beach cough and blow his nose.
But immediately the keel of the boat grated upon the shingle23, the greatest animation24 was displayed. The sailors threw the cargo (which comprised some half-dozen little casks) upon the sand, and under the instructions of the little man they were carried into a secluded25 place and a rope slipped round them, whereupon he set about paying the sailors.
At that moment, however, there was a sullen26 boom like the noise of a gun far out at sea, and without a second's delay the boat shot away to the frigate, the anchor was raised, and running up her canvas she wheeled like a sea-bird and catching27 the breeze sped towards open water. From the noise of firing out at sea it was apparent that an action was in progress between an English man-of-war and the French ships.
The excitement upon the beach now boiled to fever heat. The hills nearest the bay were soon black with spectators, and in the midst of this new sensation the casks upon the beach were forgotten by all except the little man.
Indeed, had he not passed so close leading a Shetland pony28 very carefully and yet urging it to its fullest speed, Rob would never have remembered the landing of that mysterious cargo and consequently never have been mixed up in the tragedy of gold. But to Rob there was something enormously mystifying about the character of this solitary29 traveller, with his anxious manner, and the rattling30 casks ranged high upon the pony's flanks. It was like an old wife's tale of the fairies and their secret kegs of heather ale.
Partly because they were going the same road—partly because his curiosity was awake—he followed him through the heather, keeping a sharp eye meanwhile, for again and again the man upon the track would swing suddenly about and send his gaze ranging the hill-side for fear of being followed by the people on the shore. But always he did so with the utmost haste, urging the pony onwards after each halt, as though he feared the approach of night, or something that Rob knew nothing about.
And so they reached Loch Arkaig, and on the shore of the loch the man seemed to hesitate and take thought, and then hitching31 the pony to a tree he conveyed the casks to the sand beside the edge of the heather, and flinging off his coat, drew a spade from a hidden place and commenced to dig.
Twilight32 had come, and so shadowy had the shore grown that Rob crept nearer, wriggling33 through the tufts of heather and rock as noiselessly as an Indian.
Suddenly, however, he saw the head and shoulders of some one else silhouetted34 against the grey surface before him, a man who crouched35 and ducked his head as the digging ceased or recommenced upon the beach with the same care that he himself was practising. It was evident to Rob that there was more in all of this than he had imagined.
At last, apparently36 satisfied, the watcher began to retreat towards him, running on all fours up the hill-side. So rapidly did he come, indeed, that Rob had no time to roll out of the way, and with a swift bound the newcomer flung his full weight upon him, uttering no sound whatever, and together they rolled over and over in each other's arms.
One moment Rob was uppermost, then the other, who seemed all arms and legs and sharp clawing fingers. Twice Rob felt his throat gripped and two thumbs upon his windpipe, and each time he managed to jerk his head away. Then with a swift dive of his right arm he reached the knife in his stocking, and pulling it out he plunged37 it into his assailant's shoulder. It was a small blade, ill-fitted for dangerous work such as this; but a thin scream told him that he had penetrated38 the man's thick great-coat. Then perceiving his opponent jerk his head about with the pain, Rob clutched a heavy stone and driving it against his temple sent him senseless upon the ground.
It was a narrow escape, but fortune had apparently come to his aid in the nick of time. With a gasp39 of relief he sprang to his feet, when out of the darkness a voice said: "Stand, or I fire!" and the cold barrel of a pistol was rammed40 against his cheek.
He had forgotten the man upon the shore.
"I am unarmed," gasped41 Rob; "and it is the man upon the ground whom you should guard against, not me."
At that the pistol was lowered, and seating himself the newcomer laid it upon his knee and ordered him to relate his account of the fight, to which he listened with the closest interest. Then rising he bound the unconscious man's arms and legs with some rope which lay upon the beach, and thrust a rough gag into his mouth.
"And now, my lad," said he, "tell me what brings you here."
With some hesitation42 Rob related his experiences of the last two days, and when he had finished his companion clapped him upon the back.
"Bravely done," he said; "and let me tell you that Archibald Cameron is proud to meet ye." So saying he wrung43 him warmly by the hand and sprang to his feet.
He was that Dr. Archibald Cameron, brother to Lochiel, who was to suffer death at the hands of the Government in the year '53, a very gallant44 gentleman and the last to fall in the Stuart cause.
The moon was climbing into the sky as they stepped towards their prisoner; but Cameron first took Rob aside and whispered in his ear:
"What I buried," said he, speaking in the Lowland tongue, "would set the Highlands in a blaze. It is a merciful Providence45 you turned up as you did. For now we can hide it all the easier in another place, or maybe two places. But give me your oath on the naked dirk that no word of it will ever pass your lips except to the Prince."
"The Prince?" echoed Rob, who had followed him with difficulty.
"And who else? Did ye no jump to what the bonny casks meant? French gold, boy—enough to buy every claymore in the Highlands and Argyll as well. Now d'ye see? Come, Rob."
With that, Cameron approached the man upon the ground and motioned Rob to take his legs while he grasped him by the arms. So they made for a hollow place, and as they laid him down he groaned46 and opened his eyes, and at that moment the moon, clearing the tops of the trees, played its pale shafts47 upon the ghastly face of Ephraim Macaulay, late schoolmaster in Inverness.
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1
fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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wig
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| n.假发 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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gust
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| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
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9
frigate
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| n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰 | |
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swooped
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| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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mightily
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| ad.强烈地；非常地 | |
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13
dotage
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| n.年老体衰；年老昏聩 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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bellied
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| adj.有腹的，大肚子的 | |
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concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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17
consequential
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| adj.作为结果的，间接的；重要的 | |
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18
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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19
disperse
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| vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散 | |
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thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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22
slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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25
secluded
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| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
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26
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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29
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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30
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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31
hitching
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| 搭乘； （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的现在分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
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32
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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33
wriggling
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
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34
silhouetted
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| 显出轮廓的，显示影像的 | |
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35
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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37
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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38
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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39
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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40
rammed
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| v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
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41
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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42
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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43
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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44
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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45
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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46
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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47
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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