“And I but a bairn,” agreed Kelpie firmly. Having Callum and Alsoon believe her tale so readily almost made her believe it herself—and, after all, might not some of it be true? She tucked the little bundle of oatmeal and scones1 into her belt, and hugged the rough warmth of her new plaidie about her shoulders, pleased that it was the neutral black and white of the shepherd’s tartan and would not associate her with any particular clan2.
Luck was with her again, she reflected, that she had found these kind and simple people, willing to give her the food from their mouths and the clothes from their
[147]
backs—much simpler, if less exciting, than stealing. It made her feel odd to be given things this way. Perhaps if all folk were like these, or like Ian and his family, there would be no need to steal. Warm with a novel sense of gratitude3, she was careful not to take anything from Callum and Alsoon that they had not given her.
They stood just outside the low doorway4 in the brightness of the summer evening. The rain had become mere5 clouds glowing to the northwest, where the sun would soon dip briefly6 below the hills. The old couple regarded her anxiously, not at all happy to see her set off in the white gloaming.
“Look you, now,” repeated Callum, “you must be going south and east for a bit, through Drummond and Stewart country, and then north through Murrays and Menzies, and when you reach Pitlochry, just be finding the home of my daughter Meg, at the tanning shop next the Tey River, and tell them I sent you, and they will care for you until you are away again.”
“Aye, then,” murmured Kelpie, anxious to be gone. She had heard these directions at least twice before, and in any case she knew the country far better than she dared to let Callum know.
“Haste ye back,” they said, and this Highland7 phrase was never used unless truly meant. No one had ever said it to Kelpie before. She caught her breath, turned her head away, and hurried off.
[148]
Traveling, she found, was easier without Mina and Bogle than with them, in one way. For folks had only to take one look at those two to know the worst. But Kelpie, as long as she kept her eyes lowered and her lip tucked demurely8 in, looked quite innocent, so that, even on the edge of the thrifty9 and Kirk-trained Lowlands, people were usually willing to give her food—and when they didn’t, Kelpie simply helped herself.
Now and then she picked up rumors10 about what was going on in the Highlands, particularly concerning Argyll, who was, it appeared, still away in the west, chasing an elusive12 Antrim.
As nearly as Kelpie could make out from bits here and there, Argyll had chased Antrim back to Ardnamurchen, where the latter had left his ships. But the ships had been spirited away by the English, just as Lorne had suggested, and since then the two forces had been playing catch-me-if-you-can all over the Highlands, with Antrim trying to rouse the clans13 against Argyll, the clans either afraid or quarreling among themselves, while Argyll tried to catch Antrim’s small army before it should become a larger army.
“Aye,” said an old man, chuckling14, in a voice not meant to be overheard. “Argyll will never be fighting a battle against more than half his number if he can avoid it.”
“Dinna mock him!” whispered another. “Ye’ll no be wanting yon wild foreign Hielanders crossing the mountains
[149]
wi’ their wicked screechin’ pipes and attacking us, will ye?”
“Dinna fret15, they’ll no come. ’Tis too busy they are wi’ their own heathen fighting; Papists, the lot o’ them.”
“They might, if Montrose could stir them up tae fight for the King against the Covenant16.”
“They would never do that. He’s a Graham from the East Coast, and those savages17 in the West would never stir a foot for any but their own chiefs. Anyway, they say Montrose is vanished altogether, and no doubt dead.”
They both bent18 lowering gray brows when they saw the shamelessly eavesdropping19 Kelpie. She scurried20 away hastily, lest they think her a spy.
She wandered on, begging, stealing, and listening, until she came at last to Pitlochry.
There seemed a braw lot of people in the narrow streets of the town, and, surprisingly, many of them seemed to be wearing Gordon or MacDonald tartans. Whatever were those clans doing here? And those two young men striding along the street toward her.... “Dhé!” said Kelpie, and they all stopped short.
They stared at one another with mixed feelings. “Why, whatever will ye be doing here, at all?” demanded Kelpie with astonishment21.
Alex recovered his wits first. “Why,” he said with the old mocking grin, “we were missing you and your bonnie friends so badly that we had to come away to look for ye.”
[150]
“Sssss!” remarked Kelpie, concealing22 her pleasure at the old bantering23 and reminding herself that Alex was a treacherous24 enemy. Moreover, she was never again going to permit herself the dangerous luxury of caring for anyone at all. Having told herself this, she turned to look at Ian with delight. A braw lad! Did he carry a grudge25 against her? she wondered anxiously.
“And are you all right, Kelpie?” he asked kindly26. “Mina and Bogle are treating you well?”
“Sssss,” she said again. “They are wicked uruisgean, and I have left them this long time ago. I did not want to be leaving Glenfern whatever,” she added hopefully.
Ian looked pleased, but Alex laughed. “Aye, it was a good enough life you were leading there, after all. But you seem to be doing well enough for yourself the now. Where were you stealing the gey sober gown and plaidie?”
“I was not stealing them whatever!” Kelpie was outraged27 more by his manner than by his words.
“But you would be saying the same thing even if you had,” encouraged Alex with a straight face.
Kelpie’s lips began to curve upward as she remembered the teasing at the loch-side at Glenfern. She tried to frown, for it was not right to be teasing with Alex when they were no longer friends. But she could not help it. “Of course,” she agreed cheekily and grinned.
“Och, the wicked wee lass!” Alex chuckled28. “She’ll never change!”
[151]
“No, now, but she has changed!” Ian objected. “She could not laugh at herself when first she came to Glenfern.”
“Are you sure ’tis herself she’s laughing at?” gibed29 Alex. “Or is it ourselves, just, for being ready to forgive her so easily—and after she was breaking the ancient code of hospitality.”
“It was not my fault!” protested Kelpie. “Mina was threatening to put a curse on you all if I did not come with them.”
“Och, how tender you are of our welfare!” said Alex derisively30. “And that, I suppose, is why you were so quick to tell her all about how Ian and I met the King and Montrose in Oxford31?”
There was no use trying to explain, for he would never believe her—not that she cared a groat what Alex MacDonald thought, anyway. Perhaps she would be able to tell Ian about it some day, with Alex not around. An idea was growing in her mind. After glowering32 at Alex, she turned to Ian and looked up at him meltingly through long lashes33. She had never before set out to beguile34 a lad, but Janet had put the thought in her head, and she might as well try now and see could she do it. Some deep instinct awoke, so that she seemed to know just how to go about it. “And what is it you are doing so far from Glenfern?” she asked softly.
Was it her fancy that Ian’s smile seemed a wee bit
[152]
warmer than usual? “Why,” he said, “we are with Colkitto’s army, up at Blair Atholl, and—”
Kelpie forgot about beguiling35 him. “Colkitto!” she yelped36. “You mean Antrim?”
“Aye, ’tis what we call him; Alistair MacDonald, Earl of Antrim, who has—”
“Fine I know that!” interrupted Kelpie. “But where will Mac Cailein Mor be, then? On your tail?” There was alarm in her voice, and both lads regarded her curiously37.
“Na, na,” Ian said soothingly38. “He’s away back to his own country, raising a larger army, no doubt, since some five hundred Gordons have joined us. Are you afraid of him, Kelpie? And what are you doing here, and where are you living?”
Kelpie looked wistful. “I am all alone, and nowhere to five.” She sighed and then smiled up at him brightly. “It is in my mind to come along with you,” she announced.
Alex laughed. Unprincipled little thing though she was, he did enjoy her shameless, incorrigible40 audacity41! The workings of her mind fascinated him, and even though he could see through her so easily, he could never remain angry for long.
Ian looked thoughtful. “Well, and why not? We’ve nearly as many women and bairns as we have men, for Colkitto brought the whole of his clan over with him to take back their land from the Campbells. And Lachlan brought his wife Maeve along to be cooking and nursing
[153]
and caring for us, for she does not trust Lachlan to do it properly. You’d be far safer than wandering alone. What about it, Alex?”
Alex shrugged42 and lifted a red eyebrow43. “Ou, I’ve no doubt at all that she can look after herself,” he observed dryly. “But I’ve no objection; only, Ian avic, let us not be trusting her as far as tomorrow, for there is no loyalty44 in her.”
The lazy mockery of his voice had a whiplash in it, and Kelpie flinched45, unexpectedly hurt by it. She lashed46 back, remembering the scene in Loch nan Eilean.
“You!” she fumed47. “You, to be talking of loyalty, who would strike down a friend from behind!”
Alex gaped48. It was the first time she had ever caught him out of countenance49, and it gave her great satisfaction. Ian looked distressed50. “Och, now!” he protested hastily. “Let you both be saving your fighting for the Covenant armies. Come away back to the camp, now, and we’ll talk as we go.”
They started back, out of Pitlochry and over the narrow road lined with tall blooming thistles. The heather, just preparing to bloom, glowed rustily51 under the patchy sunlight. Alex strode along frowning, still smarting and dumfounded over the outrageous52 flank attack. What could she have meant by it, the wee witch? She had seemed genuinely indignant, too. For once she was not acting53; Alex had been matching wits with her long enough to be sure
[154]
of that. Then what under the great heavens could he have done to draw such a denunciation, such withering54 scorn from an unprincipled gypsy lass who would doubtless betray her own grandmother for a bit of copper55? It made no sense whatever. And although Alex reminded himself that the opinion of a wee witch could scarcely matter, he found that it rankled56. “Dhiaoul!” he muttered under his breath and knit his brows in annoyance57, leaving most of the conversation to Ian.
“And why is it you’re so concerned over Mac Cailein Mor, Kelpie?” Ian asked. “Have you been studying more politics since you left Glenfern?”
Kelpie hedged. “Is it likely I’d be wanting to run into the head of the Covenant army, and him death on gypsies and all who do not belong to the Kirk? No, now”—she shifted the subject—“tell me what has been happening, and why Colkitto has his army at Blair Atholl.”
“Well, so.” Ian thought for a minute, his sensitive profile clear and grave against the mauve and russet and olive of the August hills. Kelpie tilted58 her own face to look at him as she kept easy pace while Alex walked, brooding silently, behind.
“Did you know,” began Ian, “that Colkitto brought over his whole clan to fight for the King against Argyll and the Covenant, and perhaps take back some of the MacDonald land from the Campbells?”
[155]
“Fine, that!” murmured Kelpie, remembering that day at Inverary. “And Argyll away after him all over the Highlands.”
Ian nodded. “And the English burned Antrim’s ships, so that he must stay here, will he, nil59 he. So he has been trying to get the other Highland clans to join him. He’s not had much luck, for some of the clans fear the Campbells too much, and some others have decided60 that they hate the MacDonalds even more than the Covenant—for the moment, at any rate. Lochiel doesn’t dare call out our clan yet, with Ewen still in Argyll’s hands, and—more important—with Argyll’s army so near to Lochaber. Can you imagine what would be happening to our women and children at Lochaber if Lochiel took the men away to fight the Covenant?”
Kelpie could imagine, easily. Her blood ran cold at the thought of Wee Mairi in danger, and she nodded soberly.
“Some of us Camerons have come along anyway, and so have some five hundred Gordons who are wanting revenge against Argyll,” continued Ian. “But most on this side of the mountains think we Western Highlanders are a band of wild savages, like the Red Indians of America. And even Stewart of Atholl—although he hates Argyll and the Covenant—will have nothing to do with the Irish MacDonalds. So—” He grinned at Kelpie mischievously61. “We have just borrowed Atholl’s castle from him, and now we sit
[156]
and wait.” He sobered again. “I do not know what we will do next. There is a rumor11 that Graham of Montrose is still alive, and perhaps he is our hope. But to tell the truth, things do not look very good, and the Covenant armies will not sit still forever.”
Kelpie’s lip lifted in sudden anger. “Och, ye will be losing this war, just!” she predicted despairingly. “For yourselves, and for the folk like me who want only to be left alone. You cannot get together even to save your own lives, but must always be quarreling clan against clan, and so ye will lose!”
Ian looked depressed62, but Alex came out of his black reverie with a laugh. “Listen to her, just!” he taunted63. “The lone39 lass who lives for herself and no other will be giving us a lesson on cooperation! But even though you don’t practice what you preach,” he added somberly, “you’re right.”
A puffy cloud blew over the sun, darkening the bright hills, and the thistles waved in a sudden sharp breeze.
The small army was spread over the hill and moor64 near Blair Atholl, looking somewhat dispirited. Some men were hopefully cleaning their gear, polishing the huge two-handed claymores and battle axes which struck such terror into Lowland hearts. Others just sat, or wandered, or gambled, or talked. Women were busy gossiping, sewing, cooking,
[157]
arguing; but one tall, gaunt woman brooded alone. Children ran about playing tag or hanging about the men. A ragged65, motley crowd it was, but fierce-looking enough, no doubt, to folk on this side of the mountains. Kelpie frowned suddenly. The whole scene looked familiar.
“We’ve set up our wee camp spot over yon, just near those rowan trees,” said Ian, pointing to a spot partway up the hill. But before they were halfway66 there a flurry of excitement near the edge of the moor turned into an uproar67. Men began shouting, running. A single shot was fired, and then several more.
“It couldn’t be an attack!” Ian frowned, staring across the moor, “but what is it?”
“’Tis he!” shouted Alex. “’Tis Graham of Montrose! Look you there!”
“The King’s Lieutenant68!” “He’s come!” “My Lord of Montrose!” The words were being shouted back and forth69, and the sound swelled70 into a thunder of cheers. Kelpie found herself running with the lads toward the center of the excitement.
As nearly as she could see through the crowd, the Lord of Montrose seemed to be a slight young man in groom’s clothing, with brown hair and a bunch of oats stuck in his bonnet71. Dhé! She had seen him before! And now from the wooded hill a red-bearded giant in the MacDonald tartan—Antrim—rushed down to clasp the hand of the slight
[158]
young man, and Kelpie remembered. She had seen it in the crystal, that first morning at Glenfern.
And so now they had come together, Antrim and Montrose, totally different and yet fighting for the King’s cause. What would be the outcome?
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
scones
|
|
| n.烤饼，烤小圆面包( scone的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
clan
|
|
| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
gratitude
|
|
| adj.感激，感谢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
briefly
|
|
| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
highland
|
|
| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
demurely
|
|
| adv.装成端庄地，认真地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
thrifty
|
|
| adj.节俭的；兴旺的；健壮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
rumors
|
|
| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
rumor
|
|
| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
elusive
|
|
| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
clans
|
|
| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
chuckling
|
|
| 轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
fret
|
|
| v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
covenant
|
|
| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
savages
|
|
| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
eavesdropping
|
|
| n. 偷听 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
scurried
|
|
| v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
astonishment
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
concealing
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
bantering
|
|
| adj.嘲弄的v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的现在分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
treacherous
|
|
| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
grudge
|
|
| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
kindly
|
|
| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
outraged
|
|
| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
chuckled
|
|
| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
gibed
|
|
| v.嘲笑，嘲弄( gibe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
derisively
|
|
| adv. 嘲笑地，嘲弄地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
Oxford
|
|
| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
glowering
|
|
| v.怒视( glower的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
lashes
|
|
| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
beguile
|
|
| vt.欺骗，消遣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
beguiling
|
|
| adj.欺骗的，诱人的v.欺骗( beguile的现在分词 )；使陶醉；使高兴；消磨（时间等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
yelped
|
|
| v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
curiously
|
|
| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
soothingly
|
|
| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
lone
|
|
| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
incorrigible
|
|
| adj.难以纠正的，屡教不改的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
audacity
|
|
| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
shrugged
|
|
| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
eyebrow
|
|
| n.眉毛，眉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
loyalty
|
|
| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
flinched
|
|
| v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
lashed
|
|
| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
fumed
|
|
| 愤怒( fume的过去式和过去分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
gaped
|
|
| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
distressed
|
|
| 痛苦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
rustily
|
|
| 锈蚀地，声音沙哑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
52
outrageous
|
|
| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
withering
|
|
| 使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
copper
|
|
| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
rankled
|
|
| v.（使）痛苦不已，（使）怨恨不已( rankle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
annoyance
|
|
| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
tilted
|
|
| v. 倾斜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
nil
|
|
| n.无，全无，零 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
mischievously
|
|
| adv.有害地；淘气地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
depressed
|
|
| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
taunted
|
|
| 嘲讽( taunt的过去式和过去分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
moor
|
|
| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
ragged
|
|
| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
halfway
|
|
| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
uproar
|
|
| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
lieutenant
|
|
| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
swelled
|
|
| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
bonnet
|
|
| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |