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Claverhouse seeing this, commanded his men to charge upon us; but the ground was rough, the heather deep, and the moss broken where peats had been dug, and the horses floundered, and several threw their riders, and fell themselves. We had now loaded again, and the second fire was more deadly than the first.
The clay walls were stained by damp and the broken window was grimed by dirt. A few peats occupied a corner, and a pile of ashes, on which tea-leaves and scraps of food had been thrown, stretched across the floor from the rusty grate. Jim went to the window and began to cut the fuse.
They cut turf for their walls and peats for their fires; they loaded the carts from the driest piles, and made new piles of the fresh wet peats they dug. It was approaching noon, and some of the old women were getting the food out of "my lady's" baskets, when over the nearest ridge beyond rose men to the number of seven, carrying guns. Rob of the Angels was the first to spy them.
Tricksy subsided, and a cart laden with peats coming by, Allan stopped the driver and asked him to give them a 'lift. The man helped Tricksy into the cart, and the others scrambled in the best way they could, and settled themselves among the peats. 'It's a dreadful business this, said Marjorie, her eyes shining brighter and bluer with excitement.
He kept directing Turkey, however, who at length after some disappearances which made us very anxious about the lantern, caught sight of the stack, and walked straight towards it. Now first we saw that he was not alone, but accompanied by the silent Andrew. "Where are you, sir?" asked Turkey, throwing the light of the lantern over the ruin. "Buried in the peats," answered my father, laughing.
Her very hands looked blind and trying to see, as, with fine up-curved tips, they went wandering over the tops of the live peats. She re-arranged them, put on some fresh pieces, blew a little at them all astray and to no purpose, was satisfied, coughed, and sank upon a chair, to put her bonnet off.
So that evening, 'at nine on a mirk night, he set out in company of three or four ministers to the bishop's dwelling, but no sooner had the little party stepped into the street than they were surrounded by 'hundreds of enraged women with fists and staves and peats, but no stones. They beat him sore; his cloak, ruff, hat were rent.
"No, no, I'll creep yont the hedge and climb the hen-house." "But it would be a' found out at any rate," she remembered, "when I go for the peats and things at Hogmanay." "It needna be," eagerly replied Tommy. "I'll bring them to you in a barrow in the dead o' night." "Could you?" she cried passionately, and he promised he would, and it may be mentioned here that he did.
"There's more to tell yet." "Ay," said he, "there will be. Well, tell on." And I told him of Belle and the old hut. He was not so very ill-pleased. "See that the woman has what she will be needing," said he "a cow and such-like, Hamish, and peats and gear and plenishings. Poor lass, poor lass. Hech, sirs, this will no' make bonny tellin' to the mistress.
At a little distance was the whole band of children playing and building houses with peats around a huge doddered oak-tree, which was called Charlie's Bush, from some tradition respecting an old freebooter who had once inhabited the spot.
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