CHAPTER XXVIII.

Clutha Leader, Volume IV, Issue 204, 7 June 1878, Page 3

CHAPTER XXVIII.

The desperate struggle was over, and i 'the bleeding remnant of 'the piratical ; band had escaped, to the open sea, when

Sir John Carnegie, after washing himself and his sword in the tide, bethought himself of the dear ones he had left wailing and horror-stricken in that fearful room in the castle. Carefully proceeding up the stair among those whose sleep would know no waking, they entered the room where the sick men and the ladies were. The first view was sufficiently alarming, for the silence of the grave reigned in that apartment. One single taper burned on the mantlepiece, while the floor was strewn with bodies. When the pirates tossed the bedstead that John Carnegie lay on to the other side of the room, it had upset, and John was violently ejected with such force as to render him insensible. His mother observing this, and thinking him killed, had thrown herself upon him with a shriek, and with such excitement that she too became insensible. Lady Elizabeth and Mary Carnegie, with Janet for assistant, knowing Malcolm's weak state and total unfitness to oppose the pirates, had got him into a corner, and by standing in front of him, tried to prevent them from seeing that he ws there; at all. But Lindsay's cry of *my hidden gold and the women,' had put other thoughts than Malcolm into their heads, and they attempted to seize the ladies with fierce oaths and dastardly insults. Malcolm, in his rage, forgot his weakness, and boldly, attacked a savagelooking fellow that was struggling with Lady Elizabeth. Another ruffian struck at Malcolm's head with an axe, but missed his dome of thought and severely wounded him on the shoulder, which at once rendered him hors de combat. Staggering back into the corner, with his wound bleeding freely, he sank to the ground, and for a time found refuge in insensibillity. Then the pirates again seized the ladies, and were bearing them off, when Tam Glen and Sir John and their companions dashed into the room and cleared it of the pirates, as has already been narrated. | When the tide of battle again surged I down the stair, Lady Elizabeth and Mary Carnegie, thankful for their unexpected rescue, but nervous and excited at the dreadful position into which they had been thrown, looked around them for their friends, and seeing them all prostrate, and thinking them all killed, grew hysterical, and ultimately fainted, while Janet took refuge beneath Hugh Orr's bed. Sir John hurriedly advanced into the room, and seeing those who were nearest and dearest to him lying prostrate and seemingly dead, he ejaculated — " Father in heaven, help me !' Then he clasped his wife in his arms, and laid his hand upon her heart. Then he I cried-— ' * Run for water, Sandy ; for God's sake run !' Sandy, who stood beside him holding the torcb, with horror-stricken face and mien, espying a pewter dish with water, quickly brought it ; and after Sir John had sprinkled the brow and face and* neck freely, the quivering lip and slightly heaving chest of Lady Carnegie showed returning consciousness. Soon her eyes opened, and the sight of her husband brought a faint smile to her countenance and a slight colour to her cheek, and she was able to swallow a little of the water; and then that aged man tenderly clasped the partner of his life to his bosom, and muttered audibly — ' My God, I thank Thee truly for my dear, dear Mary.' Then Janet quietly crept out from under the bed and loosened Lady Car- : negie's dress, then she assisted Sandy to put the upset bed to rights, and Sir John laid her thereon. As Sir John and Sandy turned to: raise John again upon the bed, Lady Carnegie started up, and throwing herself upon him, wailed out with a sorrowful cry, 'My son, my son !' Then she staggered to where her daughter lay, and raised her tenderly in her arms, sobbing as if her heart would break. Janet assisted her to. loosen. Mary's dress, and then she soon revived, and they laid her on the bed beside her brother, who had likewise recovered. Then they turned their attention to Lady Elizabeth, who soon recovered, and then they turned to where Malcolm Ogilvie lay with the blood oozing from his wound. Stripping his shoulder, they bathed it gently in cold water, bound it tightly, and laid him on his ; bed; and then their eyes fell on the broken flooring, and the mass of gold that lay glittering in the flickering light of the torch. * Get anither licht, Sandy,' cried Sir John, excitedly ; ' here's wealth eneuch to mak' us a' rich.' They cleared away a table, and golden vessels and coin and jewels were heaped up in great profusion, exciting both wonder and amazement. Who could tell how much crime had been perpetrated to accumulate that wealth, how much blood had been spilled, bow many tears had been shed, how much misery endured ? Conspicuous among the pile shone the vessels Lindsay had stolen from the Abbot during their last interview,. and Sir John smiled to himself as he glanced at the coat of arms deeply engraved on their sides. Five bags of coin, -with tickets on them, telling that they each contained a thousand pieces, were, . divided as follows :-r— One bag -to Sir John, one to Malcolm Ogilvie, and one to Hugh Orr j while one bag was to be

divided among^Malcolm's followers, and the others among Sir John's; It was agreed that the vessels and jewels should be 'divided among the ladies, and that, as Malcolm's followers hrd been of such assistance, an equal share should be apportioned to Lady Jeannie Gordon. The mention of her name excited Malcolm somewhat, but it was evident that the unexpected finding ol so much wealth had at least done the invalids no harm. Even Hugh Orr sat up in bed and Spoke cheery words in low tones, under the stimulus of gold, the ruler of the world. When the excitement had settled down a little, Lady Carnegie implored Sir John to leave that horrible place and go back to Ethie, and as Sir John had had more than enough of Auchmithie Castle he willingly consented, and then they tried to take some rest. The morning sun was high in the heavens, and the little birds were singing merrily when the war-battered inmates awakened from their slumbers in the rooms and cavern Of the castle. Sir John ordered out the boats well manned that the pirates had left. in. their flight, and they had barely cleared the rift in the cliffs when they saw a lugger dash out from Dickman's Den and proceeded swiftly to sea. That they were noticed was certain, for they saw a puff of white smoke spring up from her stern, and a ball skip from wave to wave till it crashed; among the rocks not far from where they lay. This sent the boats back to the cave in a hurry, and then the men. ascended the secret. stair to. the top of the cliff, where they watched her till she disappeared in the distance. That this was the remnant of the pirates was certain, and, strange as it may appear, Lindsay was not killed after all, 1 but recovered through the devotion of Musgrove, and lived to become a terror to the shipping of all nations. Years elapsed, and his crew had been killed off and recruited several times, and his vessel was literally laden with gold when the home sickness seized both him and Musgrove, and they returned to Scotland, thinking to purchase some resting place wherein but to spend^the evening of their dreadful lives. But the Nemesis which haunts the guilty was watchful, and, as they made the east coast, a fearful storm arose that rendered their ship ungovernable, and after tossing about for a time at the ,mercy of the wind arid waves, she ultimately dashed with great violence on the now silent Bell Rock, and was shattered in pieces, and every one oh board perished.' As often after these great storms, the sun rose bright the next day, and the ocean resumed its placidity, and the fishermen were out plying their vocation, when they came upon fragments of the blood-stained vessel,, and little they recked when they rifled a floating corpse, that that was all that remained; of the once dreaded Lindsay, the leader of the Abbey vassals and the pirates of the cave. When the lugger disappeared Sir John gave orders for a general removal to Ethie. The men gladly left the dreary cavern, and ascended to the higher regions to assist in the exodus, and when the finding and proposed division of Lindsay's treasures was announced, the. tidings were received with shouts of joy. When Tam Glen was sure that he had got the cave to himself, he again lit his horn lantern, and quietly crept underneath the stair to see how his hidden treasure had tared during the recent stirring events. Finding it just as he had left it, he careiully. placed it into the, skin bag in which he had found it, rolled it into his plaid, lifted the heavy load upon his shoulders, and with a joyous heart bade farewell to the cave beneath Auchmithie Castle, left it to | the ghastly corpses of the- pirates;.to moulder in peace. The steady onward march of the restless sea has sapped and mined at the cliffs, till now there is not a vestige left of the cave or castle. When Tam reached the upper earth, he met his friend Archy Grey, who had just learned that they were all to share in the treasure trove, and who was quite jubilant thereat. ' Weel, Tam,' said he, ' hoo are ye ? That's an a ufu' burden ye've gotten on yer shouthers. Fatis't?' * 00, it's some fairies an' curious things I found down there,'- said Tarn, edging away as Archy put out his hand to touch it. ' It's no muckle worth.' "Od, man, they hae found an' unco heap o' siller, up the stair,' said Archy, smiling ; ' an' we're a' tae get a share o't. Maybe yer lassie 'ill think mair o' ye when she kens ye hae something to gie her.'- . < . 'Na, na,' said Tam, showing very little pleasure, as Archy thought, at the news. *My lassie wadna value me ony ' mair for gear. But I maun awa' up an' see Maister Malcolm.' ' Bide a wee, min/ said Archy; 'I want tae speak; tae ye. I, hae taen an, aufu!. notion o' that lassie, Janet, anVif; s'ie'll tak' me I'll tak' her ;• sae, Tam, I [ hope that she's no yer dearie.' '< 'Na, na/ said Tam moving up the stair; ' my lassie's miles awa frae here, an' I wadna gie her for twenty Janets.' 'She maun be. a nonsuch/ said Archy, scratching- his head after Tam disapr peared. 'An' ye're r as saucy as if ye had fund siller yersel- this-mornin'; r - W heir Tam was • told- th at Malcolm had again -been : wounded \he was raging . madj and nearly diseovered the secret of his new-found treasure. He ; begged:

Sir John for ' Gudsake tae flit,' and'was pacified when told that the ? order was already given. , Proceeding down stairs he set his clpnsmen to make litters to carry the ; sick, and, amidst the turmoil and bustle j of removal, got them carefully carried , down on the beds they lay dni r a¥d r aß carefully carried on meu's shoulders to Ethie. ' . . _ . Sir John and the ladies followed, and and the sheep and cattle and everything of value, was borne off:by the Ogilvies and Carnegie, who likewise became possessors of more than thirty pieces of gold each. Tam Glen refused his share, to the amazement of his friends, anaV he insisted that it should be given, to Janet for the assistance she had been to Lady Elizabeth and the prisoners. When Janet was told of this liberal offer by Archy, she tossed her head, and declared s that' she l wud tak' naethin' frae sic an impident fellow.' . . > Archy was glad to hear this, for he had been a little afraid of Tam in that quarter, so, with a hug and a kiss, he popped the question, and, after some maidenly hesitation, was graciously ao* cepted. This put him into great good humour, so he put Tarn's share into his own pocket, and broaching a keg of the pirates' 'iquor, he set them all a-drink-jng. the health of his promisod bride,, which they did with such hearty, goodwill that they set fire to Auchmithie Castle, in which everything was burned but the 1 massive stone walls. These remained in a ruinous .state for many years,, and the ivy crept, up the walls and formed festoons in the glassless windows, until it was engulphed by the raging seai ' . , - . : Next day, Tam Glen, still carrying his heavy burden, which he would let no one touch, entered the room in Ethie house where Malcolm Ogilvie lay pale and suffering from his imprisonment and wound. Tam dearly loved his master and foster-brother, and he was truly grieved to see him thus, and he eagerly asked— -. *If he wadna bring a doctor, or somebody that wad dae his honour gude ? There wis a feckless body o' a monk at the Abbey, that cam' an' saw ; him whin he had the fever, bit he wisna o' muckle use.' But Malcolm would not hear of any j one being sent for, as all he required I was rest and nourishment, He ordered Tam to send home the clansmen ; said that Archy was to tell what he knew, and that he was getting better now ; and then he wanted to know how many had been injured in the late fight/ * Weel,' said Tam, * thereVsix killed outricht, an' there's aught, mair or less, hurt. Ihree canna be lifted, bit the rest 'ill be able tae crawl hamejan' j there's a hantle siller o' Lindsay's tae [ divide amarig them, an' the lads are unco weel pleased. Sir John has had four men killed, and a' wheen scarfed, an' the dead's a' tae be buried the day ; an' they hae a lot o' baith siller, an' sheep an' kye, and the budiea are unco hearty.' Malcolm was sorry at so many of his father's men being killed and injured, and told Tam to give the families of the dead twenty pieces of gold each, and the wounded ten. pieces which he would get from Sir, John from his share of Lindsay's gold. ■ Tam promised to do this, and then said— 'Losh, the budies 'ill be as t - rich as Jews. I'm sure they ne'er had as muckle siller in a' their lives afore. I canna dae ye ony gude, Maister Malcolm, sae la'ng as ye're lying here. Wad I daur gae wi' the lads' the morn tae gi'e them, a convoy ? An', ye, ken, I hae ne'er got the dirk frae St. Vigeans yet ; the miller his't safe.' Tam got leave, with many cautions not to get into danger; and giving his precious burden - : another, hitch ;;0n his shoulder ; he left the room with a smile on his face. ; ; The dead wer& buried, and a general invitation was given by .Archy to the Carnegies to the wedding, which was to take place at Aberbrothock: on the'; day after the morrow, and which wasjpyfully accepted by all the young men and women. Janet danced about likeVone bewitched, and she fairly struck Lady Elizabeth dumb with amazement when she told her the state of affairs. „ - ' But I thought that it was Ta?n Glen,' said, that: lady, .when she recovered her speech; 'you can't have known this man many hours.' ( c> * '■ , 'Tam Glen's an impident;, fellow,' said Janet giving her head a toss, ' an he used me rael ill, an' 1 Archy. Grey's worth twenty o' him; an' ye ken, my ; leddie,.! michtna get anither chance, an' it disna tak'iang for fouk tae fa' in love j fin they're willinV } * Well Janetj I hope you will be happy,' , said her ladyship ; 'and as you did me good service, I will, see that you are well rewarded.' .......,...,-.-•.- --1 Yer leddieship's very kind,' said Janet, 'an' as I hae a heap tae dae, I'll e'en tak' my leave.' .. , ? . Janet, with her, pale, thin face ; glowing with excitement, went over; to Auchmithie- that night , and , proud . of . her good fortune, invited all/her relations, which was every one i'iri 'thepiace^ -•; and so pleased were they at the prospect of a wedding, that all^that could walk l convoyed her back-again to Bthie.