The Highland monthly - National Library of Scotland

Scenes of Long Ago. 485
Calling out, " Awake, Glenbeltane, we are betrayed," he
went to the other window, and tore away the clothes
whereby it too had been stopped. To his surprise he
observed that the chair which had been placed against the
door, was still undisturbed. By this time he heard a noise
of ascending footsteps on the stair, and, opening the
door, there was Bessie in a state of dreadful alarm,
asking what had happened. The innkeeper and his
wife, who had apparently not been in bed the previous
night, for the\' were both maudlin with drink, came
upon the scene in a few moments. The young shepherd
replied to none of their questions, but hurrying to his master,
endeavoured to awaken him. Was he dead ? For a
moment Gillespie suspected that he was. And he turned
fiercely towards the couple, and exclaimed that they might
swing in the gallows for the doing of that night. They
both protested their entire ignorance of any wrong that
had been done to the guests. This noisy altercation,
assisted by the last despairing shake which poor Gillespie
had given his shoulders, aroused the old man from the
torpor in which he lay. Bessie, seeing how matters stood,
but ignorant as yet of the extent of the injury which her
friends had sustained, ran to prepare some simple restora-
tives, thankful that they were at least both alive. Shortly
after, she returned with a dish of boiled milk. Teviot had
no sooner come to himself, than he discovered that he had
been robbed of his red pocket-book, which contained, with
the exception of a few coins, all the money he retained to
take north for immediate uses. The book had been
removed from his inner breast pocket. When Bessie
returned she made no attempt to conceal her recognition
of the travellers, although, of course, no reference was made
to the warnings she had given. Revived by the warm food,
Glenbeltane joined his companion in directly accusing the
landlord and his spouse of being, art and part, concerned
in the robbery ; whereupon they both professed to be
mightih' insulted, and feigned a transport of rage. When