The Highland monthly - National Library of Scotland

740
The Highland Monthly,
girl nearly fainted from fear, but the next moment she
summoned all her courage to her aid, and began to revolve
in her mind a plan of escape. She tried to attract the
attention of Morag without rousing suspicion in the minds
of their supernatural visitors, but in vain ; for to her
increased horror she observed that her friend seemed
fascinated with her strange companion as her head lay
resting on his shoulder, and her waist was encircled by his
right arm. Molly saw at once that something must be done
immediately if they were ever to get out of the clutches of
the two monsters, and she determined to go herself to the
nearest shieling to their own, where she knew several
young men were expected that night, and with the help of
the latter endeavour to rescue her companion.
But the difficulty was to get away from the dreaded
gallant who was gradually getting more importunate in his
attention towards her. At last she rose on the pretext of
getting some turf for the fire, from a stack outside the hut.
Her would-be suitor at first strenuously opposed her
intention, and remarked that as the night was so mild,
darkness was preferable to light. But Molly insisted on
going out, and that he might not suspect her purpose she
offered him one end of her plaid while she kept the other
end in her hand, for the peat-stack being near the door the
plaid was long enough to reach it. On this condition she
was allowed to leave the hut. Molly, fully alive to the
terrible danger that threatened Morag and herself, was
wonderfully cool and self-possessed. So taking a long pin
(prine broillich) from the bosom of her dress, she pinned her
end of the plaid to the turf wall outside, and noiselessly and
quickly divesting herself of her boots to facilitate her flight,
she ran like a startled fawn in the direction of the nearest
shieling, which was about a mile distant.
The mental agony of the poor girl during the race can-
not be described. She expected every moment to see her
odious admirer in full chase after her, and all the stories
and they were many—she had ever heard of water-kelpies
—