"The better!" answered the shrill and discordant voice of the Dwarf
through a very small window, resembling an arrow slit, which he had
constructed near the door of his dwelling, and through which he could
see any one who approached it, without the possibility of their looking
in upon him.

"The better!" said Hobbie impatiently; "what is the better, Elshie? Do
you not hear me tell you I am the most miserable wretch living?"

"And do you not hear me tell you it is so much the better! and did I
not tell you this morning, when you thought yourself so happy, what an
evening was coming upon you?"

"That ye did e'en," replied Hobbie, "and that gars me come to you for
advice now; they that foresaw the trouble maun ken the cure."

"I know no cure for earthly trouble," returned the Dwarf "or, if I
did, why should I help others, when none hath aided me? Have I not lost
wealth, that would have bought all thy barren hills a hundred times
over? rank, to which thine is as that of a peasant? society, where
there was an interchange of all that was amiable--of all that was
intellectual? Have I not lost all this? Am I not residing here, the
veriest outcast on the face of Nature, in the most hideous and most
solitary of her retreats, myself more hideous than all that is around
me? And why should other worms complain to me when they are trodden on,
since I am myself lying crushed and writhing under the chariot-wheel?"

"Ye may have lost all this," answered Hobbie, in the bitterness of
emotion; "land and friends, goods and gear; ye may hae lost them
a',--but ye ne'er can hae sae sair a heart as mine, for ye ne'er lost
nae Grace Armstrong. And now my last hopes are gane, and I shall ne'er
see her mair."

This he said in the tone of deepest emotion--and there followed a long
pause, for the mention of his bride's name had overcome the more angry
and irritable feelings of poor Hobbie. Ere he had again addressed the
Solitary, the bony hand and long fingers of the latter, holding a large
leathern bag, was thrust forth at the small window, and as it unclutched
the burden, and let it drop with a clang upon the ground, his harsh
voice again addressed Elliot.

"There--there lies a salve for every human ill; so, at least, each human
wretch readily thinks.--Begone; return twice as wealthy as thou wert
before yesterday, and torment me no more with questions, complaints, or
thanks; they are alike odious to me."

"It is a' gowd, by Heaven!" said Elliot, having glanced at the contents;
and then again addressing the Hermit, "Muckle obliged for your goodwill;
and I wad blithely gie you a bond for some o' the siller, or a wadset
ower the lands o' Wideopen. But I dinna ken, Elshie; to be free wi' you,
I dinna like to use siller unless I kend it was decently come by; and
maybe it might turn into sclate-stanes, and cheat some poor man."

"Ignorant idiot!" retorted the Dwarf; "the trash is as genuine poison as
ever was dug out of the bowels of the earth. Take it--use it, and may it
thrive with you as it hath done with me!"

"But I tell you," said Elliot, "it wasna about the gear that I was
consulting you,--it was a braw barn-yard, doubtless, and thirty head of
finer cattle there werena on this side of the Catrail; but let the
gear gang,--if ye could but gie me speerings o' puir Grace, I would
be content to be your slave for life, in onything that didna touch my
salvation. O, Elshie, speak, man, speak!"

"Well, then," answered the Dwarf, as if worn out by his importunity,
"since thou hast not enough of woes of thine own, but must needs seek to
burden thyself with those of a partner, seek her whom thou hast lost in
the WEST."

"In the WEST? That's a wide word."

"It is the last," said the Dwarf, "which I design to utter;" and he drew
the shutters of his window, leaving Hobbie to make the most of the hint
he had given.

The west! the west!--thought Elliot; the country is pretty quiet down
that way, unless it were Jock o' the Todholes; and he's ower auld now
for the like o' thae jobs.--West!--By My life, it must be Westburnflat.
"Elshie, just tell me one word. Am I right? Is it Westburnflat? If I
am wrang, say sae. I wadna like to wyte an innocent neighbour wi'
violence--No answer?--It must be the Red Reiver--I didna think he wad
hae ventured on me, neither, and sae mony kin as there's o' us--I
am thinking he'll hae some better backing than his Cumberland
friends.--Fareweel to you, Elshie, and mony thanks--I downa be fashed
wi' the siller e'en now, for I maun awa' to meet my friends at the
Trysting-place--Sae, if ye carena to open the window, ye can fetch it in
after I'm awa'."

Still there was no reply.

"He's deaf, or he's daft, or he's baith; but I hae nae time to stay to
claver wi' him."

And off rode Hobbie Elliot towards the place of rendezvous which he had
named to his friends.

Four or five riders were already gathered at the Trysting pool. They
stood in close consultation together, while their horses were permitted
to graze among the poplars which overhung the broad still pool. A more
numerous party were seen coming from the southward. It proved to be
Earnscliff and his party, who had followed the track of the cattle as
far as the English border, but had halted on the information that
a considerable force was drawn together under some of the Jacobite
gentlemen in that district, and there were tidings of insurrection in
different parts of Scotland. This took away from the act which had been
perpetrated the appearance of private animosity, or love of plunder; and
Earnscliff was now disposed to regard it as a symptom of civil war.
The young gentleman greeted Hobbie with the most sincere sympathy, and
informed him of the news he had received.

"Then, may I never stir frae the bit," said Elliot, "if auld Ellieslaw
is not at the bottom o' the haill villainy! Ye see he's leagued wi' the
Cumberland Catholics; and that agrees weel wi' what Elshie hinted about
Westburnflat, for Ellieslaw aye protected him, and he will want to harry
and disarm the country about his ain hand before he breaks out."

Some now remembered that the party of ruffians had been heard to say
they were acting for James VIII., and were charged to disarm all rebels.
Others had heard Westburnflat boast, in drinking parties, that Ellieslaw
would soon be in arms for the Jacobite cause, and that he himself was
to hold a command under him, and that they would be bad neighbours for
young Earnscliff; and all that stood out for the established government.
The result was a strong belief that Westburnflat had headed the party
under Ellieslaw's orders; and they resolved to proceed instantly to the
house of the former, and, if possible, to secure his person. They were
by this time joined by so many of their dispersed friends, that their
number amounted to upwards of twenty horsemen, well mounted, and
tolerably, though variously, armed.

A brook, which issued from a narrow glen among the hills, entered, at
Westburnflat, upon the open marshy level, which, expanding about half
a mile in every direction, gives name to the spot. In this place the
character of the stream becomes changed, and, from being a lively
brisk-running mountain-torrent, it stagnates, like a blue swollen snake,
in dull deep windings, through the swampy level. On the side of the
stream, and nearly about the centre of the plain, arose the tower of
Westburnflat, one of the few remaining strongholds formerly so numerous
upon the Borders. The ground upon which it stood was gently elevated
above the marsh for the space of about a hundred yards, affording
an esplanade of dry turf, which extended itself in the immediate
neighbourhood of the tower; but, beyond which, the surface presented to
strangers was that of an impassable and dangerous bog. The owner of the
tower and his inmates alone knew the winding and intricate paths, which,
leading over ground that was comparatively sound, admitted visitors
to his residence. But among the party which were assembled under
Earnscliff's directions, there was more than one person qualified to act
as a guide. For although the owner's character and habits of life were
generally known, yet the laxity of feeling with respect to property
prevented his being looked on with the abhorrence with which he must
have been regarded in a more civilized country. He was considered, among
his more peaceable neighbours, pretty much as a gambler, cock-fighter,
or horse-jockey would be regarded at the present day; a person, of
course, whose habits were to be condemned, and his society, in general,
avoided, yet who could not be considered as marked with the indelible
infamy attached to his profession, where laws have been habitually
observed. And their indignation was awakened against him upon
this occasion, not so much on account of the general nature of the
transaction, which was just such as was to be expected from this
marauder, as that the violence had been perpetrated upon a neighbour
against whom he had no cause of quarrel,--against a friend of their
own,--above all, against one of the name of Elliot, to which clan most
of them belonged. It was not, therefore, wonderful, that there should
be several in the band pretty well acquainted with the locality of his
habitation, and capable of giving such directions and guidance as soon
placed the whole party on the open space of firm ground in front of the
Tower of Westburnflat.



CHAPTER IX.

     So spak the knicht; the geaunt sed,
     Lend forth with the the sely maid,
     And mak me quile of the and sche;
     For glaunsing ee, or brow so brent,
     Or cheek with rose and lilye blent,
     Me lists not ficht with the.--ROMANCE OF THE FALCON.

The tower, before which the party now stood, was a small square
building, of the most gloomy aspect. The walls were of great thickness,
and the windows, or slits which served the purpose of windows, seemed
rather calculated to afford the defenders the means of employing missile
weapons, than for admitting air or light to the apartments within. A
small battlement projected over the walls on every side, and afforded
farther advantage of defence by its niched parapet, within which arose
a steep roof, flagged with grey stones. A single turret at one angle,
defended by a door studded with huge iron nails, rose above the
battlement, and gave access to the roof from within, by the spiral
staircase which it enclosed. It seemed to the party that their motions
were watched by some one concealed within this turret; and they were
confirmed in their belief when, through a narrow loophole, a female hand
was seen to wave a handkerchief, as if by way of signal to them. Hobbie
was almost out of his senses with joy and eagerness.

"It was Grace's hand and arm," he said; "I can swear to it amang a
thousand. There is not the like of it on this side of the Lowdens--We'll
have her out, lads, if we should carry off the Tower of Westburnflat
stane by stane."

Earnscliff, though he doubted the possibility of recognising a fair
maiden's hand at such a distance from the eye of the lover, would say
nothing to damp his friend's animated hopes, and it was resolved to
summon the garrison.

The shouts of the party, and the winding of one or two horns, at length
brought to a loophole, which flanked the entrance, the haggard face of
an old woman.

"That's the Reiver's mother," said one of the Elliots; "she's ten times
waur than himsell, and is wyted for muckle of the ill he does about the
country."

"Wha are ye? what d'ye want here?" were the queries of the respectable
progenitor.

"We are seeking William Graeme of Westburnflat," said Earnscliff.

"He's no at hame," returned the old dame.

"When did he leave home?" pursued Earnscliff.

"I canna tell," said the portress.

"When will he return?" said Hobbie Elliot.

"I dinna ken naething about it," replied the inexorable guardian of the
keep.

"Is there anybody within the tower with you?" again demanded Earnscliff.

"Naebody but mysell and baudrons," said the old woman.

"Then open the gate and admit us," said Earnscliff; "I am a justice of
peace, and in search of the evidence of a felony."

"Deil be in their fingers that draws a bolt for ye," retorted the
portress; "for mine shall never do it. Thinkna ye shame o' yoursells,
to come here siccan a band o' ye, wi' your swords, and spears, and
steel-caps, to frighten a lone widow woman?"

"Our information," said Earnscliff; "is positive; we are seeking goods
which have been forcibly carried off, to a great amount."

"And a young woman, that's been cruelly made prisoner, that's worth mair
than a' the gear, twice told," said Hobbie.

"And I warn you." continued Earnscliff, "that your only way to prove
your son's innocence is to give us quiet admittance to search the
house."

"And what will ye do, if I carena to thraw the keys, or draw the bolts,
or open the grate to sic a clamjamfrie?" said the old dame, scoffingly.

"Force our way with the king's keys, and break the neck of every living
soul we find in the house, if ye dinna gie it ower forthwith!" menaced
the incensed Hobbie.

"Threatened folks live lang," said the hag, in the same tone of irony;
"there's the iron grate--try your skeel on't, lads--it has kept out as
gude men as you or now."

So saying, she laughed, and withdrew from the aperture through which she
had held the parley.

The besiegers now opened a serious consultation. The immense thickness
of the walls, and the small size of the windows, might, for a time, have
even resisted cannon-shot. The entrance was secured, first, by a strong
grated door, composed entirely of hammered iron, of such ponderous
strength as seemed calculated to resist any force that could be brought
against it. "Pinches or forehammers will never pick upon't," said
Hugh, the blacksmith of Ringleburn; "ye might as weel batter at it wi'
pipe-staples."

Within the doorway, and at the distance of nine feet, which was the
solid thickness of the wall, there was a second door of oak, crossed,
both breadth and lengthways, with clenched bars of iron, and studded
full of broad-headed nails. Besides all these defences, they were by no
means confident in the truth of the old dame's assertion, that she
alone composed the garrison. The more knowing of the party had observed
hoof-marks in the track by which they approached the tower, which
seemed to indicate that several persons had very lately passed in that
direction.

To all these difficulties was added their want of means for attacking
the place. There was no hope of procuring ladders long enough to reach
the battlements, and the windows, besides being very narrow, were
secured with iron bars. Scaling was therefore out of the question;
mining was still more so, for want of tools and gunpowder; neither
were the besiegers provided with food, means of shelter, or other
conveniences, which might have enabled them to convert the siege into a
blockade; and there would, at any rate, have been a risk of relief from
some of the marauder's comrades. Hobbie grinded and gnashed his teeth,
as, walking round the fastness, he could devise no means of making a
forcible entry. At length he suddenly exclaimed, "And what for no do as
our fathers did lang syne?--Put hand to the wark, lads. Let us cut up
bushes and briers, pile them before the door and set fire to them, and
smoke that auld devil's dam as if she were to be reested for bacon."

All immediately closed with this proposal, and some went to work with
swords and knives to cut down the alder and hawthorn bushes which grew
by the side of the sluggish stream, many of which were sufficiently
decayed and dried for their purpose, while others began to collect
them in a large stack, properly disposed for burning, as close to the
iron-grate as they could be piled. Fire was speedily obtained from
one of their guns, and Hobbie was already advancing to the pile with a
kindled brand, when the surly face of the robber, and the muzzle of
a musquetoon, were partially shown at a shot-hole which flanked the
entrance. "Mony thanks to ye," he said, scoffingly, "for collecting sae
muckle winter eilding for us; but if ye step a foot nearer it wi' that
lunt, it's be the dearest step ye ever made in your days."

"We'll sune see that," said Hobbie, advancing fearlessly with the torch.

The marauder snapped his piece at him, which, fortunately for our honest
friend, did not go off; while Earnscliff, firing at the same moment
at the narrow aperture and slight mark afforded by the robber's face,
grazed the side of his head with a bullet. He had apparently calculated
upon his post affording him more security, for he no sooner felt
the wound, though a very slight one, than he requested a parley,
and demanded to know what they meant by attacking in this fashion a
peaceable and honest man, and shedding his blood in that lawless manner?

"We want your prisoner," said Earnscliff, "to be delivered up to us in
safety."

"And what concern have you with her?" replied the marauder.

"That," retorted Earnscliff, "you, who are detaining her by force, have
no right to enquire."

"Aweel, I think I can gie a guess," said the robber. "Weel, sirs, I am
laith to enter into deadly feud with you by spilling ony of your bluid,
though Earnscliff hasna stopped to shed mine--and he can hit a mark to a
groat's breadth--so, to prevent mair skaith, I am willing to deliver up
the prisoner, since nae less will please you."

"And Hobbie's gear?" cried Simon of Hackburn. "D'ye think you're to be
free to plunder the faulds and byres of a gentle Elliot, as if they were
an auld wife's hens'-cavey?"

"As I live by bread," replied Willie of Westburnflat "As I live by
bread, I have not a single cloot o' them! They're a' ower the march lang
syne; there's no a horn o' them about the tower. But I'll see what o'
them can be gotten back, and I'll take this day twa days to meet Hobbie
at the Castleton wi' twa friends on ilka side, and see to make an
agreement about a' the wrang he can wyte me wi'."

"Ay, ay," said Elliot, "that will do weel eneugh."--And then aside to
his kinsman, "Murrain on the gear! Lordsake, man! say nought about them.
Let us but get puir Grace out o' that auld hellicat's clutches."

"Will ye gie me your word, Earnscliff," said the marauder, who still
lingered at the shot-hole, "your faith and troth, with hand and glove,
that I am free to come and free to gae, with five minutes to open the
grate, and five minutes to steek it and to draw the bolts? less winna
do, for they want creishing sairly. Will ye do this?"

"You shall have full time," said Earnscliff; "I plight my faith and
troth, my hand and my glove."

"Wait there a moment, then," said Westburnflat; "or hear ye, I wad
rather ye wad fa' back a pistol-shot from the door. It's no that I
mistrust your word, Earnscliff; but it's best to be sure."

O, friend, thought Hobbie to himself, as he drew back, an I had you but
on Turner's-holm, [There is a level meadow, on the very margin of the
two kingdoms, called Turner's-holm, just where the brook called Crissop
joins the Liddel. It is said to have derived its name as being a place
frequently assigned for tourneys, during the ancient Border times.] and
naebody by but twa honest lads to see fair play, I wad make ye wish ye
had broken your leg ere ye had touched beast or body that belanged to
me!

"He has a white feather in his wing this same Westburnflat, after
a'," said Simon of Hackburn, somewhat scandalized by his ready
surrender.--"He'll ne'er fill his father's boots."

In the meanwhile, the inner door of the tower was opened, and the mother
of the freebooter appeared in the space betwixt that and the outer
grate. Willie himself was next seen, leading forth a female, and the old
woman, carefully bolting the grate behind them, remained on the post as
a sort of sentinel.

"Ony ane or twa o' ye come forward," said the outlaw, "and take her frae
my hand haill and sound."

Hobbie advanced eagerly, to meet his betrothed bride. Earnscliff
followed more slowly, to guard against treachery. Suddenly Hobbie
slackened his pace in the deepest mortification, while that of
Earnscliff was hastened by impatient surprise. It was not Grace
Armstrong, but Miss Isabella Vere, whose liberation had been effected by
their appearance before the tower.

"Where is Grace? where is Grace Armstrong?" exclaimed Hobbie, in the
extremity of wrath and indignation.

"Not in my hands," answered Westburnflat; "ye may search the tower, if
ye misdoubt me."

"You false villain, you shall account for her, or die on the spot," said
Elliot, presenting his gun.

But his companions, who now came up, instantly disarmed him of his
weapon, exclaiming, all at once, "Hand and glove! faith and troth! Haud
a care, Hobbie we maun keep our faith wi' Westburnflat, were he the
greatest rogue ever rode."

Thus protected, the outlaw recovered his audacity, which had been
somewhat daunted by the menacing gesture of Elliot.

"I have kept my word, sirs," he said, "and I look to have nae wrang
amang ye. If this is no the prisoner ye sought," he said, addressing
Earnscliff, "ye'll render her back to me again. I am answerable for her
to those that aught her."

"For God's sake, Mr. Earnscliff, protect me!" said Miss Vere, clinging
to her deliverer; "do not you abandon one whom the whole world seems to
have abandoned."

"Fear nothing," whispered Earnscliff, "I will protect you with my life."
Then turning to Westburnflat, "Villain!" he said, "how dared you to
insult this lady?"

"For that matter, Earnscliff," answered the freebooter, "I can answer to
them that has better right to ask me than you have; but if you come with
an armed force, and take her awa' from them that her friends lodged her
wi', how will you answer THAT--But it's your ain affair--Nae single man
can keep a tower against twenty--A' the men o' the Mearns downa do mair
than they dow."

"He lies most falsely," said Isabella; "he carried me off by violence
from my father."

"Maybe he only wanted ye to think sae, hinny," replied the robber; "but
it's nae business o' mine, let it be as it may.--So ye winna resign her
back to me?"

"Back to you, fellow? Surely no," answered Earnscliff; "I will
protect Miss Vere, and escort her safely wherever she is pleased to be
conveyed."

"Ay, ay, maybe you and her hae settled that already," said Willie of
Westburnflat.

"And Grace?" interrupted Hobbie, shaking himself loose from the friends
who had been preaching to him the sanctity of the safe-conduct, upon
the faith of which the freebooter had ventured from his tower,--"Where's
Grace?" and he rushed on the marauder, sword in hand.

Westburnflat, thus pressed, after calling out, "Godsake, Hobbie, hear
me a gliff!" fairly turned his back and fled. His mother stood ready
to open and shut the grate; but Hobbie struck at the freebooter as he
entered with so much force, that the sword made a considerable cleft in
the lintel of the vaulted door, which is still shown as a memorial of
the superior strength of those who lived in the days of yore. Ere
Hobbie could repeat the blow, the door was shut and secured, and he was
compelled to retreat to his companions, who were now preparing to break
up the siege of Westburnflat. They insisted upon his accompanying them
in their return.

"Ye hae broken truce already," said old Dick of the Dingle; "an we
takena the better care, ye'll play mair gowk's tricks, and make yoursell
the laughing-stock of the haill country, besides having your friends
charged with slaughter under trust. Bide till the meeting at Castleton,
as ye hae greed; and if he disna make ye amends, then we'll hae it out
o' his heart's blood. But let us gang reasonably to wark and keep our
tryst, and I'se warrant we get back Grace, and the kye an' a'."

This cold-blooded reasoning went ill down with the unfortunate lover;
but, as he could only obtain the assistance of his neighbours and
kinsmen on their own terms, he was compelled to acquiesce in their
notions of good faith and regular procedure.

Earnscliff now requested the assistance of a few of the party to
convey Miss Vere to her father's castle of Ellieslaw, to which she was
peremptory in desiring to be conducted. This was readily granted; and
five or six young men agreed to attend him as an escort. Hobbie was not
of the number. Almost heart-broken by the events of the day, and his
final disappointment, he returned moodily home to take such measures as
he could for the sustenance and protection of his family, and to arrange
with his neighbours the farther steps which should be adopted for
the recovery of Grace Armstrong. The rest of the party dispersed in
different directions, as soon as they had crossed the morass. The
outlaw and his mother watched them from the tower, until they entirely
disappeared.



CHAPTER X.

     I left my ladye's bower last night--
     It was clad in wreaths of snaw,--
     I'll seek it when the sun is bright,
     And sweet the roses blaw.--OLD BALLAD.

Incensed at what he deemed the coldness of his friends, in a cause
which interested him so nearly, Hobbie had shaken himself free of their
company, and was now on his solitary road homeward. "The fiend founder
thee!" said he, as he spurred impatiently his over-fatigued and
stumbling horse; "thou art like a' the rest o' them. Hae I not bred
thee, and fed thee, and dressed thee wi' mine ain hand, and wouldst thou
snapper now and break my neck at my utmost need? But thou'rt e'en like
the lave--the farthest off o' them a' is my cousin ten times removed,
and day or night I wad hae served them wi' my best blood; and now, I
think they show mair regard to the common thief of Westburnflat than to
their ain kinsman. But I should see the lights now in Heugh-foot--Wae's
me!" he continued, recollecting himself, "there will neither coal nor
candle-light shine in the Heugh-foot ony mair! An it werena for my
mother and sisters, and poor Grace, I could find in my heart to put
spurs to the beast, and loup ower the scaur into the water to make an
end o't a'."--In this disconsolate mood he turned his horse's bridle
towards the cottage in which his family had found refuge.

As he approached the door, he heard whispering and tittering amongst
his sisters. "The deevil's in the women," said poor Hobbie; "they
would nicker, and laugh, and giggle, if their best friend was lying a
corp--and yet I am glad they can keep up their hearts sae weel, poor
silly things; but the dirdum fa's on me, to be sure, and no on them."

While he thus meditated, he was engaged in fastening up his horse in
a shed. "Thou maun do without horse-sheet and surcingle now, lad," he
said, addressing the animal; "you and me hae had a downcome alike; we
had better hae fa'en i, the deepest pool o' Tarras."

He was interrupted by the youngest of his sisters, who came running
out, and, speaking in a constrained voice, as if to stifle some emotion,
called out to him, "What are ye doing there, Hobbie, fiddling about the
naig, and there's ane frae Cumberland been waiting here for ye this hour
and mair? Haste ye in, man; I'll take off the saddle."

"Ane frae Cumberland!" exclaimed Elliot; and putting the bridle of his
horse into the hand of his sister, he rushed into the cottage. "Where is
he? where is he!" he exclaimed, glancing eagerly around, and seeing only
females; "Did he bring news of Grace?"

"He doughtna bide an instant langer," said the elder sister, still with
a suppressed laugh.

"Hout fie, bairns!" said the old lady, with something of a good-humoured
reproof, "ye shouldna vex your billy Hobbie that way.--Look round, my
bairn, and see if there isna ane here mair than ye left this morning."

Hobbie looked eagerly round. "There's you, and the three titties."

"There's four of us now, Hobbie, lad," said the youngest, who at this
moment entered.

In an instant Hobbie had in his arms Grace Armstrong, who, with one
of his sister's plaids around her, had passed unnoticed at his first
entrance. "How dared you do this?" said Hobbie.

"It wasna my fault," said Grace, endeavouring to cover her face with her
hands to hide at once her blushes, and escape the storm of hearty kisses
with which her bridegroom punished her simple stratagem,--"It wasna my
fault, Hobbie; ye should kiss Jeanie and the rest o' them, for they hae
the wyte o't."

"And so I will," said Hobbie, and embraced and kissed his sisters
and grandmother a hundred times, while the whole party half-laughed,
half-cried, in the extremity of their joy. "I am the happiest man," said
Hobbie, throwing himself down on a seat, almost exhausted,--"I am the
happiest man in the world!"

"Then, O my dear bairn," said the good old dame, who lost no opportunity
of teaching her lesson of religion at those moments when the heart
was best open to receive it,--"Then, O my son, give praise to Him that
brings smiles out o' tears and joy out o' grief, as He brought light out
o' darkness and the world out o' naething. Was it not my word, that if
ye could say His will be done, ye might hae cause to say His name be
praised?"

"It was--it was your word, grannie; and I do praise Him for His mercy,
and for leaving me a good parent when my ain were gane," said honest
Hobbie, taking her hand, "that puts me in mind to think of Him, baith in
happiness and distress."

There was a solemn pause of one or two minutes employed in the exercise
of mental devotion, which expressed, in purity and sincerity, the
gratitude of the affectionate family to that Providence who had
unexpectedly restored to their embraces the friend whom they had lost.

Hobbie's first enquiries were concerning the adventures which Grace
had undergone. They were told at length, but amounted in substance
to this:--That she was awaked by the noise which the ruffians made in
breaking into the house, and by the resistance made by one or two of the
servants, which was soon overpowered; that, dressing herself hastily,
she ran downstairs, and having seen, in the scuffle, Westburnflat's
vizard drop off, imprudently named him by his name, and besought him for
mercy; that the ruffian instantly stopped her mouth, dragged her from
the house, and placed her on horseback, behind one of his associates.

"I'll break the accursed neck of him," said Hobbie, "if there werena
another Graeme in the land but himsell!"

She proceeded to say, that she was carried southward along with the
party, and the spoil which they drove before them, until they had
crossed the Border. Suddenly a person, known to her as a kinsman of
Westburnflat, came riding very fast after the marauders, and told their
leader, that his cousin had learnt from a sure hand that no luck would
come of it, unless the lass was restored to her friends. After some
discussion, the chief of the party seemed to acquiesce. Grace was placed
behind her new guardian, who pursued in silence, and with great speed,
the least-frequented path to the Heugh-foot, and ere evening closed, set
down the fatigued and terrified damsel within a quarter of a mile of the
dwelling of her friends. Many and sincere were the congratulations which
passed on all sides.

As these emotions subsided, less pleasing considerations began to
intrude themselves.

"This is a miserable place for ye a'," said Hobbie, looking around him;
"I can sleep weel eneugh mysell outby beside the naig, as I hae done
mony a lang night on the hills; but how ye are to put yoursells up, I
canna see! And what's waur, I canna mend it; and what's waur than a',
the morn may come, and the day after that, without your being a bit
better off."

"It was a cowardly cruel thing," said one of the sisters, looking round,
"to harry a puir family to the bare wa's this gate."

"And leave us neither stirk nor stot," said the youngest brother, who
now entered, "nor sheep nor lamb, nor aught that eats grass and corn."

"If they had ony quarrel wi' us," said Harry, the second brother, "were
we na ready to have fought it out? And that we should have been a' frae
hame, too,--ane and a' upon the hill--Odd, an we had been at hame, Will
Graeme's stamach shouldna hae wanted its morning; but it's biding him,
is it na, Hobbie?"

"Our neighbours hae taen a day at the Castleton to gree wi' him at the
sight o' men," said Hobbie, mournfully; "they behoved to have it a'
their ain gate, or there was nae help to be got at their hands."

"To gree wi' him!" exclaimed both his brothers at once, "after siccan an
act of stouthrife as hasna been heard o' in the country since the auld
riding days!"

"Very true, billies, and my blood was e'en boiling at it; but the sight
o' Grace Armstrong has settled it brawly."

"But the stocking, Hobbie'" said John Elliot; "we're utterly ruined.
Harry and I hae been to gather what was on the outby land, and there's
scarce a cloot left. I kenna how we're to carry on--We maun a' gang
to the wars, I think. Westburnflat hasna the means, e'en if he had the
will, to make up our loss; there's nae mends to be got out o' him, but
what ye take out o' his banes. He hasna a four-footed creature but the
vicious blood thing he rides on, and that's sair trash'd wi' his night
wark. We are ruined stoop and roop."

Hobbie cast a mournful glance on Grace Armstrong, who returned it with a
downcast look and a gentle sigh.

"Dinna be cast down, bairns," said the grandmother, "we hae gude friends
that winna forsake us in adversity. There's Sir Thomas Kittleloof is my
third cousin by the mother's side, and he has come by a hantle siller,
and been made a knight-baronet into the bargain, for being ane o' the
commissioners at the Union."

"He wadna gie a bodle to save us frae famishing," said Hobbie; "and, if
he did, the bread that I bought wi't would stick in my throat, when
I thought it was part of the price of puir auld Scotland's crown and
independence."

"There's the Laird o' Dunder, ane o' the auldest families in
Tiviotdale."

"He's in the tolbooth, mother--he's in the Heart of Mid-Louden for a
thousand merk he borrowed from Saunders Wyliecoat the writer."

"Poor man!" exclaimed Mrs. Elliot, "can we no send him something,
Hobbie?"

"Ye forget, grannie, ye forget we want help oursells," said Hobbie,
somewhat peevishly.

"Troth did I, hinny," replied the good-natured lady, "just at the
instant; it's sae natural to think on ane's blude relations before
themsells;--But there's young Earnscliff."

"He has ower little o' his ain; and siccan a name to keep up, it wad be
a shame," said Hobbie, "to burden him wi' our distress. And I'll tell
ye, grannie, it's needless to sit rhyming ower the style of a' your
kith, kin, and allies, as if there was a charm in their braw names to do
us good; the grandees hae forgotten us, and those of our ain degree hae
just little eneugh to gang on wi' themsells; ne'er a friend hae we that
can, or will, help us to stock the farm again."

"Then, Hobbie, me maun trust in Him that can raise up friends and
fortune out o' the bare moor, as they say."

Hobbie sprung upon his feet. "Ye are right, grannie!" he exclaimed; "ye
are right. I do ken a friend on the bare moor, that baith can and will
help us--The turns o' this day hae dung my head clean hirdie-girdie.
I left as muckle gowd lying on Mucklestane-Moor this morning as would
plenish the house and stock the Heugh-foot twice ower, and I am certain
sure Elshie wadna grudge us the use of it."

"Elshie!" said his grandmother in astonishment; "what Elshie do you
mean?"

"What Elshie should I mean, but Canny Elshie, the Wight o' Mucklestane,"
replied Hobbie.

"God forfend, my bairn, you should gang to fetch water out o' broken
cisterns, or seek for relief frae them that deal wi' the Evil One! There
was never luck in their gifts, nor grace in their paths. And the haill
country kens that body Elshie's an unco man. O, if there was the law,
and the douce quiet administration of justice, that makes a kingdom
flourish in righteousness, the like o' them suldna be suffered to live!
The wizard and the witch are the abomination and the evil thing in the
land."

"Troth, mother," answered Hobbie, "ye may say what ye like, but I am in
the mind that witches and warlocks havena half the power they had lang
syne; at least, sure am I, that ae ill-deviser, like auld Ellieslaw, or
ae ill-doer, like that d--d villain Westburnflat, is a greater plague
and abomination in a country-side than a haill curnie o' the warst
witches that ever capered on a broomstick, or played cantrips on
Fastern's E'en. It wad hae been lang or Elshie had burnt down my house
and barns, and I am determined to try if he will do aught to build them
up again. He's weel kend a skilfu' man ower a' the country, as far as
Brough under Stanmore."

"Bide a wee, my bairn; mind his benefits havena thriven wi' a'body. Jock
Howden died o' the very same disorder Elshie pretended to cure him of,
about the fa' o' the leaf; and though he helped Lambside's cow weel out
o' the moor-ill, yet the louping-ill's been sairer amane; his sheep than
ony season before. And then I have heard he uses sic words abusing human
nature, that's like a fleeing in the face of Providence; and ye mind ye
said yoursell, the first time ye ever saw him, that he was mair like a
bogle than a living thing."

"Hout, mother," said Hobbie, "Elshie's no that bad a chield; he's a
grewsome spectacle for a crooked disciple, to be sure, and a rough
talker, but his bark is waur than his bite; sae, if I had anes something
to eat, for I havena had a morsel ower my throat this day, I wad streek
mysell down for twa or three hours aside the beast, and be on and awa'
to Mucklestane wi' the first skreigh o' morning."

"And what for no the night, Hobbie," said Harry, "and I will ride wi'
ye?"

"My naig is tired," said Hobbie.

"Ye may take mine, then," said John.

"But I am a wee thing wearied mysell."

"You wearied?" said Harry; "shame on ye! I have kend ye keep the saddle
four-and-twenty hours thegither, and ne'er sic a word as weariness in
your wame."

"The night's very dark," said Hobbie, rising and looking through the
casement of the cottage; "and, to speak truth, and shame the deil,
though Elshie's a real honest fallow, yet somegate I would rather take
daylight wi' me when I gang to visit him."

This frank avowal put a stop to further argument; and Hobbie, having
thus compromised matters between the rashness of his brother's counsel,
and the timid cautions which he received from his grandmother, refreshed
himself with such food as the cottage afforded; and, after a cordial
salutation all round, retired to the shed, and stretched himself beside
his trusty palfrey. His brothers shared between them some trusses of
clean straw, disposed in the stall usually occupied by old Annaple's
cow; and the females arranged themselves for repose as well as the
accommodations of the cottage would permit.

With the first dawn of morning, Hobbie arose; and, having rubbed down
and saddled his horse, he set forth to Mucklestane-Moor. He avoided the
company of either of his brothers, from an idea that the Dwarf was most
propitious to those who visited him alone.

"The creature," said he to himself, as he went along, "is no
neighbourly; ae body at a time is fully mair than he weel can abide.
I wonder if he's looked out o' the crib o' him to gather up the bag
o' siller. If he hasna done that, it will hae been a braw windfa' for
somebody, and I'll be finely flung.--Come, Tarras," said he to his
horse, striking him at the same time with his spur, "make mair fit, man;
we maun be first on the field if we can."

He was now on the heath, which began to be illuminated by the beams of
the rising sun; the gentle declivity which he was descending presented
him a distinct, though distant view, of the Dwarf's dwelling. The door
opened, and Hobbie witnessed with his own eyes that phenomenon which he
had frequently heard mentioned. Two human figures (if that of the Dwarf
could be termed such) issued from the solitary abode of the Recluse, and
stood as if in converse together in the open air. The taller form then
stooped, as if taking something up which lay beside the door of the
hut, then both moved forward a little way, and again halted, as in deep
conference. All Hobbie's superstitious terrors revived on witnessing
this'spectacle. That the Dwarf would open his dwelling to a mortal
guest, was as improbable as that any one would choose voluntarily to
be his nocturnal visitor; and, under full conviction that he beheld a
wizard holding intercourse with his familiar spirit, Hobbie pulled in at
once his breath and his bridle, resolved not to incur the indignation
of either by a hasty intrusion on their conference. They were probably
aware of his approach, for he had not halted for a moment before the
Dwarf returned to his cottage; and the taller figure who had accompanied
him, glided round the enclosure of the garden, and seemed to disappear
from the eyes of the admiring Hobbie.

"Saw ever mortal the like o' that!" said Elliot; "but my case is
desperate, sae, if he were Beelzebub himsell, I'se venture down the brae
on him."

Yet, notwithstanding his assumed courage, he slackened his pace, when,
nearly upon the very spot where he had last seen the tall figure,
he discerned, as if lurking among the long heather, a small black
rough-looking object, like a terrier dog.

"He has nae dog that ever I heard of," said Hobbie, "but mony a deil
about his hand--lord forgie me for saying sic a word!--It keeps its
grund, be what it like--I'm judging it's a badger; but whae kens what
shapes thae bogies will take to fright a body? it will maybe start up
like a lion or a crocodile when I come nearer. I'se e'en drive a stage
at it, for if it change its shape when I'm ower near, Tarras will never
stand it; and it will be ower muckle to hae him and the deil to fight
wi' baith at ance."

He therefore cautiously threw a stone at the object, which continued
motionless. "It's nae living thing, after a'," said Hobbie, approaching,
"but the very bag o' siller he flung out o' the window yesterday! and
that other queer lang creature has just brought it sae muckle farther
on the way to me." He then advanced and lifted the heavy fur pouch,
which was quite full of gold. "Mercy on us!" said Hobbie, whose heart
fluttered between glee at the revival of his hopes and prospects
in life, and suspicion of the purpose for which this assistance was
afforded him---"Mercy on us! it's an awfu' thing to touch what has been
sae lately in the claws of something no canny, I canna shake mysell
loose o' the belief that there has been some jookery-paukery of Satan's
in a' this; but I am determined to conduct mysell like an honest man and
a good Christian, come o't what will."

He advanced accordingly to the cottage door, and having knocked
repeatedly without receiving any answer, he at length elevated his voice
and addressed the inmate of the hut. "Elshie! Father Elshie! I ken ye're
within doors, and wauking, for I saw ye at the door-cheek as I cam ower
the bent; will ye come out and speak just a gliff to ane that has mony
thanks to gie ye?--It was a' true ye tell'd me about Westburnflat; but
he's sent back Grace safe and skaithless, sae there's nae ill happened
yet but what may be suffered or sustained;--Wad ye but come out a gliff;
man, or but say ye're listening?--Aweel, since ye winna answer, I'se
e'en proceed wi' my tale. Ye see I hae been thinking it wad be a sair
thing on twa young folk, like Grace and me, to put aff our marriage for
mony years till I was abroad and came back again wi' some gear; and they
say folk maunna take booty in the wars as they did lang syne, and the
queen's pay is a sma' matter; there's nae gathering gear on that--and
then my grandame's auld--and my sisters wad sit peengin' at the
ingle-side for want o' me to ding them about--and Earnscliff, or the
neighbourhood, or maybe your ainsell, Elshie, might want some good turn
that Hob Elliot could do ye--and it's a pity that the auld house o' the
Heugh-foot should be wrecked a'thegither. Sae I was thinking--but deil
hae me, that I should say sae," continued he, checking himself, "if I
can bring mysell to ask a favour of ane that winna sae muckle as ware a
word on me, to tell me if he hears me speaking till him."

"Say what thou wilt--do what thou wilt," answered the Dwarf from his
cabin, "but begone, and leave me at peace."

"Weel, weel," replied Elliot, "since ye are willing to hear me, I'se
make my tale short. Since ye are sae kind as to say ye are content to
lend me as muckle siller as will stock and plenish the Heugh-foot, I am
content, on my part, to accept the courtesy wi' mony kind thanks; and
troth, I think it will be as safe in my hands as yours, if ye leave it
flung about in that gate for the first loon body to lift, forbye the
risk o' bad neighbours that can win through steekit doors and lockfast
places, as I can tell to my cost. I say, since ye hae sae muckle
consideration for me, I'se be blithe to accept your kindness; and my
mother and me (she's a life-renter, and I am fiar, o' the lands o'
Wideopen) would grant you a wadset, or an heritable bond, for the
siller, and to pay the annual rent half-yearly; and Saunders Wyliecoat
to draw the bond, and you to be at nae charge wi' the writings."

"Cut short thy jargon, and begone," said the Dwarf; "thy loquacious
bull-headed honesty makes thee a more intolerable plague than the
light-fingered courtier who would take a man's all without troubling him
with either thanks, explanation, or apology. Hence, I say! thou art
one of those tame slaves whose word is as good as their bond. Keep the
money, principal and interest, until I demand it of thee."

"But," continued the pertinacious Borderer, "we are a' life-like and
death-like, Elshie, and there really should be some black and white on
this transaction. Sae just make me a minute, or missive, in ony form
ye like, and I'se write it fair ower, and subscribe it before famous
witnesses. Only, Elshie, I wad wuss ye to pit naething in't that may be
prejudicial to my salvation; for I'll hae the minister to read it ower,
and it wad only be exposing yoursell to nae purpose. And now I'm ganging
awa', for ye'll be wearied o' my cracks, and I am wearied wi' cracking
without an answer--and I'se bring ye a bit o' bride's-cake ane o' thae
days, and maybe bring Grace to see you. Ye wad like to see Grace, man,
for as dour as ye are--Eh, Lord I I wish he may be weel, that was a sair
grane! or, maybe, he thought I was speaking of heavenly grace, and no of
Grace Armstrong. Poor man, I am very doubtfu' o' his condition; but I
am sure he is as kind to me as if I were his son, and a queer-looking
father I wad hae had, if that had been e'en sae."

Hobbie now relieved his benefactor of his presence, and rode blithely
home to display his treasure, and consult upon the means of repairing
the damage which his fortune had sustained through the aggression of the
Red Reiver of Westburnflat.



CHAPTER XI.

     Three ruffians seized me yester morn,
     Alas!  a maiden most forlorn;
     They choked my cries with wicked might,
     And bound me on a palfrey white:
     As sure as Heaven shall pity me,
     I cannot tell what men they be.--CHRISTABELLE.

The course of our story must here revert a little, to detail the
circumstances which had placed Miss Vere in the unpleasant situation
from which she was unexpectedly, and indeed unintentionally liberated,
by the appearance of Earnscliff and Elliot, with their friends and
followers, before the Tower of Westburnflat.

On the morning preceding the night in which Hobbie's house was plundered
and burnt, Miss Vere was requested by her father to accompany him in a
walk through a distant part of the romantic grounds which lay round
his castle of Ellieslaw. "To hear was to obey," in the true style of
Oriental despotism; but Isabella trembled in silence while she followed
her father through rough paths, now winding by the side of the river,
now ascending the cliffs which serve for its banks. A single servant,
selected perhaps for his stupidity, was the only person who attended
them. From her father's silence, Isabella little doubted that he had
chosen this distant and sequestered scene to resume the argument which
they had so frequently maintained upon the subject of Sir Frederick's
addresses, and that he was meditating in what manner he should most
effectually impress upon her the necessity of receiving him as her
suitor. But her fears seemed for some time to be unfounded. The only
sentences which her father from time to time addressed to her, respected
the beauties of the romantic landscape through which they strolled, and
which varied its features at every step. To these observations, although
they seemed to come from a heart occupied by more gloomy as well as more
important cares, Isabella endeavoured to answer in a manner as free and
unconstrained as it was possible for her to assume, amid the involuntary
apprehensions which crowded upon her imagination.

Sustaining with mutual difficulty a desultory conversation, they at
length gained the centre of a small wood, composed of large oaks,
intermingled with birches, mountain-ashes, hazel, holly, and a variety
of underwood. The boughs of the tall trees met closely above, and the
underwood filled up each interval between their trunks below. The spot
on which they stood was rather more open; still, however, embowered
under the natural arcade of tall trees, and darkened on the sides for a
space around by a great and lively growth of copse-wood and bushes.

"And here, Isabella," said Mr. Vere, as he pursued the conversation,
so often resumed, so often dropped, "here I would erect an altar to
Friendship."

"To Friendship, sir!" said Miss Vere; "and why on this gloomy and
sequestered spot, rather than elsewhere?"

"O, the propriety of the LOCALE is easily vindicated," replied her
father, with a sneer. "You know, Miss Vere (for you, I am well aware,
are a learned young lady), you know, that the Romans were not satisfied
with embodying, for the purpose of worship, each useful quality and
moral virtue to which they could give a name; but they, moreover,
worshipped the same under each variety of titles and attributes which
could give a distinct shade, or individual character, to the virtue in
question. Now, for example, the Friendship to whom a temple should be
here dedicated, is not Masculine Friendship, which abhors and despises
duplicity, art, and disguise; but Female Friendship, which consists in
little else than a mutual disposition on the part of the friends, as
they call themselves, to abet each other in obscure fraud and petty
intrigue."