ch the ground in the dungeon of Eilean-na-Rona Castle. He was left
to decide which alternative he would accept; and it must be said that
the culprit, after a minute or two's sulking, perceived the justice of
the sentence, and calmly said he would take the dungeon.

'Ye think I'm feared?' he said contemptuously, to Neil and Duncan, who
were grinning at him. 'Wha was it that gruppit the whutteruck[1]? And
is there anything worse than whutterucks in that hole in the castle?'

'Ye'll find out, Nicol, my man,' said his cousin Neil. 'There's
warlocks. And they'll grup ye by the legs.'

'I'll save the penny anyway,' said Nicol, to whom a penny was a thing
of known and substantial value.

Now if any proof had been needed that Rob MacNicol's stringent sailing
rules were a matter of stern necessity, it was quickly forthcoming. On
this beautiful summer morning, with the sea smooth and blue around
them, they were sailing along as pleasantly as might be. But they had
scarcely got through the narrow channel leading from the harbour, and
were just emerging into Loch Scrone, when a squall of wind came tearing
along and hit the boat so that the lug-sail was almost flattened on to
the water.

'Run her up! Haul in your sheet!' yelled Rob to the frightened
steersman.

Well it was at such a moment that the main sheet was free to be hauled
in; for as the bow was put up to the wind, the varying squall caught
her on the other beam and threw her over, so that she shipped a bucket
or two of water. Had the water got into the belly of the sail, the
weight would have dragged her down; but Rob instantly got rid of this
danger by springing to the halyards, and, the moment the crank craft
strove to right herself, bringing sail and yard rattling down into the
boat. By this time, so fierce was the squall, a pretty heavy sea had
sprung up, and altogether things looked very ugly. When they allowed
the jib to fill, even that was enough to send the boat over, and she
had already a dangerous lot of water surging among the ballast; while,
when they were forced to put her head to the wind, she drifted with a
heavily running tide, and right to leeward was a long reef of rocks
that would inevitably crunch her into matchwood. The younger brothers
said not a word, but looked at Rob, ready to obey his slightest
gesture, and Rob stood by the mast calling out from time to time to
Nicol.

Matters grew worse. It was no use trying merely to keep her