shealing, Flora at first returned to Milton; but, having
fully made up her mind to undertake the enterprise, she set out for
Ormaclade, the seat of Clanranald, on Saturday the twenty-first of June.
Her journey was not without perilous adventures. On passing a ford, she
was taken prisoner by one of the militia, on account of not having a
passport. She inquired by whom they were commanded; and, finding that
her step-father was their captain, she refused to give an answer to the
questions put to her until she saw him. She was made a prisoner for that
night; her captivity being shared by her servant Neil Mac Kechan, a
clansman, who was the father of Marshal Macdonald, Duke of Tarentum. In
the morning, Hugh Macdonald of Armadale, the step-father of Flora,
arrived, and liberated her; granting a passport for herself, her
servant, and for another woman whom she styled Betty Burke, a good
spinster, whom Armadale in the innocency of his heart recommended to
his wife at Armadale, as she had much lint to spin. His letter has been
preserved; and there is every reason to believe, that, when writing it,
Armadale was wholly unconscious of the design of Flora.[283]

The letter of Armadale to his wife ran as follows:--"I have sent your
daughter from this country lest she should be frightened with the troops
lying here. She has got one Betty Burke, an Irish girl, who, as she
tells me, is a good spinner. If her spinning pleases you, you may keep
her till she spins all your lint: or, if you have any wool to spin, you
may employ her. I have sent Mac Kechan along with your daughter and
Betty Burke, to take care of them. I am, your dutiful husband,

"HUGH MACDONALD."
"June 22nd, 1746."

* * * * *

It was late in the afternoon of the Sunday on which Flora had obtained
her passport, before she could communicate with her friends in the
mountains; about four o'clock, however, they received a message telling
them that _all was well_. The Prince and his companion, therefore,
determined immediately to join their protectress.

Upon being set at liberty, Flora went immediately to Ormaclade, where
she had, in Lady Clanranald, an enthusiastic assistant. She remained at
Ormaclade for several days, making arrangements for the complete
disguise of the Prince.

The Prince and O'Neil had only waited for the arrival of Flora's
messenger to set out and meet their heroic frie