o he believed held him in thrall. "Only leave me
loose, dear good little people," he howled, "and I'll never,
never trouble you more!"

At this point Alan, shaking with mirth, sent down another panful
of water, and Angus, redoubling his efforts, wrenched himself
free, scraping off quantities of skin as he did so. They could
hear him scuttling down the secret stair as fast as his legs
would carry him, and when he emerged below, they watched him
hurry away through the forest, casting fearful glances over his
shoulder as he ran. Alan made a hollow of his two hands and sent
after him a wild note, like the wailing of a banshee.

"Angus Niel, Angus Niel," rose the piercing note, "bring back my
beautiful stag, my stag that lived by the tarn!"

As the sound reached his ears, Angus redoubled his speed, and
they could hear him crashing through the underbrush as if the
devil himself were really at his heels.

When the sounds died away in the distance, the Rob Roy Clan
rolled on the floor of the cave with laughter.

"There!" said Alan, as he sat up and wiped his eyes. "That'll fix
Angus Niel! We've scared him out of a year's growth, and he'll
never dare meddle with this place again. Come on, now. It's time
to go home, but to-morrow we'll come back and fix this place up
in a way that would make Robinson Crusoe green with envy."

They carefully put water on the ashes of their fire, stuck the
sprigs of Evergreen Pine in their bonnets, and sped down the
secret stairway and home.

IX. A RAINY DAY

The next morning, as she was finishing the beds, Jean heard the
pewit call and at once knew that the Clan was abroad. She ran to
the door, and the three boys came in together,--Jock from the
garden, where he had been pulling weeds in the potato-patch, and
Sandy and Alan from the road. They were carrying a large basket,
and Sandy was laden down with a coil of rope in addition.

"What have you got there?" demanded Jean.

"Stores for the Cave," said Alan, "and a rope to let down from
the rock. Come on; let's go as soon as we can, for it looks like
rain and we've got a lot to do to get the cave ready for wet
weather."

"Where did you get 'em?" asked Jock, eyeing the basket with
interest and wondering what was inside.

"Oh," said Alan, "I just asked Eppie. She lets me have anything I
want. My mother told her to stuff me while I'm here, and if I
take the food off to the woods with me she doesn't have to cook
it at home, so