heir rounds.

At last the ladders were ready, and Buccleuch gave his whispered orders
before they were raised.

No man was to be killed, he said, if it could possibly be helped, as the
two countries were at peace with each other, and he had no mind to stir
up strife. All he wanted was the rescue of my father.

Then the ladders were raised, and bitter was the disappointment when it
was found that they were too short. For a moment it seemed as if we had
come all the weary way for nothing.

"It matters not, lads," said the Warden cheerily; "there be more ways of
robbing a corbie's nest than one. Bide you here by the little postern,
and Wat Scott and Red Rowan and I will prowl round, and see what we can
see."

Along with these two stalwart men he vanished, while we crouched at the
foot of the wall and waited; nor had we long to wait.

In ten minutes we could hear the bolts and bars being withdrawn, and the
little door was opened by Buccleuch himself, who wore a triumphant
smile. He had found a loophole at the back of the Castle left entirely
unguarded, and without much difficulty he and his two companions had
forced out a stone or two, until the hole was large enough for them to
squeeze through, and had caught and bound the unsuspecting sentries as
they came round, stuffing their mouths full of old clouts to hinder them
from crying out and giving the alarm.

Once we were inside the courtyard he ordered the men with the iron bars
and forehammers to be ready to beat open the doors, and then he gave the
word to the men with the bugles and hunting horns.

Then began such a din as I had never heard before, and have never heard
since. The bugles screeched, and the iron bars rang, and above all
sounded the wild Border slogan, "Wha dare meddle wi' me?" which the men
shouted with all their might. One would have thought that the whole men
in Scotland were about the walls, instead of but forty.

And in good faith the people of the Castle, cowards that they were, and
even my Lord Scroope himself, thought that they were beset by a whole
army, and after one or two frightened peeps from out of windows, and
behind doors, they shut themselves up as best they might in their own
quarters, and left us to work our will, and beat down door after door
until we came to the very innermost prison itself, where my father was
chained hand and foot to the wall like any dog.

Just as the door was being burst open, my lord caught sight of me a