as by
nature of a stout heart, and he resolved that if he had to die, it
would be as well to die as became a captain of the Douglas guard.

The blue leme of summer lightning momentarily lit up the western sky.
The men could see the great gaunt pack wolves sitting upon their
haunches or moving restlessly to and fro across each other, while from
the denser woods behind rose the howling of fresh levies, hastening to
the assistance of the first. Sholto noted in especial one gigantic
she-wolf, which appeared at every point of the circle and seemed to
muster and encourage the pack to the attack.

[Illustration: ALL THE WILD BEASTS APPEARED TO BE OBEYING THE SUMMONS
OF THE WITCH WOMAN.]

The wild-fire flickered behind the jet black silhouettes of the dense
trees so that their tops stood out against the pale sky as if carved
in ebony. Then the night shut down darker than before. As the
soundless lightning wavered and brightened, the shadows of the wolves
appeared simultaneously to start forward and then retreat, while the
noise of their howling carried with it some diabolic suggestion of
discordant human voices.

"_La Meffraye! La Meffraye! Meffraye!_"

So to the excited minds of the three Scots the wolf legions seemed to
be crying with one voice as they came nearer. All the wild beasts of
the wood appeared to be obeying the summons of the witch woman.

The strain of the situation first told upon the Lord James Douglas.
"Great Saints!" he cried, "let us attack them and die sword in hand. I
cannot endure much more of this."

"Stand still where you are. It is our only chance," commanded Sholto,
as abruptly as if James Douglas had been a doubtful soldier of his
company.

"It were better to find a tree that we could climb," growled Malise
with a practical suggestiveness, which, however, came too late. For
they dared not move out of the open space, and the great trunk of the
blasted pine rose behind them bare of branches almost to the top.

"Your daggers in your left hands, they are upon us!" cried Sholto,
who, standing with his face to the west, had a lower horizon and more
light than the others. The three men had cast their palmers' cloaks
from their shoulders and now stood leaning a little forward,
breathing hard as they waited the assault of foes whom they believed
to be frankly diabolic and instinct with all the powers of hell. This
required greater courage than storming many fortifications.

Almost as he spoke Sho