le unnoticed by their noisy comrades,
to be quickly pounced upon by the watchful stretcher-bearers, who,
with a deftness evidently the result of much practice, placed the
helpless individual on the carrier and marched off with him. This
continuous disappearance of the fallen rapidly thinned the ranks of
the combatants struggling with the giant Bacchus.

The king had been reluctant to enter this contest, fearing the red
wine would loosen his tongue, but as the evening wore on he found all
his resolution concentrated in a determination to walk to his bed.
MacDonald proved no protection. Early in the bout his unaccustomed
head descended gently upon the table and he was promptly carried off
to rest.

At last MacLeod and the king sat alone in the hall, that looked larger
now it was so nearly empty; and James, as a test of what sense
remained to him, set himself to count the torches burning more and
more dimly in the haze of their own smoke. But he gave up the attempt
when he saw that they had increased by hundreds and thousands, and
were engaged in a wild pyrotechnic dance to the rhythm of the last
march that had been played on the pipes. He swayed over towards his
host and smote him uncertainly on the shoulder.

"MacLeod," he cried, "I challenge you to stand, and I'll wager you I
can walk further down the corridor with fewer collisions against
either wall than any man in Skye."

With difficulty the king rose to his feet, and as he did so the stool
on which he sat, because of a lurch against it, fell clattering to the
floor.

"The very benches are drunk, MacLeod, and the table sways like a ship
at sea. That stool is as insecure as a throne. Rise up if you can and
see if yours is any better."

But the MacLeod sat helpless, glaring at him from under his shaggy
eyebrows. Seeing him stationary the king laughed so heartily that he
nearly unbalanced himself, and was forced to cling for support to the
edge of the table. Then straightening himself to excessive rigidity he
muttered,--

"Good-night, MacLeod. Sit there and see the rule of your house broken
by your----" If the next word were "monarch," or "king," it was never
uttered, for as James made his uncertain way towards the door, the
expert gillies, who knew their business, came up behind him, swooped
the stretcher against his unreliant legs, and they failing instantly,
he fell backward on the stoutly woven web between the two poles. There
was a guttural laugh from Mac