lemaker Raw, close to the Greyfriars' Kirkyaird--where
they signed the Covenants, ye ken. Weel, I wad advise you to gang to
Lanark wi' Quentin, an' when ye find yer mither tak' her to Edinbro' an'
let her live wi' my mither i' the meantime, till we see what the Lord
has in store for this puir persecuted remnant. I'm sorry to pairt wi'
ye, lad, sae unexpectedly, but in thae times, when folk are called on to
pairt wi' their heids unexpectedly, we mauna compleen."

"I'll take your advice gladly," said Wallace. "When will Quentin Dick
be ready to start?"

"In less than an hour. The moon'll be up soon after that. It's o' nae
use startin' on sae dark a nicht till she's up, for ye'll hae to cross
some nasty grund. Noo, lad, though I'm no a minister, my advice to ye
is, to gang doon into the hidy-hole an' pray aboot this matter. Niver
mind the folk ye find there. They're used to prayin'. It's my opeenion
that if there was less preachin' an' mair prayin', we'd be a' the better
for 't. It's a thrawn warld we live in, but we're bound to mak' the
best o't."

Although not much in the habit of engaging in prayer--save at the formal
periods of morning and evening--our ex-trooper was just then in the mood
to take his friend's advice. He retired to the place of refuge under
Black's house, where he found several people who had evidently been at
the communion on Skeoch Hill. These were engaged in earnest
conversation, and took little notice of him as he entered. The place
was very dimly lighted. One end of the low vaulted chamber was involved
in obscurity. Thither the youth went and knelt down. From infancy his
mother had taught him "to say his prayers," and had sought to induce him
to pray. It is probable that the first time he really did so was in
that secret chamber where, in much anxiety of soul, he prayed for
herself.

After a hasty but hearty supper, he and Quentin Dick set out on their
night journey. They carried nothing with them except two wallets,
filled, as Wallace could not help thinking, with a needlessly large
amount of provisions. Of course they were unarmed, for they travelled
in the capacity of peaceful drovers, with plaids on their shoulders, and
the usual staves in their hands.

"One would think we were going to travel for a month in some wilderness,
to judge from the weight of our haversacks," observed Wallace, after
trudging along for some time in silence.

"Maybe we'll be langer than a month