“At all events, let us stay where we are,” said Lord Derwentwater. “General Carpenter will think we are retreating, if we march to Hawick.”
“Nor will he be far wide of the truth, if he does think so,” said Mackintosh.
But these expressions of disapproval were entirely unheeded, and the march to Hawick took place, greatly to the annoyance of Lord Derwentwater.
Determined to reconnoitre the enemy, his lordship requested Captain Gordon to accompany him, and set off with a small party of horse towards the Yetholms.
Nothing occurred to indicate that the enemy were on the move till he came within a couple of miles of Kirk-Yetholm, when, from the brow of a hill, he distinguished their vanguard, and at once comprehended that a part of the force, if not the whole, must be marching to Kelso.
Satisfied with what he had seen, and beginning to be of opinion that General Carpenter would not have been so easily surprised as he imagined, he turned back, and riding quickly, overtook the insurgent army before it reached Hawick.
It afterwards appeared that the earl had narrowly escaped capture, and that he and his companions were indebted for their escape to the swiftness of their horses. Had he descended the hill whence he descried the enemy, he must have been taken prisoner.
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VI
The Highlanders refuse to cross the Border
NEXT day, symptoms of revolt began to appear among the Highlanders, who had been told by Lord Wintoun that if they went to England they would infallibly be defeated by the superior force brought against them, and would either be cut to pieces, taken prisoners and hanged, or sold as slaves to the plantations.
Assembling on the Moot Hill, at the head of the town, they refused to come down, even at the orders of their chief, and told him if they were led against the enemy they would fight, but that they would not cross the Border.
“Wherefore not?” he cried. “Why the devil are you afraid to fight the Southrons on their ain ground? You are ready to meet them here, but not south of the Solway Firth. Your pay is assured you, and it will be your ain faut if ye dinna double it.”
“But they tell us we shall never come back,” rejoined the sergeant, who acted as spokesman.
“Who tells you so?” demanded the brigadier.
“One who knows what he says, and wouldn’t deceive us,” replied the sergeant.
“Zounds, man! do you think I would deceive you?” cried the brigadier. “I tell you that in England you will get plenty to eat and drink-plenty of plunder-whereas in Scotland you have nothing but starvation to expect. Now choose! Will you follow me, who have led you on thus far triumphantly, and will lead you on to further conquest-or desert me, when I most need your services, for one who has neither the will, nor the power to reward you?”
“We will follow you, brigadier,” shouted the majority of the men. “Take us where you will.”
“I will first take you where each of you can get a mutchkin of whisky to drink the king’s health. You will then prepare to march to Langholm, on the road to Longtown!”
After resting for the night at Langholm, where they had some difficulty in finding quarters, the insurgents continued their march next day, uncertain whether they should proceed to Langholm or Ecclefechan, when a decision was unexpectedly brought about.
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VII
Lord Widdrington returns from Lancashire
WHILE crossing a wide moor, they perceived a party of horsemen coming towards them, and understood from the shouts of these persons that they must be friends.
On a nearer approach the insurgents discovered that the leader of the party was Lord Widdrington. He had just returned from his visit to Lancashire, and had brought with him a very important document, which he was extremely anxious to show to the leaders of the expedition, as it could not fail to govern their future plans.
Upon this, a general halt was called, and the commanders and officers having assembled, Lord Widdrington read his paper to them.
It was to the effect, that if the combined forces of the Scottish Lowlanders and Highlanders, who had risen for King James the Third, would direct their march to Lancashire, the High Church Tories of Manchester and the neighbourhood, and the whole of the Roman Catholic gentry of Lancashire and Cheshire, would rise in a mass, and join them with an army of twenty thousand men.