They halted when they reached him.

They were twenty in number, and were the lads of his band at Glen Cairn, ranging between the ages of sixteen and eighteen.

They had originally been stronger, but some of the elders had already joined Wallace's followers.
"Now," Archie said, "I can explain matters farther than I did last night.

I have procured arms for you all, and I hope that you will have opportunities of using them.

But though some of you are old enough to join Wallace's band, there are others whom he might not deem fit to take part in such desperate enterprises.