"Some rumours of the fray have reached us, and my father shook his head gravely, when he heard that another Baird had been killed by the Forsters." "It was not only us," Oswald replied.

"There were some of the Liddels, and the Hopes, and other families, engaged.

My father was chosen as chief; but this time it was not our quarrel, but theirs, for we had lost no cattle, and my father only joined because they had aided us last time, and he could not hold back now.

Of course, he was chosen as chief because he knows the country so well." "Well, come in, Oswald.

It is poor hospitality to keep you talking here, outside the door." A boy had already taken charge of Oswald's horse and, after unstrapping his valise, had led it to a stable that formed the basement of the house.
"Well, laddie, how fares it with you, at home ?" Adam Armstrong said, heartily, as they mounted the steps to the main entrance.