'
'Well, but if they followed him to Rannoch?'
'That,' quoth Evan, 'is beyond all belief; and, indeed, to tell you the
truth, there durst not a Lowlander in all Scotland follow the fray a
gun-shot beyond Bally-Brough, unless he had the help of the Sidier Dhu.'
'Whom do you call so?'
'The Sidier Dhu? the black soldier; that is what they call the
independent companies that were raised to keep peace and law in the
Highlands. Vich Ian Vohr commanded one of them for five years, and I was
sergeant mysell, I shall warrant ye. They call them Sidier Dhu because
they wear the tartans, as they call your men--King George's men--Sidier
Roy, or red soldiers.'
'Well, but when you were in King George's pay, Evan, you were surely King
George's soldiers?'
'Troth, and you must ask Vich Ian Vohr about that; for we are for his
king, and care not much which o' them it is. At ony rate, nobody can say
we are King George's men now, when we have not seen his pay this
twelve-month.'
This last argument admitted of no reply, nor did Edward attempt any; he
rather chose to bring back the discourse to Donald Bean Lean. 'Does
Donald confine himself to cattle, or does he LIFT, as you call it,
anything else that comes in his way?'
'Troth, he's nae nice body, and he'll just tak onything, but most readily
cattle, horse, or live Christians; for sheep are slow of travel, and
inside plenishing is cumbrous to carry, and not easy to put away for
siller in this country.
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