Our hero now endeavoured to address them, but was only answered with 'Cha
n'eil Beurl agam' i.e. 'I have no English,' being, as Waverley well knew,
the constant reply of a Highlander when he either does not understand or
does not choose to reply to an Englishman or Lowlander. He then mentioned
the name of Vich lan Vohr, concluding that he was indebted to his
friendship for his rescue from the clutches of Gifted Gilfillan, but
neither did this produce any mark of recognition from his escort.
The twilight had given place to moonshine when the party halted upon the
brink of a precipitous glen, which, as partly enlightened by the
moonbeams, seemed full of trees and tangled brushwood. Two of the
Highlanders dived into it by a small foot-path, as if to explore its
recesses, and one of them returning in a few minutes, said something to
his companions, who instantly raised their burden and bore him, with
great attention and care, down the narrow and abrupt descent.
Notwithstanding their precautions, however, Waverley's person came more
than once into contact, rudely enough, with the projecting stumps and
branches which overhung the pathway.
Pages:
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541