The timorous young man who accompanied him remonstrated
upon the danger of the attempt, but Edward was determined. The followers
of the camp had already stripped the dead of all they could carry away;
but the country people, unused to scenes of blood, had not yet approached
the field of action, though some stood fearfully gazing at a distance.
About sixty or seventy dragoons lay slain within the first enclosure,
upon the highroad, and on the open moor. Of the Highlanders, not above a
dozen had fallen, chiefly those who, venturing too far on the moor, could
not regain the strong ground. He could not find the body of Fergus among
the slain. On a little knoll, separated from the others, lay the
carcasses of three English dragoons, two horses, and the page Callum Beg,
whose hard skull a trooper's broadsword had, at length, effectually
cloven. It was possible his clan had carried off the body of Fergus; but
it was also possible he had escaped, especially as Evan Dhu, who would
never leave his Chief, was not found among the dead; or he might be
prisoner, and the less formidable denunciation inferred from the
appearance of the Bodach Glas might have proved the true one.
Pages:
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774