He had sent a loving letter, written with "his ain hand sae tenderly," to the laird of Gilnockie, requesting him to meet his "liege lord" at a place called Carlenrig on the Teviot, some nine miles above Hawick. Various accounts have been given by historians, both ancient and modern, as to the means adopted by the King to bring about Armstrong's capture and execution. Leslie, for example, informs us that "all this summer the King took great care to pacify the Borders with a great army, and caused forty-eight of the most noble thieves, with Johnie Armstrong, their captain, to be taken and hanged on growing trees." He says that "George Armstrong, brother of the said Johnie, was pardoned and reserved alive, _to tell on the rest_, which he did, and in course of time they were apprehended by the King, and punished according to their deserts."[80] Pinkerton, who evidently bases his account largely on the information supplied by Leslie, enters more fully into particulars. He alleges that "by the assistance of George, his brother, who was pardoned on condition of betraying the others, John Armstrong, the chief of the name, whose robberies had elevated him to opulence and power, was captured and suffered the fate of a felon."[81] These statements, definite though they are, ought not to be lightly accepted, as the strongest reasons may be advanced against this supposition. In the first place, we ought to remember that, however many sins and shortcomings the Border reivers may be accused of, breach of faith can hardly be reckoned one of them. "Hector's Cloak" was a phrase of peculiar opprobrium. It was regarded as the symbol of meanness and perfidy. That this one instance of betrayal should have been so long remembered, and so thoroughly detested, is an unmistakable indication that the Border thieves, bad as they were in many respects, were not without a high sense of honour in matters of this kind. It is hardly conceivable, therefore, that Armstrong's brother could have been guilty of his betrayal. Strong proof would require to be forthcoming in support of such a statement; and this is precisely what the historians do not give us.