At the door old Harkins waited; he had posted himself there, and there he intended to wait whatever came. His face was white enough under its tan. As I passed by he presented arms and looked intently at me. "You are to come with me," I said, assuming an authority I did not have. He followed me without a question. We marched rapidly down the long hall, only to be halted at the further end by the officer of the guard; but here another officer overtook us, having been despatched by Feversham, and ordered that we be given free passage. The officer looked sharply at the sergeant but said nothing; fortunately he was but a young soldier, and I suppose he thought that Harkins was only discharging his duty by escorting me on my way. So the four of us marched down the stair, through the hall, across the courtyard and outside the gates. Here the officer halted. "I would best see them safe across the drawbridge and down the road, sir," said Harkins gruffly. "Very good; go on," said the officer indifferently, turning back. In half a dozen steps we were over the drawbridge, and in another moment the three of us were running madly toward the river bank. Harkins' presence was invaluable now, for he knew a path to the water's edge. We fell rather than climbed down it in the darkness and stood knee-deep in the river. "Macleod!" I cried anxiously. "Here, your honour, and thank God," came to us out of the darkness, and presently guided by our voices, the prow of a comfortable wherry ran against the bank of the river. I lifted Lady Katharine into the boat, clambered into the stern sheets myself and seized the tiller, while Harkins sat down forward of Macleod and finding another pair of oars broke them out, and the two men rowed us away from the castle toward the mouth of the river. Evidently Clanranald's impatience had become so great that he could not remain at sea, for the vessel, with the three lights still twinkling like stars of hope in the blackness, had ventured into the river and was near at hand. I sat in the stern-sheets of the boat, Katharine was next to me, my arm about her, her head upon my shoulder. The men rowed lustily and in half an hour we were at the ship's side, in five minutes more Katharine was clasped in Clanranald's arms, the wherry was turned adrift, the ship's head was cast off shore, the sails were sheeted home, and we bore away for Holland and Prince William's court--for happiness, for love, for freedom. Ere we went below into the comfortable cabin to tell the Earl our story, I was stopped by dame Alison and Macleod. "Lord Stenwold, sir?" asked the former. "Dame Alison," said I, "he will kiss no more women this side of hell, for he lies dead in his own castle by my own hand." "That is well done, sir," said Macleod heartily. "Thank you and good-night."