The victors were hastily recalled from the pursuit by the horn of their chief. Having collected them around him, he complimented them on the valour they had displayed, and proposed that they should instantly attack the Castle of Lochmaben; representing to them, that as the garrison had already been put to flight, if they could reach it before the fugitives returned, the plunder they might find would amply reward the labours they had undergone. The proposal was joyfully received; and they instantly set out under the guidance of a person well acquainted with the intricacies of the country. As their chief expected, the fortress had been left to the care of the porter and a few invalids, who were easily overpowered; and this place they found well stored with abundance of every thing their situation required. While enjoying themselves after the fatigues of the day, the remains of their discomfited enemies were observed hastening towards the castle. Orders being immediately given for their admission, on reaching the castle-yard, they were surrounded by the Scots, and, after a short conflict, indiscriminately put to the sword. The fortress, which had thus unexpectedly fallen into their hands, was deemed so important an acquisition, that Wallace thought it advisable to leave a garrison in it. He then took his departure, accompanied by Sir John Graham, Kerle, Stephen, and a few other worthies, for the forest of Clydesdale. CHAPTER IX. ATTACK ON CRAWFORD CASTLE.--RETURN TO LANARK.--CONFLICT WITH THE ENGLISH.--MURDER OF THE HEIRESS OF LAMINGTON.--HER DEATH REVENGED.--THE ENGLISH DRIVEN OUT OF LANARK. The Castle of Lochmaben is supposed to have been the first fortress in which Wallace ventured to place a garrison; and it is probable he was enabled to do so, in consequence of a great many in the neighbourhood having joined his standard, encouraged no doubt by his late successes. This supposition is confirmed by the circumstance of his leaving behind him a few of those who had been in the engagement with Graystock. While the insurrection was thus spreading in Scotland, Edward was prosecuting his views against France. The accounts of the proceedings of Wallace occasionally reached him, and arrested his attention in the midst of his victories; and though he felt no immediate apprehension from the attempts of the freebooter, as he was pleased to call the patriotic leader of the Scots, yet he considered him such an enemy as it was not altogether prudent to neglect. The applications, therefore, which were made from time to time, by Percy and others intrusted with the management of Scottish affairs, were promptly attended to, and the requisite supplies forwarded to the different garrisons. Part of these supplies, as has been already hinted, had reached Lochmaben before the late rencounter; most of the other fortified places had received their quota; and the garrison of the Castle of Crawford were in daily expectation of their proportion.