"Among the mountains--where you would not be wise to follow," replied the boy, boldly. The soldier perhaps interpreted this with some awkwardness or severity, for Huske exclaimed furiously-- "'Sdeath! you young rascal; do you speak thus to me?" "And why not, when I am a son of the Red MacGregor?" was the rash boy's response. "Zounds! I thought as much," exclaimed Huske, with a malevolent gleam in his eyes; "Come, my lad, don't let us quarrel about a few fish. I have a particular desire to see your worthy father--he is a fine fellow, and a good judge of other men's cattle. We want some of the latter for the garrison. Can you tell me where he is?" "Yes," said Ronald, with knitted brows and clenched teeth. "Where, my boy?" "Where you had better not seek him." "Pshaw! will not this bribe you?" said Huske, slipping three guineas from his purse into Ronald's hand. Though nurtured amid civil war and sore adversity, the poor boy knew well the value of the bribe so infamously offered by Huske, who had never forgotten nor forgiven his meetings with Rob Roy in Moffatdale and elsewhere. Ronald drew himself proudly up, and said-- "You ask me--you, a soldier--to betray my father?" "Nay, nay; to discover----" "To betray--Saxon captain, or Saxon dog, mince the words as you will!" "A mutinous cur; but I'll tame him yet," muttered the major. "You shall never get my father, alive at least; for he is strong and brave as Cuchullin!" "Some other Highland savage, I suppose; but, egad, we shall see." "Sir," said the soldier who acted as interpreter, "would it not be a good plan to let the young cub loose, and watch him well? in the end he would be sure to lead us to the old wolf's den." "He would scramble up rocks where none but a cat or a monkey could follow, or leave us all floundering to the neck in some treacherous bog. No, no, I know better than that. Offer him three guineas more." The soldier did so. "You might as well ask me to blow the fire with my mouth full of meal," was Ronald's contemptuous reply; "for I would rather die than betray any man--to a base Saxon churl least of all!" The soldier clenched his hand, but paused. "Threaten if you will; but strike not!" said Ronald, with his right hand on his dirk. "You little villain, would you dare to draw on us?" thundered Major Huske. "Yes, even if you stood at the head of all your men, and dared to lay a hand on me," replied Ronald, bursting into tears of passion and fury, as he flung the guineas full into Huske's face. Filled with rage by this insult, the latter rushed upon the brave boy and wrenched his dirk away. Ronald made a desperate resistance, he struggled kicked, bit, and fought; but he was soon dragged into the fort by the soldiers, who cast him, handcuffed, into a dark stone cell.