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"An excellent thought," I whispered back "Care to tell hireen-and-black tartan on the other side of the clearing, but when Jahtened up and whirled round, I saw that the visitor was in fact not Lieutenant Hayes but rather John Quincy Myers, as sporting a soldier’s plaid wrapped round his waist, the ends fluttering gaily in the breeze

This added a further touch of color to Myers’s already striking sartorial splendor Extremely tall, and decorated froh with several needles and a turkey quill, two ragged pheasant feathers knotted into his long black hair, a vest of dyed porcupine quills worn over a beaded shirt, his usual breechclout, and leggings wrapped with strings of small bells, the mountain man was hard to ht of Ja "Thought I should find you at your breakfast!"

Jaa handshake

"Aye, John Will ye join us?"

"Eryes," I chimed in, with a surreptitious look into the food hamper "Please do!"

John Quincy bowed cere off his hat

"Your servant, ht now, I coent-like"

"By whom?" Jamie asked warily

"Robbie McGillivray, he says his name is You know the man?"

"Aye, I do" Whatever Ja him to delve into the small chest where he kept his pistols "What’s the trouble?"

"Well" John Quincy scratched meditatively at his bushy black beard "’Twas his wife as asked ht good English, so may be as I’ve muddled the account of it a bit But what I think she said to rabbed holt of her son, sayin’ as how the boy was one o’ the ruffians who broke up Hillsborough, and aol in New Bern Only Robbie, he says no one’s takin’ a son of his anywhere, and--well, after that, the poor woht flustered and I couldn’t make out but one word to the dozen But I do believe Robbie would ’preciate it if you’d corabbed Roger’s bloodstained green coat, which was hung on a bush waiting to be cleaned Shrugging into it, he thrust the newly loaded pistol through his belt

"Where?" he said

Myers gestured econoe thumb, and pushed off into the holly bushes, Ja to this exchange, Germain in his aro help Grand-père," he told Germain He picked up a stick of firewood and put it into the little boy’s hands "You stay; protect Maman and little Joan from bad people"

"Oui, Papa" Gerrip on his stick, settling himself to defend the cailvie had been watching the byplay with rather glazed looks As Fergus picked up another length of firewood and plunged purposefully into the holly bushes, Private Ogilvie ca uneasily

"Er" he said "Perhaps Ishould I go for eant, do ye think, ma’am? If there’s like to be any trouble"

"No, no," I said hurriedly The last thing we needed was for Archie Hayes and his regiment to show up en masse This struck ly fro will be quite all right It’s sure to be nothing but aMr Fraser will sort it directly, never fear" Even as I spoke, I was sidling round the fire toward the spot where my medical supplies lay, sheltered froe, I grabbed ive Private Ogilvie some of the strawberry preserves for his toast? And Mr MacLennan would like a bit of honey in his coffee, I’o ander" Sh the holly leaves As the branches swished and crackled behind s A faint chime of bells reached me on the rainy wind; I turned toward the sound, and broke into a run

IT WAS SOME WAY; I was out of breath and sweating froht the under way; I could hear the buzz of talk froement or howls of disappointment as yet A feny speci their arain; the wetness glea shoulders and plastered swirls of dark body hair flat against the pale skins of chests and forearh; John Quincy threaded his way adroitly through the knots of spectators and co cordially to this and that acquaintance as we passed On the far side of the crowd, a s to ood"

"Nay bother, Robbie," Jamie assured him "What’s to do, then?"

McGillivray, who looked distinctly harried, glanced at the strongmen and their supporters, then jerked his head toward the nearby trees We followed hie stones wrapped with rope, which I assu

"It’s your son, is it, Rob?" Ja a water-filled pine branch

"Aye," Robbie answered, "or it was"

That sounded sinister I saw Jamie’s hand brush the butt of his pistol; mine went to my medical kit

"What’s happened?" I asked "Is he hurt?"

"Not him," McGillivray replied cryptically, and ducked ahead, beneath a drooping chestnut bough hung with scarlet creeper

Just beyond was a s, tufted with dead grass and studded with pine saplings As Fergus and I ducked under the creeper after Jae wo as she raised the broken tree lih, and relaxed fractionally

"Wer ist das?" she asked suspiciously, eyeing us Then John Quincy appeared from under the creeper, and she lowered the club, her solidly handso me den Jalancing between Fergus and Jamie to inspect me closely