Kidnapped

Alan and David skulk through the brush to the house of James Stewart, the man who collects funds in Appin for the Jacobites’ exiled leader. They find James and his family frantic with fear and activity. James is sure that blame will fall on him for the Red Fox’s murder. Stewart clansmen come and go, burning documents and hiding weapons and other contraband.

James offers what support and hospitality he can, giving the two fugitives a change of clothes, some weapons, and the few coins he can scrape together. He then apologizes but insists he will have to post warrants for David and Alan. Alan takes this in stride as the natural course of events, but David balks at being blamed for the Red Fox’s murder, suggesting that James should post a warrant for the actual murder. The narrator says that James and Alan “cr[y] out in horror” at the thought, protesting that if they do that, “the lad might be caught” (104). Reluctantly, David consents to James’s plan to post warrants for them, and they leave.

Alan and David make their way through the countryside. They stop only for Alan to give news of the murder at houses they pass, a duty so important that David muses Alan “must pause to attend to it even while fleeing for his life” (105).

Suddenly, Alan stops, realizing he led them to an exposed riverbed that is likely to be watched. They rush and leap rock to rock across the river, and David almost tumbles to his doom over a waterfall. They quickly scramble into a hiding spot only to see the valley is covered with redcoats searching for them. Alan apologizes that he led them into such a position. They try to wait out the soldiers, but the heat of the day eventually drives them out of hiding. By a turn of luck, they are able to slip away without being spotted.

David and Alan come to the Heugh of Corrynakeigh, a cave with a river running through it. They spend five happy days there, fishing, sparring with their swords, and planning their next steps. Alan borrows his silver button back from David and uses it to make a signal to summon a friend, Maccoll, from a nearby village. When Maccoll arrives, Alan sends him back to James Stewart with a note asking for money. The man returns some days later with dire news from Stewart’s wife. James has been arrested by the redcoats, though they still blame Alan and David for the murder. Stewart’s wife sent what little money she had to spare and the wanted notice describing the two fugitives.

On reading the notice, David realizes the description of him is so vague that he could leave Alan and walk openly on the road. Alan, for his part, is pleased to have his French coat so well remembered despite it making him easy to spot. Though Alan’s vanity and pride place them both at risk, David keeps these thoughts to himself and refuses to leave his friend.

With fresh news and money, David and Alan continue. They decide that their best course is to head east even though it’s a more exposed route. David thinks it would be best for the both of them if he and Alan parted, but he doesn’t suggest it.

The going is hard and slow, with the two crawling more often than walking. When they reach a spot to rest, David takes watch but is so tired that he falls into a doze. He wakes to see a party of soldiers coming their way, beating the bushes as they go. He rouses Alan. The two flee on hands and knees at a desperate pace, and they are able to escape. David begs to sleep, but Alan insists they press on through the night or risk running into another group of soldiers. As they begin to clear the moor, they are waylaid by men serving Cluny Macpherson, a Jacobite chieftain and friend of Alan. The men take Alan and David to Cluny’s hideout. David is so weak that Cluny’s men carry him there. 

The two are led to one of Cluny’s many hiding places, a simple hut that is nevertheless furnished with luxuries. There, they are welcomed by the fugitive chieftain. After a meal together, Cluny invites the two friends to play a game of cards. David attempts to excuse himself. He is tired to the point of illness and believes gambling to be sinful and ungentlemanly. This wounds Cluny’s pride, but he ultimately excuses David, who collapses into a delirious sleep for nearly two days.

While David is recovering, Alan plays cards with Cluny and loses both his and David’s money. Cluny is incensed that the two friends think him so inhospitable that he would send them back out without their money. David is furious with Alan for losing the money and embarrassed to have to ask Cluny for it back. Cluny gives the money back, and the two men return to their journey. 

David is still ill and angry, and Alan, who is unaccustomed to shame and wounded pride, receives David’s anger poorly. Alan apologizes and tries to force a reconciliation between the two, but David continues to nurse his anger. Alan, seeing David struggling against fatigue, offers to take his pack, but David refuses. After this olive branch is rejected, Alan begins teasing David. David presses on, sick, exhausted, cold, and miserable, imagining that his best revenge against Alan would be to fall over and die.

Eventually, David breaks under Alan’s teasing and responds with cruel, personal insults. He then challenges his friend to a duel. Alan reluctantly draws his sword but then throws it to the ground, refusing to fight. Knowing no apology can make up for what he did, David puts pride aside, throws himself to the ground, and tells Alan he’s dying from his sickness and exhaustion. Alan carries David to a nearby house for care, forgiving the insults.

Alan takes David to the first house they come across, which luckily belongs to a clansman aligned with the Stewarts. They call for a doctor and look after David for nearly a month while he recovers. All the while, Alan hides in the countryside, sneaking into town to visit David when he can. The whole town learns that the two fugitives are housed there, but David is unconcerned, noting that among Highlanders, a secret like that might be well kept “for a century” (138).

While recovering, David is visited by Robin Oig, a son of Rob Roy. As Robin is leaving, he runs into Alan. The two men come from rival clans and are equal in their pride. Before long, it looks as if they are going to duel. Just then, David’s host, knowing both Alan and Robin are musicians, suggests that the two men could settle their dispute by bagpipes instead of swords. They agree, and though things remain tense at first, eventually Robin plays a traditional song from Alan’s country, and Alan becomes willing to concede that Robin is the superior piper.