CHAPTER V
LOCH ARKAIG
Day followed day with no sign of the soldiers, and as time passed, Rob wished most fervently that Muckle John had not disappeared so abruptly, leaving him in an unknown country with a helpless old man.
One morning there was a movement in Lovat's hut and the old chief stood peering out of the doorway looking very savage and uncouth. He had forgotten to place his wig on his head and the scattered tags of grey hair were caught by every gust of wind.
"Rob," he said at last, shivering with the cold, "take a day in the hills and learn where the English are and whether a French frigate is off the coast."
Only too glad to fall in with such a suggestion Rob prepared to set off at once. Suddenly Lord Lovat called to him.
"Rob," he said, "where did you come from that night?"
"I came from Culloden."
"Culloden—and did you meet anyone on the road?"
"Only Muckle John."
The Fraser's cold eyes swooped down on him like a hawk dropping from the clouds.