"But, Will, were you in the engagement?"
"What need ye speir that? humph! Where was I else but in the engagement?"
"And did you stay till it was over?"
"Humph! I stayed lang aneuch, I think! humph! It is needless to wait ower lang on a seen bad job. Humph!"
But the real truth of the story was, that instead of staying till the battle was ower, Will didna stay till it began, nor near that time. He was an auld-farrant chap Will, and had a great deal o' foresight; and when he saw us begin to stop, and the English standing peaceably before us, herding us, as he ca'ed it, he was sure there were more enemies coming up behind.
"Will, if I were sure that ye deserted our cause, and came off before the engagement began," said I, "although I have not a man left that I ken o', but Will o' Craik and yoursel, may I be a coward and a traitor if I wadna cut you down i' the place where you stand."
Will had nothing to say for himself but "Humph! humph!" and he scratched his head and grumbled. I was quite indignant at the old fellow, and was getting into a greater rage than ever I hae been in at a friend sinsyne, when all at once I heard a weak tremulous voice say, "Daddy's boy cold."
"Aih-hay-hay!" shouted Will Laidlaw, as loud as he could yell: "Hilloa, hilloa, hilloa!"—and he sprang first on the back of his own horse with his feet, and from that he darted upon one of those that carried the packs. When I rode up he was sitting on the rumple o' the beast, hugging the child, that he had deemed lost, in his bosom, kissing him, and exclaiming,—"Aih, my man! my dear man, are ye safe? are ye safe? God bless auld Will Nicol! God bless auld Will Nicol!"
It was impossible for two down-cast and broken-hearted warriors to be more uplifted at any incident than Will Laidlaw and I were, at discovering that the boy was safe; and even auld Will Nicol began to recover some confidence.—"I heard you giving a chap some charges about him, that I kend weel caredna if his head were off,—od, he was ane o' the hard-headed Olivers. What cares an Oliver for a man's life, or a bairn's either?—Sae I thinks, sin my young master has ta'en a liking for the bairn, I's e'en gang and look after him. It is a good sign of a young warrior to like to save women and bairns. Sae I gangs, and sae I thinks sin I is bringing away this wee chap out o' danger, I may as weel bring something wi' me as naething; sae I brings aught o' the best horses, and the best laden anes that I could wale, and bound for the Border. A fashous job I hae had wi' them a' night."