"It's the nobodies that have all the fun—real heroes don't count!" he continued ruefully, as he dusted himself from the bits of straw.
"Wait," said I; "you have not heard the third tale from Guy Mannering. Then there will be lots for you to do!"
"High time!" he answered with awful irony.
THE THIRD TALE FROM "GUY MANNERING"
THE RETURN OF DIRK HATTERAICK
One event deeply stirred all Solway-side in the year of Colonel Mannering's arrival at Woodbourne—the smugglers had returned in force, and proved themselves ripe for any desperate act. Their stronghold was as of old, the Isle of Man, from which they could descend in a few hours upon the Solway coasts. Stricter laws and more severe penalties had only rendered them fiercer than of old, and in case of need, they did not hesitate in the least to shed blood.
As of yore also, their leader was the savage Dirk Hatteraick, under whom served a Lieutenant named Brown. One of their first exploits was a daring attack upon the house of Woodbourne, where dwelt Colonel Mannering with his daughter and Lucy Bertram.
It happened thus. Mannering, in company with young Charles Hazlewood, was setting out for a loch some miles away to look at the skaters. Hazlewood had quite often come to visit the house of Woodbourne since Lucy Bertram went to live there. Suddenly a few men, each leading a laden horse, burst through the bushes, and, pressing straight across the lawn, made for the front door. Mannering hastened to demand what they wanted. They were revenue officers, they said, and as they knew that Colonel Mannering had served in the East, they called upon him in the King's name to protect them and their captures.
