Chapter XX. The Flight in the Heather: The Rocks

by Robert Louis Stevenson

　　Sometimes we walked, sometimes ran; and as it drew on to morning,walked ever the less and ran the more. Though, upon its face,that country appeared to be a desert, yet there were huts andhouses of the people, of which we must have passed more thantwenty, hidden in quiet places of the hills. When we came to oneof these, Alan would leave me in the way, and go himself and rapupon the side of the house and speak awhile at the window withsome sleeper awakened. This was to pass the news; which, in thatcountry, was so much of a duty that Alan must pause to attend toit even while fleeing for his life; and so well attended to byothers, that in more than half of the houses where we called theyhad heard already of the murder. In the others, as well as Icould make out (standing back at a distance and hearing a strangetongue), the news was received with more of consternation thansurprise.For all our hurry, day began to come in while we were still farfrom any shelter. It found us in a prodigious valley, strewnwith rocks and where ran a foaming river. Wild mountains stoodaround it; there grew there neither grass nor trees; and I havesometimes thought since then, that it may have been the valleycalled Glencoe, where the massacre was in the time of KingWilliam. But for the details of our itinerary, I am all to seek;our way lying now by short cuts, now by great detours; our pacebeing so hurried, our time of journeying usually by night; andthe names of such places as I asked and heard being in the Gaelictongue and the more easily forgotten.The first peep of morning, then, showed us this horrible place,and I could see Alan knit his brow."This is no fit place for you and me," he said. "This is a placethey're bound to watch."And with that he ran harder than ever down to the water-side, ina part where the river was split in two among three rocks. Itwent through with a horrid thundering that made my belly quake;and there hung over the lynn a little mist of spray. Alan lookedneither to the right nor to the left, but jumped clean upon themiddle rock and fell there on his hands and knees to checkhimself, for that rock was small and he might have pitched overon the far side. I had scarce time to measure the distance or tounderstand the peril before I had followed him, and he had caughtand stopped me.So there we stood, side by side upon a small rock slippery withspray, a far broader leap in front of us, and the river dinningupon all sides. When I saw where I was, there came on me a deadlysickness of fear, and I put my hand over my eyes. Alan took meand shook me; I saw he was speaking, but the roaring of the fallsand the trouble of my mind prevented me from hearing; only I sawhis face was red with anger, and that he stamped upon the rock.The same look showed me the water raging by, and the mist hangingin the air: and with that I covered my eyes again and shuddered.The next minute Alan had set the brandy bottle to my lips, andforced me to drink about a gill, which sent the blood into myhead again. Then, putting his hands to his mouth, and his mouthto my ear, he shouted, "Hang or drown!" and turning his back uponme, leaped over the farther branch of the stream, and landedsafe.I was now alone upon the rock, which gave me the more room; thebrandy was singing in my ears; I had this good example freshbefore me, and just wit enough to see that if I did not leap atonce, I should never leap at all. I bent low on my knees andflung myself forth, with that kind of anger of despair that hassometimes stood me in stead of courage. Sure enough, it was butmy hands that reached the full length; these slipped, caughtagain, slipped again; and I was sliddering back into the lynn,when Alan seized me, first by the hair, then by the collar, andwith a great strain dragged me into safety.Never a word he said, but set off running again for his life, andI must stagger to my feet and run after him. I had been wearybefore, but now I was sick and bruised, and partly drunken withthe brandy; I kept stumbling as I ran, I had a stitch that camenear to overmaster me; and when at last Alan paused under a greatrock that stood there among a number of others, it was none toosoon for David Balfour.A great rock I have said; but by rights it was two rocks leaningtogether at the top, both some twenty feet high, and at the firstsight inaccessible. Even Alan (though you may say he had as goodas four hands) failed twice in an attempt to climb them; and itwas only at the third trial, and then by standing on my shouldersand leaping up with such force as I thought must have broken mycollar-bone, that he secured a lodgment. Once there, he let downhis leathern girdle; and with the aid of that and a pair ofshallow footholds in the rock, I scrambled up beside him.Then I saw why we had come there; for the two rocks, being bothsomewhat hollow on the top and sloping one to the other, made akind of dish or saucer, where as many as three or four men mighthave lain hidden.All this while Alan had not said a word, and had run and climbedwith such a savage, silent frenzy of hurry, that I knew that hewas in mortal fear of some miscarriage. Even now we were on therock he said nothing, nor so much as relaxed the frowning lookupon his face; but clapped flat down, and keeping only one eyeabove the edge of our place of shelter scouted all round thecompass. The dawn had come quite, clear; we could see the stonysides of the valley, and its bottom, which was bestrewed withrocks, and the river, which went from one side to another, andmade white falls; but nowhere the smoke of a house, nor anyliving creature but some eagles screaming round a cliff.Then at last Alan smiled."Ay" said he, "now we have a chance;" and then looking at me withsome amusement. "Ye're no very gleg[25] at the jumping," said he.[25]Brisk.At this I suppose I coloured with mortification, for he added atonce, "Hoots! small blame to ye! To be feared of a thing and yetto do it, is what makes the prettiest kind of a man. And thenthere was water there, and water's a thing that dauntons even me.No, no," said Alan, "it's no you that's to blame, it's me."I asked him why."Why," said he, "I have proved myself a gomeral this night. Forfirst of all I take a wrong road, and that in my own country ofAppin; so that the day has caught us where we should never havebeen; and thanks to that, we lie here in some danger and mairdiscomfort. And next (which is the worst of the two, for a manthat has been so much among the heather as myself) I have comewanting a water-bottle, and here we lie for a long summer's daywith naething but neat spirit. Ye may think that a small matter;but before it comes night, David, ye'll give me news of it."I was anxious to redeem my character, and offered, if he wouldpour out the brandy, to run down and fill the bottle at theriver."I wouldnae waste the good spirit either," says he. "It's been agood friend to you this night; or in my poor opinion, ye wouldstill be cocking on yon stone. And what's mair," says he, "yemay have observed (you that's a man of so much penetration) thatAlan Breck Stewart was perhaps walking quicker than hisordinar'.""You!" I cried, "you were running fit to burst.""Was I so?" said he. "Well, then, ye may depend upon it, therewas nae time to be lost. And now here is enough said; gang youto your sleep, lad, and I'll watch."Accordingly, I lay down to sleep; a little peaty earth haddrifted in between the top of the two rocks, and some brackengrew there, to be a bed to me; the last thing I heard was stillthe crying of the eagles.I dare say it would be nine in the morning when I was roughlyawakened, and found Alan's hand pressed upon my mouth."Wheesht!" he whispered. "Ye were snoring.""Well," said I, surprised at his anxious and dark face, "and whynot?"He peered over the edge of the rock, and signed to me to do thelike.It was now high day, cloudless, and very hot. The valley was asclear as in a picture. About half a mile up the water was a campof red-coats; a big fire blazed in their midst, at which somewere cooking; and near by, on the top of a rock about as high asours, there stood a sentry, with the sun sparkling on his arms.All the way down along the river-side were posted other sentries;here near together, there widelier scattered; some planted likethe first, on places of command, some on the ground level andmarching and counter-marching, so as to meet half-way. Higher upthe glen, where the ground was more open, the chain of posts wascontinued by horse-soldiers, whom we could see in the distanceriding to and fro. Lower down, the infantry continued; but asthe stream was suddenly swelled by the confluence of aconsiderable burn, they were more widely set, and only watchedthe fords and stepping-stones.I took but one look at them, and ducked again into my place. Itwas strange indeed to see this valley, which had lain so solitaryin the hour of dawn, bristling with arms and dotted with the redcoats and breeches."Ye see," said Alan, "this was what I was afraid of, Davie: thatthey would watch the burn-side. They began to come in about twohours ago, and, man! but ye're a grand hand at the sleeping!We're in a narrow place. If they get up the sides of the hill,they could easy spy us with a glass; but if they'll only keep inthe foot of the valley, we'll do yet. The posts are thinner downthe water; and, come night, we'll try our hand at getting bythem.""And what are we to do till night?" I asked."Lie here," says he, "and birstle."That one good Scotch word, "birstle," was indeed the most of thestory of the day that we had now to pass. You are to rememberthat we lay on the bare top of a rock, like scones upon a girdle;the sun beat upon us cruelly; the rock grew so heated, a mancould scarce endure the touch of it; and the little patch ofearth and fern, which kept cooler, was only large enough for oneat a time. We took turn about to lie on the naked rock, whichwas indeed like the position of that saint that was martyred on agridiron; and it ran in my mind how strange it was, that in thesame climate and at only a few days' distance, I should havesuffered so cruelly, first from cold upon my island and now fromheat upon this rock.All the while we had no water, only raw brandy for a drink, whichwas worse than nothing; but we kept the bottle as cool as wecould, burying it in the earth, and got some relief by bathingour breasts and temples.The soldiers kept stirring all day in the bottom of the valley,now changing guard, now in patrolling parties hunting among therocks. These lay round in so great a number, that to look formen among them was like looking for a needle in a bottle of hay;and being so hopeless a task, it was gone about with the lesscare. Yet we could see the soldiers pike their bayonets amongthe heather, which sent a cold thrill into my vitals; and theywould sometimes hang about our rock, so that we scarce dared tobreathe.It was in this way that I first heard the right English speech;one fellow as he went by actually clapping his hand upon thesunny face of the rock on which we lay, and plucking it off againwith an oath. "I tell you it's 'ot," says he; and I was amazed atthe clipping tones and the odd sing-song in which he spoke, andno less at that strange trick of dropping out the letter "h." Tobe sure, I had heard Ransome; but he had taken his ways from allsorts of people, and spoke so imperfectly at the best, that I setdown the most of it to childishness. My surprise was all thegreater to hear that manner of speaking in the mouth of a grownman; and indeed I have never grown used to it; nor yet altogetherwith the English grammar, as perhaps a very critical eye mighthere and there spy out even in these memoirs.The tediousness and pain of these hours upon the rock grew onlythe greater as the day went on; the rock getting still the hotterand the sun fiercer. There were giddiness, and sickness, andsharp pangs like rheumatism, to be supported. I minded then, andhave often minded since, on the lines in our Scotch psalm: --"The moon by night thee shall not smite,Nor yet the sun by day;"and indeed it was only by God's blessing that we were neither ofus sun-smitten.At last, about two, it was beyond men's bearing, and there wasnow temptation to resist, as well as pain to thole. For the sunbeing now got a little into the west, there came a patch of shadeon the east side of our rock, which was the side sheltered fromthe soldiers."As well one death as another," said Alan, and slipped over theedge and dropped on the ground on the shadowy side.I followed him at once, and instantly fell all my length, so weakwas I and so giddy with that long exposure. Here, then, we layfor an hour or two, aching from head to foot, as weak as water,and lying quite naked to the eye of any soldier who should havestrolled that way. None came, however, all passing by on theother side; so that our rock continued to be our shield even inthis new position.Presently we began again to get a little strength; and as thesoldiers were now lying closer along the river-side, Alanproposed that we should try a start. I was by this time afraidof but one thing in the world; and that was to be set back uponthe rock; anything else was welcome to me; so we got ourselves atonce in marching order, and began to slip from rock to rock oneafter the other, now crawling flat on our bellies in the shade,now making a run for it, heart in mouth.The soldiers, having searched this side of the valley after afashion, and being perhaps somewhat sleepy with the sultriness ofthe afternoon, had now laid by much of their vigilance, and stooddozing at their posts or only kept a look-out along the banks ofthe river; so that in this way, keeping down the valley and atthe same time towards the mountains, we drew steadily away fromtheir neighbourhood. But the business was the most wearing I hadever taken part in. A man had need of a hundred eyes in everypart of him, to keep concealed in that uneven country and withincry of so many and scattered sentries. When we must pass an openplace, quickness was not all, but a swift judgment not only ofthe lie of the whole country, but of the solidity of every stoneon which we must set foot; for the afternoon was now fallen sobreathless that the rolling of a pebble sounded abroad like apistol shot, and would start the echo calling among the hills andcliffs.By sundown we had made some distance, even by our slow rate ofprogress, though to be sure the sentry on the rock was stillplainly in our view. But now we came on something that put allfears out of season; and that was a deep rushing burn, that toredown, in that part, to join the glen river. At the sight of thiswe cast ourselves on the ground and plunged head and shoulders inthe water; and I cannot tell which was the more pleasant, thegreat shock as the cool stream went over us, or the greed withwhich we drank of it.We lay there (for the banks hid us), drank again and again,bathed our chests, let our wrists trail in the running water tillthey ached with the chill; and at last, being wonderfullvrenewed, we got out the meal-bag and made drammach in the ironpan. This, though it is but cold water mingled with oatmeal, yetmakes a good enough dish for a hungry man; and where there are nomeans of making fire, or (as in our case) good reason for notmaking one, it is the chief stand-by of those who have taken tothe heather.As soon as the shadow of the night had fallen, we set forthagain, at first with the same caution, but presently with moreboldness, standing our full height and stepping out at a goodpace of walking. The way was very intricate, lying up the steepsides of mountains and along the brows of cliffs; clouds had comein with the sunset, and the night was dark and cool; so that Iwalked without much fatigue, but in continual fear of falling androlling down the mountains, and with no guess at our direction.The moon rose at last and found us still on the road; it was inits last quarter, and was long beset with clouds; but afterawhile shone out and showed me many dark heads of mountains, andwas reflected far underneath us on the narrow arm of a sea-loch.At this sight we both paused: I struck with wonder to find myselfso high and walking (as it seemed to me) upon clouds; Alan tomake sure of his direction.Seemingly he was well pleased, and he must certainly have judgedus out of ear-shot of all our enemies; for throughout the rest ofour night-march he beguiled the way with whistling of many tunes,warlike, merry, plaintive; reel tunes that made the foot gofaster; tunes of my own south country that made me fain to behome from my adventures; and all these, on the great, dark,desert mountains, making company upon the way.