第49章

Whentheyhadwalkedabouthalf-an-hour，stillalongopenandwastegroundofthesamedescription，theycametothestumpofanancientoak，which，fromitsrelics，appearedtohavebeenatonetimeatreeofverylargesize。InanadjacenthollowtheyfoundseveralHighlanders，withahorseortwo。

Theyhadnotjoinedthemaboveafewminutes，whichWaverley’sattendantemployed，inallprobability，incommunicatingthecauseoftheirdelay(forthewordsDuncanDuroch’’wereoftenrepeated)，whenDuncanhimselfappeared，outofbreathindeed，andwithallthesymptomsofhavingrunforhislife，butlaughing，andinhighspiritsatthesuccessofthestratagembywhichhehadbaffledhispursuers。This，indeed，Waverleycouldeasilyconceivemightbeamatterofnogreatdifficultytotheactivemountaineer，whowasperfectlyacquaintedwiththeground，andtracedhiscoursewithafirmnessandconfidencetowhichhispursuersmusthavebeenstrangers。Thealarmwhichheexcitedseemedstilltocontinue，foradroppingshotortwowereheardatagreatdistance，whichseemedtoserveasanadditiontothemirthofDuncanandhiscomrades。

Themountaineernowresumedthearmswithwhichhehadentrustedourhero，givinghimtounderstandthatthedangersofthejourneywerehappilysurmounted。Waverleywasthenmountedupononeofthehorses，achangewhichthefatigueofthenightandhisrecentillnessrenderedexceedinglyacceptable。

Hisportmanteauwasplacedonanotherpony，Duncanmountedathird，andtheysetforwardataroundpace，accompaniedbytheirescort。Nootherincidentmarkedthecourseofthatnight’sjourney，andatthedawnofmorningtheyattainedthebanksofarapidriver。Thecountryaroundwasatoncefertileandromantic。Steepbanksofwoodwerebrokenbycornfields，whichthisyearpresentedanabundantharvest，alreadyinagreatmeasurecutdown。

Ontheoppositebankoftheriver，andpartlysurroundedbyawindingofitsstream，stoodalargeandmassivecastle，thehalf-ruinedturretsofwhichwerealreadyglitteringinthefirstraysofthesun。<>Itwasinformanoblongsquare，ofsizeNoteQ。CastleofDoune。<！p252>

sufficienttocontainalargecourtinthecentre。Thetowersateachangleofthesquarerosehigherthanthewallsofthebuilding，andwereintheirturnsurmountedbyturrets，differinginheight，andirregularinshape。Upononeoftheseasentinelwatched，whosebonnetandplaidstreaminginthewinddeclaredhimtobeaHighlander，asabroadwhiteensign，whichfloatedfromanothertower，announcedthatthegarrisonwasheldbytheinsurgentadherentsoftheHouseofStuart。

Passinghastilythroughasmallandmeantown，wheretheirappearanceexcitedneithersurprisenorcuriosityinthefewpeasantswhomthelaboursoftheharvestbegantosummonfromtheirrepose，thepartycrossedanancientandnarrowbridgeofseveralarches，andturningtotheleft，upanavenueofhugeoldsycamores，Waverleyfoundhimselfinfrontofthegloomyyetpicturesquestructurewhichhehadadmiredatadistance。Ahugeiron-grateddoor，whichformedtheexteriordefenceofthegateway，wasalreadythrownbacktoreceivethem；andasecond，heavilyconstructedofoak，andstuddedthicklywithironnails，beingnextopened，admittedthemintotheinteriorcourtyard。AgentlemandressedintheHighlandgarb，andhavingawhitecockadeinhisbonnet，assistedWaverleytodismountfromhishorse，andwithmuchcourtesybidhimwelcometothecastle。

Thegovernor，forsowemusttermhim，havingconductedWaverleytoahalf-ruinousapartment，where，however，therewasasmallcamp-bed，andhavingofferedhimanyrefreshmentwhichhedesired，wasthenabouttoleavehim。

Willyounotaddtoyourcivilities，’’saidWaverley，afterhavingmadetheusualacknowledgment，byhavingthekindnesstoinformmewhereIam，andwhetherornotIamtoconsidermyselfasaprisoner？’’

IamnotatlibertytobesoexplicituponthissubjectasI

couldwish。Briefly，however