Both Sides the Border | Page 7

be betrayed by the glint of sun or moon upon them.
Oswald at once took up the armour, and went down the steps into the
courtyard, so that the sound of his hammer should not disturb the
sleepers. As, with slight but often repeated blows, he got out the dents
that had been made in the fray, he thought over what his mother had
been saying. To him also the death of three of the men, who had for
years been his companions, came as a shock. It was seldom, indeed,
that the forays for cattle lifting had such serious consequences. As a
rule they were altogether bloodless; and it was only because of the long
feud with the Bairds, and the fact that some warning of the coming of
the party had, in spite of their precaution, reached Allan Baird; that on
the present occasion such serious results had ensued.
Had it not been for this, the cattle would have been driven off without
resistance, for Allan Baird's own household would not have ventured to
attack so strong a party. No attempt would have been made to assault
his hold; for he had often heard his father say that, even in the case of a

blood feud, he held that houses should not be attacked, and their
occupants slain. If both parties met under arms the matter was different;
but that, in spite of the slaying of his own father by them, he would not
kill even a Baird on his hearthstone.
Still, a Baird had been killed, and assuredly William Baird would not
be deterred by any similar scruples. His pitiless ferocity was notorious,
and even his own countrymen cried out against some of his deeds, and
the Earl of Douglas had several times threatened to hand him over to
the English authorities; but the Bairds were powerful, and could, with
their allies, place four or five hundred men in the field; and, in the
difficult country in which they lived, could have given a great deal of
trouble, even to Douglas. Therefore nothing had come of his threats,
and the Bairds had continued to be the terror of that part of the English
border that was the most convenient for their operations.
Oswald was now past sixteen, and promised to be as big a man as his
father, who was a fine specimen of the hardy Northumbrian race--tall,
strong, and sinewy. He had felt hurt when his father had refused to
allow him to take part in the foray.
"Time enough, lad, time enough," he had said, when the lad had made
his petition to do so. "You are not strong enough, yet, to hold your own
against one of the Bairds' moss troopers, should it come to fighting. In
another couple of years it will be time enough to think of your going on
such an excursion as this. You are clever with your arms, I will freely
admit; as you ought to be, seeing that you practise for two hours a day
with the men. But strength counts as well as skill, and you want both
when you ride against the Bairds; besides, at present you have still
much to learn about the paths through the fells, and across the morasses.
If you are ever to become a leader, you must know them well enough to
traverse them on the darkest night, or through the thickest mist."
"I think that I do know most of them, Father."
"Yes, I think you do, on this side of the border; but you must learn
those on the other side, as well. They are, indeed, of even greater
importance in case of pursuit, or for crossing the border unobserved.

Hitherto, I have forbidden you to cross the line, but in future Mat
Wilson shall go with you. He knows the Scotch passes and defiles,
better than any in the band; and so that you don't go near the Bairds'
country, you can traverse them safely, so long as the truce lasts."
For years, indeed, Oswald, on one of the hardy little horses, had ridden
over the country in company with one or other of the men; and had
become familiar with every morass, moor, fell, and pass, down to the
old Roman wall to the south, and as far north as Wooler, being
frequently absent for three or four days at a time. He had several times
ridden into Scotland, to visit the Armstrongs and other friends of the
family; but he had always travelled by the roads, and knew nothing of
the hill paths on that side. His life had, in fact, been far from dull, for
they had many friends and connections in the villages at the foot of the
Cheviots, and he was frequently away from home.