IN THE HIGHLANDS 19 



stepmother managed, througli the strategy of one of her 

 husband's retainers, to secure the blood-stained shirts of 

 the boys, and sent them to their grandfather, Alexander 

 the sixth, either at Brahan Castle or Eileandonan, and 

 Alexander at once despatched his son (our ance^or 

 Hector Roy) with the shirts along with him, as evidence 

 of the atrocious deed, to report the matter in Edinburgh. 

 His Majesty, on hearing of the crime, granted Hector a 

 commission of fire and sword against the Macleods, 

 and gave him a Crown Charter of the lands of Gairloch 

 in his own favour, dated 1494:. The two murderers 

 were soon afterwards slain near South Earadale. But 

 it took Eachainn Ruadh some years with his small army 

 of Kintail men before he could drive the Macleods out 

 of their stronghold of >>the Dun, or fort, on the rocky 

 peninsula not far from the present Gairloch Parish 

 Church, and he had many a tussle with them. For 

 instance, one morning he had reason to believe that some 

 of the head-men of the Macleods in the Dun were to 

 try to find their way to the south round the head of the 

 small bay of Ceann t-Sail, so, hiding himself behind a 

 rock which jutted out on the shore just below the 

 present Gairloch Bank, he waylaid them. The Macleods, 

 not having any suspicion that the enemy was anywhere 

 in the vicinity, came along singly, and as each one 

 passed he rushed at him, stabbed him with his dirk, 

 and dragged his body behind the rock, and was quite 

 ready for the next. So his " bag " was three Macleods 

 before breakfast, and thus he avenged the deaths of 

 his two little nephews. 



But peace by no means came at once, for the Macleods 



