214 A SCOTTISH BLOOD-FEUD 



but for Bargany's listening to the laird of Blairquhan's 

 evil counsel. It happened on a day that Lady Bargany 

 and her sister were riding, with a small following, into 

 Ayr. The earl spied the party, and, recognising their 

 white-and-red liveries, sent a clump of twenty spears to 

 reconnoitre them. Bargany himself not being there, the 

 party was suffered to proceed unmolested. The incident 

 was not lost on Blairquhan, who hied to Bargany, and, 

 assuring him that it had been the earl's intention to have 

 his life, finished by taunting him with cowardice in not 

 giving him, Blairquhan, leave to put an end to the trouble 

 at once. ' How could you do that ? ' asked Bargany. ' To- 

 morrow,' whispered the tempter, ' he is to ride to Maybole 

 from Craigneill, and on his return we may all do as we 

 please.' ' Even as you please,' quoth Bargany, shrugging 

 his shoulders and turning away from his kinsman. 



Blairquhan was not slow to act on the permission. An 

 ambuscade was prepared by the wayside, and holes were 

 cut in the hedge ' to schutt me lord in the by-ganging.' 

 But even as the ambush laid for Culzean had miscarried, 

 so did this one, by timely warning conveyed to the in- 

 tended victim. 



The time had come for Cassilis to act in earnest, for it 

 was clear that the same country would not contain him 

 and his kinsman, Bargany. One snowy morning in De- 

 cember 1601, Bargany having been for some days in Ayr 

 on business, with a small following of a dozen spears, the 

 earl determined to attack him on his return, and to that 

 end assembled a body of two hundred horse and pike-men, 

 with twenty musketeers, at Maybole. Auchendrayne, who 

 seems to have been constantly in the confidence of both 

 parties, galloped to Ayr and warned Bargany of what was 



