December 



LXIV 



THREE hours before sunrise, on a winter morning of late, 

 a veteran marauder came to a bloody end. AHm 

 It was in the very heart of Mr. Crockett's ***&*? 

 ' raiders' land ' the grey Galloway hills. The old 

 fellow was making for his home in the fastnesses of 

 Cairnsmore: there was a price on his head; he had 

 many miles to travel, and he cared not to be out after 

 dawn, lest some officious hill shepherd or keeper should 

 mark his retreat and summon the scattered neighbours 

 to his destruction. The Fleet was in heavy spate, 

 rolling an inky torrent between him and his native 

 mountain. A few seasons ago and he would have 

 plunged into the flood and dried his jacket in the wind 

 as he ran ; but he had been conscious of late of a stiff- 

 ness in the joints and loins which inclined him to short 

 cuts and easy slopes ; a mile or so of detour across the 

 moor would land him at one end of the long and lofty 

 viaduct which carries the Portpatrick Railway over the 

 river. The outlaw had often used it, when not pressed 

 for time, after former nights of misdoing, so off he set 



