166 HISTORY OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 



Torquil Dubh. The latter, being summoned to answer the 

 charges, was, not unnaturally, unwilling to trust himself to 

 the tender mercies of a Court, where his case had probably 

 been pre-judged. He therefore disobeyed the summons, 

 and was consequently declared a rebel. His father-in-law, 

 Rory Mor, was on 2ist March, 1596-7, compelled to bind 

 himself in the sum of ten thousand merks, "be the faith 

 and treuth of his body," to acknowledge the supremacy of 

 the King, and to make his men obey the King's lieutenant 

 in " repressing of the insolence " of the inhabitants of the 

 Isles and Highlands, the hostage for his obedience being 

 Donald, son of John Macleod of Raasay. It is probable 

 that Rory Mor had assisted his son-in-law in the raid on 

 Coigeach and Loch Broom. 



Rebel or no rebel, Torquil Dubh retained possession of 

 Lewis, and the other Torquil was riot a whit nearer the 

 consummation of his desires. Some decisive step had to be 

 taken, and a secret meeting was held between Torquil 

 Conanach, Mackenzie of Kintail, Murdoch, the bastard son 

 of old Ruari, and the Brieve of Lewis, to concert measures 

 for ousting the man in possession. It was decided that 

 there was only one way out of the difficulty, and that was 

 to get rid once for all of Black Torquil. " Bot," says Sir 

 Robert Gordon, "ther laiked one to execute the interpryse " 

 and considering the nature of the enterprise, this is not 

 surprising. In consideration, however, of a large reward, 

 the Brieve was at length induced to undertake the dirty 

 work of Torquil Conanach, who had neither the means, nor 

 perhaps the pluck, to enforce his claims in an open and 

 honourable manner. And this is how the treacherous 

 plan was carried out. 



The Brieve, who seems to have varied his judicial duties 

 with acts of downright piracy, was one day sailing with his 

 men in his great galley towards Rona, when he fell in with 

 a Dutch ship carrying a cargo of wine. We are told with 

 suggestive simplicity that he " took " the Dutchman. The 

 ship was brought to Ness, the Brieve's head-quarters being 

 at Habost. This capture led to important issues. Here 



