Secret of the Old Tower by Carol Amorosi

Author:Carol Amorosi [Amorosi, Carol]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-04-05T16:00:00+00:00

With the wake depleting the stores of fresh meat, Angus was pleased when Hamish invited him to go hunting. He hoped this meant his old friend was beginning to trust him again. Angus and Hamish rode side by side through the gorse of the scrubby moorland beneath the heights of Ben MacDuibh the following morning. Armed with shotguns, they hunted hares and game birds through the uncultivated lands. Though they saw several deer, the penalties for killing them were high, and the soldiers often patrolled this area.

"Ye know, from this angle, the peak of Ben MacDuibh does look like a pig. I never noticed it from the manor," Angus said. Folk referred to the mountain as the black pig, from the Gaelic, a' mhuc-dhubh.

"Aye, but the only pig around here is that sergeant. Ye wait and see, he'll be along soon. Every time I hunt. Never fails." Right on cue, three men appeared on the horizon.

"I told ye he would show up," Hamish growled as the men came over the hill opposite. "We still can't hunt deer or own muskets or rifles, but the soldiers have grown more lenient about using shotguns for small game." He explained to Angus.

Angus looked up to see Sergeant Wolfe and two deputies riding toward them. Hamish dismounted and opened his saddlebags, placing the shotgun on the ground before him. Realizing this must happen frequently, Angus followed suit.

"After ye check their bags, scour the area to make sure they don't have a deer lying in hiding somewhere," Sergeant Wolfe ordered his men.

"C'mon, we go through this dance every time," Hamish said to the sergeant.

"Aye, and I will continue until I catch ye," Sergeant Wolfe retorted. "And one o' these days, I will. Ye be mindful o' that."

"If I don't shoot 'em, ye will ne'er catch me," Hamish said.

They watched the deputies empty the saddlebags scattering the contents on the ground. They did not pick anything up and return it to the bags but left everything strewn in the grass. Once they finished searching their belongings, the men fanned out across the moorlands, looking for a deer carcass. The farther they went, the deeper the scowl on Sergeant Wolfe's face. Eventually, he called his men back.

"I'll get ye yet, MacKay." Sergeant Wolfe mounted his horse, giving Hamish a snarl. Then he glanced at Angus. "And ye, related to Lord Shelton. Ha! Thought ye'd play me for a fool? I'll be keeping an eye on ye as well." His lips curled in a scowl.

Before he rode off, Sergeant Wolfe turned to Hamish. "Give my greetings to the lovely Catriona, if ye would." He raced after his men as Hamish grumbled, "the hell, I will."

"I didn't realize things were still so bad here," Angus said to Hamish as he repacked his bag. He ran his hands through the scrubby grass to make sure to grab everything he'd had in his pack. Angus grimaced as a thorn poked into his thumb and rose, placing the pouches back on his horse.

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