Kings of Carrick

194 THE KINGS OF CARRICK.
finally welcomed by the lord of Cassillis himself to her own
home.
And now we turn to Auchendrane and to more serious on-
goings.
CHAPTER XV.
AUCHENDRANE TRIES TO RID HIMSELF OF DANGER.
Wroth was Mure of Auchendrane when word was brought
to him by his son James that his friend, the Laird of Bar-
gany, had concluded a treaty of peace with their sworn foe,
the Earl of Cassillis.
James heard the tidings in Ayr, and satisfied himself they
were genuine. They evoked no small sensation in the county
town. The feud of the Kennedys had lasted so long that it
had come to be recognised as a necessary chapter in current
Ayrshire history. Now, to all appearance, it was at an end.
Carrick was henceforth to slumber at ease ; the call to arms
was no more to be heard ; midnight rides by the Boon, the
Girvan, and the Stinchar, on errands of destruction or of
revenge, were passed away ; and forays across the hills to
Galloway were ended. The burghers of Ayr discussed the
situation in all its phases ; and the douce townsmen rubbed
their hands, and predicted that Bargany and the Earl of
Cassillis would not long be able to keep their hands off one
another. How could they be expected to ? reasoned these
worthies. The feud was chronic. It had been going on for
years ; blood had been shed like water — how, then, could the
Earl and Bargany, by a compact betwixt themselves, at once
bring order out of confusion, and still the long-raging storm
into a calm ? The burghers could not answer their own
question ; so they very naturally concluded that it was
unanswerable.