Fiction > Book editions > London, 1889 - Master of Ballantrae

THE JOURNEY IN THE WILDERNESS. 313
tlie paiutetl braves may be compared to that of my Lord
President Culloden among- the chiefs of our own
Highlanders at the. 'forty-five ; that is as much as to
say, he was, to these men, reason's only speaking
trumpet, and counsels of peace and moderation, if they
w^ere to prevail at all, must prevail singly through
his influence. If, then, he should return, the province
must lie open to all the abominable tragedies of Indian
war — the houses blaze, the wayfarer be cut off,
and the men of the woods collect their usual dis-
gusting spoil of human scalps. On the other side,
to go farther forth, to risk so small a party deeper
in the desert, to carry words of peace among warlike
savages already rejoicing to return to war : here was
an extremity from which it was easy to perceive his
mind revolted.
" I have come too late," he said more than once, and
would fall into a deep consideration, his head bowed in
his hands, his foot patting the ground.
At length he raised his face and looked upon us, that
is to say upon my lord. Mountain, and myself, sitting
close round a small fire, which had been made for
privacy in one corner of the camp.
" My lord, to be quite frank with you, I find my-
self in two minds," said he. " I think it very need-
ful I should go on, but not at all proper I should any
longer enjoy the pleasure of your company. We are
here still upon the water side ; and I think the risk