{"product_id":"2940013295889","title":"HUNTED AND HARRIED","description":"CHAPTER ONE.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eON THE HUNT.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn a brilliant summer morning in the last quarter of the seventeenth\u003cbr\u003ecentury a small troop of horsemen crossed the ford of the river Cairn,\u003cbr\u003ein Dumfriesshire, not far from the spot where stands the little church\u003cbr\u003eof Irongray, and, gaining the road on the western bank of the stream,\u003cbr\u003ewended their way towards the moors and uplands which lie in the\u003cbr\u003eneighbourhood of Skeoch Hill.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe dragoons, for such they were, trotted rapidly along the road that\u003cbr\u003eled into the solitudes of the hills, with all the careless dash of men\u003cbr\u003ewhose interests are centred chiefly on the excitements of the passing\u003cbr\u003ehour, yet with the unflagging perseverance of those who have a fixed\u003cbr\u003epurpose in view--their somewhat worn aspect and the mud with which they\u003cbr\u003ewere bespattered, from jack-boot to iron headpiece, telling of a long\u003cbr\u003eride over rugged ground.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe officer in command of the party rode a little in advance.  Close\u003cbr\u003ebehind him followed two troopers, one of whom was a burly middle-aged\u003cbr\u003eman with a stern, swarthy countenance; the other a youth whose tall\u003cbr\u003eframe was scarcely, if at all, less powerful than that of his\u003cbr\u003ecomrade-in-arms, though much more elegant in form, while his youthful\u003cbr\u003eand ruddy, yet masculine, countenance suggested that he must at that\u003cbr\u003etime have been but a novice in the art of war.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis youth alone, of all the party, had a somewhat careworn and sad\u003cbr\u003eexpression on his brow.  It could hardly have been the result of\u003cbr\u003efatigue, for there was more of ease and vigour in his carriage than in\u003cbr\u003ethat of any of his companions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"We should be near the river by this time, Glendinning,\" said the leader\u003cbr\u003eof the party, reining in and addressing the swarthy trooper.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Ay, sir, the Cluden rins jist ayont the turn o' the road there,\"\u003cbr\u003ereplied the man.  \"Ye'll hear the roar o' the fa' in a meenit or twa.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEven as he spoke the dull growl of a cataract was heard, and, a few\u003cbr\u003eminutes later, the party came upon the ford of the river.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was situated not many yards below the picturesque waterfall, which is\u003cbr\u003enow spanned by the Routen Bridge, but which, at that time, was\u003cbr\u003eunbridged--at all events, if a bridge had previously existed, it had\u003cbr\u003efallen in or been carried away--and the wild gorge was impassable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe sound of the fall alone told of its vicinity, for a dense mass of\u003cbr\u003efoliage hid it completely from the troopers' view until they had\u003cbr\u003esurmounted the steep bank on the other side of the stream.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Are you well acquainted with this man Black?\" asked the leader of the\u003cbr\u003eparty as they emerged from the thick belt of trees and shrubs by which\u003cbr\u003ethe Cluden was shaded, and continued their journey on the more open\u003cbr\u003eground beyond.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47173736825072,"sku":"2940013295889","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013295889_p0.jpg?v=1763579489","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013295889","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}