Without waiting for her recovery, the party almost
immediately began their homeward march towards
Dunbarton, leading along with them their prisoner.
They thought it necessary, however, to stay for a
little space at the village of Dalmally, from which
they despatched a party of the inhabitants to bring
away the body of their unfortunate leader, while
they themselves repaired to a magistrate to state
what had happened, and require his instructions as
to the farther course to be pursued. The crime
being of a military character, they were instructed
to march the prisoner to Dunbarton without delay.
The swoon of the mother of Hamish lasted for
a length of time; the longer perhaps that her constitution,
strong as it was, must have been much
exhausted by her previous agitation of three days'
endurance. She was roused from her stupor at
length by female voices, which cried the coronach,
or lament for the dead, with clapping of hands and
loud exclamations; while the melancholy note of
a lament, appropriate to the clan Cameron, played
on the bagpipe, was heard from time to time.
Elspat started up like one awakened from the
dead, and without any accurate recollection of the
scene which had passed before her eyes.
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