The lion banner of Scotland, woven in silk, fluttered at his bark's
masthead. In his ship's waist, toiling at the heavy oars, were two score
of well-trained retainers, with a reserve of yet another two score and
ten of his sturdy islanders crowded at the prow.
Side by side with the Dragon was the Eagle, the galley of Sir Piers de
Currie, having on board young Harald the hostage; and in their wake
sailed two other ships of Arran and four of Bute, one of Dunoon, and
three of Galloway, and they were the stoutest and tallest ships that had
ever sailed in those deep blue waters.
On the /Kraken/ of Rothesay was Allan Redmain. Right proud was he of his
command, for even until the fifth week he had dreaded that he might not
be of this expedition by reason of his being bound as watcher of the
farmstead of Scalpsie. Night by night, in starlight or rainstorm, he had
duly fulfilled his unwilling charge, albeit he ofttimes slept through
half the night, and it so befell that on each occasion that he had
slept, on the next day thereafter the farmer claimed that he had lost
yet another two or three of his ewe lambs, and Sir Oscar Redmain was
perforce bound to make good the loss.
Now, as time went on this thing happened so often that Allan began to
think strange thoughts, for never but on the first night of his watching
had he seen aught of either wolf or fox.
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