Blane's. Had he advised them to take refuge in the castle they would
assuredly have fallen victims to the wanton swords of their enemies. Had
he failed to act with prompt foresight upon the information gained in
Gigha, the men of Colonsay, with other vengeful warriors, would have
massacred every woman and child in the island, for such was assuredly
their intent. Happily they had found every dwelling unoccupied, with its
more valued contents safely removed; and though they had indeed brought
many of those homesteads to the ground, yet the lives of the inhabitants
were still secure.
It now remained for Kenric to assure himself that no prowling Norseman
should by chance discover the place of refuge of those who had so timely
abandoned their homes; and to this end he bade his remaining followers
make pretence of taking shelter in the forest of Barone, whence they
might move unobserved by the enemy to the south of the island and so
guard the abbey of St. Blane's.
CHAPTER XXV. THE GREAT NORSE INVASION.
It were vain to look for good generalship in a time so remote as that of
the reign of Alexander III. Wallace and Bruce had not yet appeared to
teach the Scots the advantage of united action, and the methods of
warfare were still of an unmilitary kind. Battles were little better
than mere free fights, without order, without controlling discipline,
without preconcerted plan.
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