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topping only long enough for everyone to get off their horses for brief periods, the soldiers had kept moving and consequently they and their captives were exhausted. Bringing in two Jacobite supporters would ensure they got a couple of days rest before they were out again in search of others.
When they arrived at the corral behind the west wing of the prison, they dismounted and roughly pulled Alex and Jack from their mounts. Jack landed rather harshly on his backside and, of course, responded in his usual way. Standing up quickly, he roared at the soldier who had dragged him from his mount.
"Ye British scum! If my hands weren't tied I'd break yer scrawny Redcoat neck!"
"I'll just bet you would, big man."
The soldier slammed the butt of his rifle against Jack's cheek causing him to stagger, then black out for a moment before falling to the ground.
Alex saw red, but knew more angry words would only escalate the situation. But this was about all he could handle.
"Were those yer orders? To batter and torture yer captives? Any decent soldier would understand that all soldiers, regardless of which side yer on, can respect another one. Brit or Scot, makes no difference. We're all men fighting for our country and way of life. So ye've captured us now; ye don't need to add insult to injury."
"Shut your mouth, heathen," the soldier stuck his bayonet in Alex's back just deep enough to cause a trickle of blood to run down.
Once they turned the horses loose in the corral, the soldiers and their captives entered the building by a side door. The taller soldier grabbed a lighted torch from its bracket on the wall and pushed the two captives along.
After descending several flights of narrow steps they entered a long, dark corridor. The stench alone told the brothers they had arrived at their destination—a prison in Edinburgh. Even in the Highlands they had heard of the Old Tolbooth. Its reputation for being the most vile place to be incarcerated was apropos; it was indeed unbelievably horrid.
The British had commandeered the Old Tolbooth in Edinburgh as a place to house their prisoners before they took them on to Tilbury Fort in London. Once in London, the men would either be sent to the islands to be sold as slaves, or they would be killed outright. Alex and Jack were under no illusions their fate would be anything different. If they were to survive, they had to escape from the prison in Edinburgh before they were sent to London.
"Move your clumsy feet, you big oaf. You too. Don't make me have to drag you to your new home. You might find this place just a bit different from that great lodge I've heard you have in the Highlands, though. The major says it'll make a great place for our regiment as we round up the rest of your kind. Ha!"
Alex and Jack looked at each other, both struggling to hold their tongues, and Alex knew that was a real chore for Jack. Both he and Jack towered over these two young British soldiers and that seemed to irritate the young men. Just now, however, Jack understood the unspoken message Alex was sending him.
Just keep quiet, brother. We're not done in just yet.
But just when Alex thought his brother was listening, Jack stopped, swung around and used his forehead as a hammer, striking the soldier in the mouth. Teeth went flying and blood spurted everywhere.
"You'll pay for that Highlander," the young soldier screamed as he raised his rifle and struck Jack in the same place as before, against the side of his face. That move flayed Jack's cheek open and sent him reeling backward.
Alex winched as he watched. He had no plan, but one thought gave him hope. During the first moments when the young soldiers had captured the brothers there was a lot of commotion, and after having slashed Alex's hand and having jabbed Jack in the ribs with the bayonet, the captors had taken their pistols, but had failed to check for other weapons.
Alex felt sure that just as he, Jack was carrying a dirk under his shirt, and probably one in his boot as well. This was just habit with them, one Da had instilled early on.
Presently, Jack's head hurt like the very devil and he felt blood running down the side of his face. His right eye began to swell and he knew it would be totally closed shortly. It took a lot to bring him down, but that second strike had been quite a hard lick with the butt of the gun.
The farther they went into the bowels of the prison, the more intolerable the stench became. The dimly lit, dank corridor had small cells along each side. Each cell had one or more prisoners, and none of them made a sound as the two new ones marched by. Water dripped from the ceiling along the way, making the floor very slippery. Several rats scurried across the path in front of them, causing the soldiers to curse and kick out at them.
"Damn disease-carrying vermin! I hate coming down here. No telling what we might pick up just delivering you two traitors. Move on now. I want to get out of this rotten pit."
The next scene, however, had Alex stopping in his tracks. In the small cell on his left were two young lads, not even in their teens yet. The two were clad in ragged, filthy tunics and their feet were bare. The young lads were so thin their rags would hardly stay on their shoulders as they stood watching, their hollow eyes riveted on the newcomers.
"Two little thieves, these young ones. Putting them in here for a spell might just cure that problem."
But they were yet to view an even more disturbing sight. When they heard quiet sobs coming from the other end of the corridor, Jack and Alex slowed their pace. They didn't want to witness what they knew their eyes would reveal. In the far corner of her cell a young woman sat huddled on a mucky bed of straw. Her fine clothing spoke of someone with means, and the fact they weren't rags yet told them she hadn't been here very long.
"And that's what happens to women who won't do as the major wishes. She's a real looker, but has a streak of independence in her. The major put her in here to teach her a lesson. My bet is it won't take her long to adapt her ways to his demands. Stupid woman."
They walked on, and when they reached the last cell at the very end of the corridor the soldiers shoved Alex and Jack through the doorway. Just as they stumbled through, a long, dark snake slithered beneath the bars and headed down the hallway. Jack jumped two feet backward.
"Jesus! Did ye see that? That was a snake I tell ye!" Jack wasn't nearly as concerned about the gun at his back as he was about a snake in his cell. He had an illogical fear of them and that was just a fact.
"He's gone now, brother. Don't worry about the snake."
The soldiers snickered. "Get yourselves in there, you two. You'll get gruel and water twice a day if you keep quiet and don't make work for the guards. It won't do you any good to holler and yell anyway, no one can hear you."
Alex and Jack looked around their cell. Their bed of straw stank of urine and had been used so long it was crushed into bits about two inches long. As they moved farther into their cell, near the back wall, their nostrils were assaulted by the putrid odor emanating from the refuse of previous captives. Yes, the Old Tolbooth deserved its reputation.