and a battle-axe.  Now, when the king saw them so well armed, when there were no enemies near, he began to call to mind some hints which had been given to him, that these men intended to murder him.  He had no weapons excepting his sword; but his page had a bow and arrow.  He took them both from the little boy, and bade him stand at a distance; “for,” said the king, “if I overcome these traitors, thou shalt have enough of weapons; but if I am slain by them, you may make your escape, and tell Douglas and my brother to revenge my death.”  The boy was very sorry, for he loved his master; but he was obliged to do as he was bidden.

In the meantime the traitors came forward upon Bruce, that they might assault him at once.  The king called out to them, and commanded them to come no nearer, upon peril of their lives; but the father answered with flattering words, pretending great kindness, and still continuing to approach his person.  Then the king again called to them to stand.  “Traitors,” said he, “ye have sold my life for English gold; but you shall die if you come one foot nearer to me.”  With that he bent the page’s bow, and as the old conspirator continued to advance, he let the arrow fly at him.  Bruce was an excellent archer; he aimed his arrow so well that it hit the father in the eye, and penetrated from that into his brain, so that he fell down dead.  Then the two sons rushed on the king.  One of them fetched a blow at him with an axe, but missed his stroke and stumbled, so that the king with his great sword cut him down before he could recover his feet.  The remaining traitor ran on Bruce with his spear; but the king, with a sweep of his sword, cut the steel head off the villain’s weapon, and then killed him before he had time to draw his sword.  Then the little page came running, very joyful of his master’s victory; and the king wiped his bloody sword, and, looking upon the dead bodies, said, “These might have been reputed three gallant men, if they could have resisted the temptation of covetousness.”

After the death of these three traitors, Robert the Bruce continued to keep himself concealed in his own earldom of Carrick, and in the neighboring country of Galloway, until he should have matters ready for a general attack upon the English.  He was obliged, in the meantime, to keep very few men with him, both for the sake of secrecy, and from the difficulty of finding provisions.  Now, many of the people of Galloway were unfriendly to Bruce.  They had heard that he was in their country, having no more than sixty men with him; so they resolved to attack him by surprise, and for this purpose they got two hundred men together, and brought with them two or three bloodhounds.  These animals were trained to chase a man by the scent of his footsteps, as foxhounds chase a fox, or as beagles and harriers chase a hare.  Although the dog does not see the person whose trace he is put upon, he follows him over every step he has taken.  At that time these bloodhounds, or sleuthhounds (so called from slot, or sleut, a word which signifies the scent left by an animal of chase), were used for the purpose of pursuing great criminals.  The men of Galloway thought themselves secure, that if they missed taking Bruce, or killing him at the first onset, and if he should escape into the woods, they would find him out by means of these bloodhounds.