to treat his friends at the ale-house, and easily
ingratiated himself with many of Waverley’s
troop, particularly Sergeant Houghton and one Tims,
also a non-commissioned officer. To these he
unfolded, in Waverley’s name, a plan for leaving
the regiment and joining him in the Highlands, where
report said the clans had already taken arms in great
numbers. The men, who had been educated as Jacobites,
so far as they had any opinion at all, and who knew
their landlord, Sir Everard, had always been supposed
to hold such tenets, easily fell into the snare.
That Waverley was at a distance in the Highlands was
received as a sufficient excuse for transmitting his
letters through the medium of the pedlar; and the
sight of his well-known seal seemed to authenticate
the negotiations in his name, where writing might
have been dangerous. The cabal, however, began
to take air, from the premature mutinous language
of those concerned. Wily Will justified his appellative;
for, after suspicion arose, he was seen no more.
When the ‘Gazette’ appeared in which Waverley
was superseded, great part of his troop broke out into
actual mutiny, but were surrounded and disarmed by
the rest of the regiment In consequence of the sentence
of a court-martial, Houghton and Tims were condemned
to be shot, but afterwards permitted to cast lots
for life. Houghton, the survivor, showed much
penitence, being convinced, from the rebukes and explanations
of Colonel Gardiner, that he had really engaged in
a very heinous crime. It is remarkable that,
as soon as the poor fellow was satisfied of this,
he became also convinced that the instigator had acted
without authority from Edward, saying, ’If it
was dishonourable and against Old England, the squire
could know nought about it; he never did, or thought
to do, anything dishonourable, no more didn’t
Sir Everard, nor none of them afore him, and in that
belief he would live and die that Ruffin had done
it all of his own head.’
The strength of conviction with which he expressed
himself upon this subject, as well as his assurances
that the letters intended for Waverley had been delivered
to Ruthven, made that revolution in Colonel Gardiner’s
opinion which he expressed to Talbot.
The reader has long since understood that Donald Bean
Lean played the part of tempter on this occasion.
His motives were shortly these. Of an active
and intriguing spirit, he had been long employed as
a subaltern agent and spy by those in the confidence
of the Chevalier, to an extent beyond what was suspected
even by Fergus Mac-Ivor, whom, though obliged to him
for protection, he regarded with fear and dislike.
To success in this political department he naturally
looked for raising himself by some bold stroke above
his present hazardous and precarious trade of rapine.
He was particularly employed in learning the strength
of the regiments in Scotland, the character of the
officers, etc., and had long had his eye upon
Waverley’s troop as open to temptation.