This , though it is but cold water mingled with oatmeal , yet makes a good enough dish for a hungry man ; and where there are no means of making fire , or -LRB- as in our case -RRB- good reason for not making one , it is the chief stand-by of those who have taken to the heather . As soon as the shadow of the night had fallen , we set forth again , at first with the same caution , but presently with more boldness , standing our full height and stepping out at a good pace of walking . The way was very intricate , lying up the steep sides of mountains and along the brows of cliffs ; clouds had come in with the sunset , and the night was dark and cool ; so that I walked without much fatigue , but in continual fear of falling and rolling down the mountains , and with no guess at our direction . The moon rose at last and found us still on the road ; it was in its last quarter , and was long beset with clouds ; but after awhile shone out and showed me many dark heads of mountains , and was reflected far underneath us on the narrow arm of a sea-loch . At this sight we both paused : I struck with wonder to find myself so high and walking -LRB- as it seemed to me -RRB- upon clouds ; Alan to make sure of his direction . Seemingly he was well pleased , and he must certainly have judged us out of ear-shot of all our enemies ; for throughout the rest of our night-march he beguiled the way with whistling of many tunes , warlike , merry , plaintive ; reel tunes that made the foot go faster ; tunes of my own south country that made me fain to be home from my adventures ; and all these , on the great , dark , desert mountains , making company upon the way . CHAPTER XXI THE FLIGHT IN THE HEATHER : THE HEUGH OF CORRYNAKIEGH Early as day comes in the beginning of July , it was still dark when we reached our destination , a cleft in the head of a great mountain , with a water running through the midst , and upon the one hand a shallow cave in a rock . Birches grew there in a thin , pretty wood , which a little farther on was changed into a wood of pines . The burn was full of trout ; the wood of cushat-doves ; on the open side of the mountain beyond , whaups would be always whistling , and cuckoos were plentiful . From the mouth of the cleft we looked down upon a part of Mamore , and on the sea-loch that divides that country from Appin ; and this from so great a height as made it my continual wonder and pleasure to sit and behold them . The name of the cleft was the Heugh of Corrynakiegh ; and although from its height and being so near upon the sea , it was often beset with clouds , yet it was on the whole a pleasant place , and the five days we lived in it went happily . We slept in the cave , making our bed of heather bushes which we cut for that purpose , and covering ourselves with Alan 's great-coat . There was a low concealed place , in a turning of the glen , where we were so bold as to make fire : so that we could warm ourselves when the clouds set in , and cook hot porridge , and grill the little trouts that we caught with our hands under the stones and overhanging banks of the burn . This was indeed our chief pleasure and business ; and not only to save our meal against worse times , but with a rivalry that much amused us , we spent a great part of our days at the water-side , stripped to the waist and groping about or -LRB- as they say -RRB- guddling for these fish . The largest we got might have been a quarter of a pound ; but they were of good flesh and flavour , and when broiled upon the coals , lacked only a little salt to be delicious . In any by-time Alan must teach me to use my sword , for my ignorance had much distressed him ; and I think besides , as I had sometimes the upper-hand of him in the fishing , he was not sorry to turn to an exercise where he had so much the upper-hand of me . He made it somewhat more of a pain than need have been , for he stormed at me all through the lessons in a very violent manner of scolding , and would push me so close that I made sure he must run me through the body . I was often tempted to turn tail , but held my ground for all that , and got some profit of my lessons ; if it was but to stand on guard with an assured countenance , which is often all that is required . So , though I could never in the least please my master , I was not altogether displeased with myself . In the meanwhile , you are not to suppose that we neglected our chief business , which was to get away .
`` It will be many a long day , '' Alan said to me on our first morning , `` before the red-coats think upon seeking XXXXX ; so now we must get word sent to James , and he must find the siller for us . ''
Appin Corrynakiegh XXI cuckoos ear-shot first flavour night trouts water-side