The Calendar of Scottish Crime. sence, he passed out, and locked the door be hind him. Now the luckless Henderson found himself in a terrible quandary. It was only too clear, as he had suspected, that there was " sum evvill to be done," and he would fain' have been out of it. His plain duty, of course, was to defend the king; but then it was a serious matter to offend his master, who had it in his power to inflict death or worse, upon a contumacious servant, and clearly had, be sides, the king at his mercy. On the whole, the poor fellow acted a part, not heroic, in deed, but which saved the king's life. Meanwhile Gowrie had not been idle down stairs. In order to get Lennox, Mar and the rest of the king's suite out of the way, one of Cowrie's servants by arrangement ran into the hall crying that the king had ridden out to the Inch, on which Gowrie called out, "Lo horse! gentlemen," and the whole com pany went out, sent for their horses, and stood outside the outer gate waiting for them. While they stood there, they heard a cry, "Fy! Treason, treason!" "That is the king's voice," exclaimed Len nox, "be he where he may." Looking up to the turret, they saw the king's face at the open window with a hand gripping his mouth. "I am murdered," came the voice again. "Treason! My lord Mar, help, help!" Rushing into the house and up the main staircase, they were stopped by the locked, doors, and then found that Gowrie was no longer with them. During Alexander Ruthven's absence the king had been parleying with Henderson, asking him for what purpose he had been posted in the turret. " As God leves," he replied, " I am schott [shut] in heir lyke as ane dog." Then the king bade him open the window, which he had no sooner done than Alexander Ruthven re-entered the turret, this time leaving the door unlocked behind him. He declared there was no hope; that the king must die, and attempted to bind his
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arms with a garter. But James made a dash for the open window, and uttered those cries for help which had startled his gentlemen below. Ruthven attempted to shut his mouth, whereupon the king showed he had some mettle in him, closed with his assailant, got his head under his arm, and forced him backwards out of the turret. All this time the wretched Henderson stood shaking with fear, helping neither of the combatants. As good luck would have it, young John Ramsay, one of the king's suite, finding the door at the foot of the secret stair open, dashed up, burst into the room, and attacked Ruthven with his dagger. Henderson took this opportunity of bolting. " Fy! " cried the king to Ramsay, still gripping Ruthven tight, " strike him laigh! because he has ane pyne dowlit [a mail-shirt under his doublet] on him." Ramsay struck home; then, seiz ing the dying Ruthven by the shoulders, flung him down the staircase. Three men of the king's suite now came up, and hard at their heels came Gowrie with seven men, all with drawn swords. Ramsay thrust the king back into the turret, and the four loyal men faced the traitors. Ramsay, who must have been a smart swordsman, " yokit" with Gowrie and thrust him through the heart, while the rest of the crew were " dung [forced] over the staires with many hurtes." So ended what was probably the most stir ring quarter of an hour in James's life, in which he carried himself remarkably well. There was enough, indeed, to shake the firm est nerves — the many locked doors, the lonely chamber, the armed man, the insolent Ruthven. But the conspirators blundered badly, and James was cool enough to take the advantage offered him. The loyal bailies of Perth made him a great banquet, whereat, as Fleming mentions in his chronicle, " thair wes oucht punscheonis of wyne sett, and all druckin out." And just as one of this king's besetting foibles—cupidity, to wit—had been the means of leading him into the mess, so in this closing scene may be detected a char
