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a
bit closer to Wade's Road than I'd like. But there's no help for it if we want
to make Aberchalder Burn before dawn. Remember, if ye see anything suspicious,
give us fair warning."
    "Aye, Maddie," Kenneth replied, flicking the
reins against his mount's neck. The spirited animal jerked forward, and horse
and rider disappeared into the dense pine forest. Only the swaying branches
marked their path.
    "Allan, take the lead since ye know this land so
well. Duncan, Angus, ye take the rear. Ewen and I will keep the cattle moving
down the middle."
    Without a word the men followed her orders explicitly.
It made no difference to them that she was a woman, and barely nineteen. As it
had been to her father, their loyalty to her was as natural to them as
breathing, and if they had had any question at all about her ability to wage
such a campaign against the redcoats, such doubts had long since vanished. She
had proved time and again through her courage, daring, and sound judgment that
she was born to lead.
    The Highland cattle, with their shaggy, reddish-brown
coats and long, curved horns, plodded along the narrow drover's path, tied to one
another by a thick length of rope. Madeleine was still amazed by the smoothness
of last night's raid, in which they hadn't encountered a single English
soldier. The redcoats were most likely too comfortable lying next to their
fires to guard the cattle, she thought scornfully as she recalled the distant
orange glow of campfires at the mouth of Glen Doe near Wade's Road.
    Tension gripped her body as a commotion at the front of
the line ground the procession to an abrupt halt. She dug her heels into the horse's
sides and raced along the winding path, Ewen not far behind her.
    "Allan, what's going on? Why have we
stopped?" she hissed, suddenly spying Kenneth alongside him. Her heart
leaped in her throat. If Kenneth had ridden back to them so soon, that could only
mean trouble.
    "There's redcoats up ahead, Maddie!" Kenneth
blurted out in a loud whisper before his brother could answer. "They're
camped just over the rise, less than a quarter mile from here."
    "How many?" she asked tightly.
    "Twenty-five, thirty. Most are bedded down near
the fire, but a few are standing guard around the camp."
    Madeleine sucked in her breath. A small troop of
English soldiers right in their path. Damn! If there weren't so many of them,
she might consider a skirmish. But thirty soldiers to her band of six did not
make for good odds. Now they would have to cut farther east into the mountains,
causing a full day's delay because they wouldn't make it to Aberchalder Burn
before sunrise. A pox and the devil take them all!
    "It looks as if we'll have to double back—"
she began resignedly, only to be cut off by Kenneth's excited voice.
    "Before we do that, Maddie, I think ye should know
they have at least ten supply wagons loaded to the top with every manner of
stuff. Sacks of grain, crates of chickens and pigs. Why, if we could only make
off with two of those wagons we'd do well!"
    "Did ye say ten, Kenneth?" she asked, her
thoughts taking a decidedly different turn.
    "Aye. What do ye think?"
    By now Angus and Duncan had joined their little group,
quickly learning the details. Madeleine carefully weighed the situation. Why
would so few soldiers require such a quantity of supplies? she wondered. They
were camped a good distance from Wade's Road on terrain that was easily
traversed by wagons, yet they couldn't be a regular supply train. Supply trains
never strayed from the road for fear of marauders like herself.
    Perhaps they were raw recruits from Fort Augustus or
Ruthven Barracks, sent out on some sort of training exercise to better acquaint
themselves with the Highlands, she thought dryly. Spending a week or so away
from an established military post could warrant the need for a good stock of
supplies.
    Well, whatever the reason, ten supply wagons was a
strong temptation. Yet a raid on the camp was a highly dangerous