Clashnichd, by way of apology for her conduct, gave James Gray a sad
account of her usage, detailing at full length the series of cruelties
committed upon her by Ben Baynac. From this account, it appeared that
her living with the latter was by no means a matter of choice with
Clashnichd; on the contrary, it seemed that she had, for a long time,
lived apart with much comfort, residing in a snug dwelling, as already
mentioned, in the wilds of Craig-Aulnaic; but Ben Baynac having
unfortunately taken into his head to pay her a visit, took a fancy, not
to herself, but her dwelling, of which, in his own name and authority, he
took immediate possession, and soon after he expelled poor Clashnichd,
with many stripes, from her natural inheritance. Not satisfied with
invading and depriving her of her just rights, he was in the habit of
following her into her private haunts, not with the view of offering her
any endearments, but for the purpose of inflicting on her person every
torment which his brain could invent.

Such a moving relation could not fail to affect the generous heart of
James Gray, who determined from that moment to risk life and limb in
order to vindicate the rights and avenge the wrongs of poor Clashnichd,
the ghost of Craig-Aulnaic. He, therefore, took good care to interrogate
his new _protegee_ touching the nature of her oppressor's constitution,
whether he was of that _killable_ species of ghost that could be shot
with a silver sixpence, or if there was any other weapon that could
possibly accomplish his annihilation. Clashnichd informed him that she
had occasion to know that Ben Baynac was wholly invulnerable to all the
weapons of man, with the exception of a large mole on his left breast,
which was no doubt penetrable by silver or steel; but that, from the
specimens she had of his personal prowess and strength, it were vain for
mere man to attempt to combat him. Confiding, however, in his expertness
as an archer--for he was allowed to be the best marksman of the age--James