"I trust not, my son; but I fear that it will be long before we
shake off the English yoke. Our nobles are for the most part of
Norman blood; very many are barons of England; and so great are the
jealousies among them that no general effort against England will
be possible. No, if Scotland is ever to be freed, it will be by
a mighty rising of the common people, and even then the struggle
between the commons of Scotland and the whole force of England aided
by the feudal power of all the great Scotch nobles, would be well
nigh hopeless."

This conversation sank deeply into Archie's mind; day and night
he thought of nothing but the lost freedom of Scotland, and vowed
that even the hope of regaining his father's lands should be
secondary to that of freeing his country. All sorts of wild dreams
did the boy turn over in his mind; he was no longer gay and light
hearted, but walked about moody and thoughtful. He redoubled his
assiduity in the practice of arms; and sometimes when fighting with
Sandy, he would think that he had an English man-at-arms before him,
and would strike so hotly and fiercely that Sandy had the greatest
difficulty in parrying his blows, and was forced to shout lustily
to recall him from the clouds. He no longer played at ball with the
village lads; but, taking the elder of them aside, he swore them
to secrecy, and then formed them into a band, which he called the
Scottish Avengers. With them he would retire into valleys far away
from the village, where none would mark what they were doing, and
there they practised with club and stake instead of broadsword
and pike, defended narrow passes against an imaginary enemy, and,
divided into two parties, did battle with each other.