“Uprooting of all notices of No Camping. Menacing warnings posted up on buildings. Weird noises in the vicinity of the Castle at night. Seizure of hostages whenever and wherever possible. The columns will operate from camps on Ben Gorm, Ben Glass, Ben Cruet, in the country above Strathdun and Strathdiddle, and from where we are now, which will be my headquarters. The commanders of columns will see I receive a daily report of the damage inflicted on the enemy. I will give instructions for the principal operation on Monday, September 6th, when the whole of the present force together with the reinforcements expected next Saturday and Sunday will be concentrated where we are now. I think that’s all perfectly clear?”

“Oh, clear as daylight,” said Mr Prew.

“You’re sure the man in the orange kilt we captured yesterday was not MacDonald?”

“Oh, definitely, Mr Buckham.”

“A pity. Never mind, we’ll shut him up in one of his own dungeons when we seize the Castle next week.”

“Quite.”

“You sound sleepy, Mr Prew.”

“Perhaps a trifle. Yes, well, we had quite a trek up here from Kenspeckle. I think unless you have anything more to discuss, Mr Buckham, I’ll be off to my own tent and turn in.”

Mr Prew was half-way through another yawn when the face of one of the sentries, a solemn narrow-headed young man called Arthur Blencoe, appeared in the opening of the tent.

“Hullo, Blencoe, something suspicious on the move?” asked his leader.

“I wanted to know if those shaggy bullocks round here are apt to be at all fierce at night, Mr Buckham.”

“I don’t suppose so. Why?”

“Well, there’s about forty of them nosing about the camp,” said the sentry. “They’ve got horns on them like mammoths. I mean to say it may be all right, but I wouldn’t care to interfere with them without I knew they were really all right.”

“I sympathize with you, Arthur,” said Mr Prew. “I should be inclined to let them alone.”

“They’re not doing any harm?” Mr Buckham asked.

“No, they’re just nosing about round the tents, and snorting occasionally,” Arthur Blencoe replied.

“I think I’d leave them alone if I were you, Blencoe,” his leader advised. “They’re curious about the tents, that’s all it is. They’ll move along presently, I expect.”

“The moon’s pretty bright now,” said Arthur Blencoe. “And I thought one or two of them looked at me a bit hard.”

“Only curiosity,” his leader assured him.

“Yes, I agree with Mr Buckham,” said Mr Prew. “Just curiosity.”

“It may be,” said Arthur Blencoe, doubtfully.

“I think you’re perfectly safe to go back to your post,” his leader told him.

“Oh, definitely,” Mr Prew agreed. “You’re not turning in just yet, are you, Mr Buckham?”

“Not for another half-hour.”