“Well, don’t,” the Chieftain bellowed. “If you call me that any more I’ll lock you up again.”

“I repeat, you cannot escape the consequences of the assault you have committed by trying to bribe us with supper. What legal action some members of our party may wish to take against you I do not know, but speaking for the National Union of Hikers as a whole I warn you that we reserve to ourselves the right to take any such reprisals as the Governing Body may judge suitable. We are a great democratic body, Mr MacDonald, and we are not to be bullied out of collective security by fascist insolence.”

At this the yowls, boohs and hisses of the hikers became so passionate that Chester Royde climbed upon a chair and took down a Lochaber axe from the wall.

“Am I to understand you are threatening me?” the Chieftain demanded, that nose a Caesar might have envied stained with rich Tyrian.

“I am warning you, Mr MacDonald, that you have not heard the last of this,” said Mr Prew. “And now where are the young ladies of our party?”

“The ladies are at supper, Mr … I’m afraid I do not know your name,” Mrs MacDonald boomed amiably.

“My name is Prew, madam. I am the Secretary of the National Union of Hikers.”

“Well, Mr Prew, if you will follow me I will take you to the ladies. The lorry in which you arrived at the Castle is waiting to drive you back, as no doubt Mr Fletcher informed you.”

“One of my rules, Mrs MacDonald, for I presume you are Mrs MacDonald, is never to be rude to a lady, and so you mustn’t think me rude when I say that we must flatly decline to eat supper in your house and also to be driven back to our camp in the lorry. We prefer to walk.”

“But you are not going to leave the ladies behind, are you? Of course I shall be happy to put them up at Glenbogle, but …”

“Thank you, no. We will wait for the ladies outside. I am sorry to hear they have been persuaded into accepting supper, but that must not be taken to imply the slightest condonation of Mr MacDonald’s behaviour.”

“And what about my portable wireless?” the owner of it called out. “Mr Prew can do what he likes, but I’m sueing you over that.”

The future of the portable wireless was left in abeyance, for at that moment Toker flung open the doors of the Great Hall and announced that dinner was served. Almost simultaneously three pipers started off at full blast with the stirring march Beinn Nibheis Gu Brath by which from time immemorial the Lord of Ben Nevis had been piped in to dinner.