Part 3, Chapter 17 Summary

The next morning the men are nowhere to be found. Jamie tells Claire that, since the Watch from the previous night headed west, he thinks the men have traveled east to steal cattle. Dougal, he says, is very good at stealing cattle. Claire asks about Horrocks. Jamie was supposed to meet him in Lag Cruime, but he could not go due to the Watch being close by. He will have Murtagh go for him. Jamie and Claire walk for a while, and then climb up a hill, for Jamie wanted to show her something. Along the way he picks up a bird, lost from its nest. It is a mother bird. He talks softly to it in Gaelic. Claire just watches in amazement. It is a bird called a Plover; and Jamie was told at a young age that they had...