[Illustration:  BEN NEVIS]

We had not been quite satisfied that the cause assigned to our attack at Inverness was the real one, as we had drunk so little water there.  We thought now that there might be some infectious epidemic passing through that part of Scotland, perhaps a modified form of the cholera that decimated our part of England thirty or forty years before, and that our guide as well as ourselves had contracted the sickness in that way.

We must not forget to record that on our way up the “Ben” we saw a most beautiful rainbow, which appeared to great advantage, as it spread itself between us and the opposite hills, exhibiting to perfection all its seven colours.

We were as hungry as hunters when we returned to our lodgings, and, after changing some of our clothes and drying the others, we sat down to the good things provided for our noon dinner, which we washed down with copious libations of tea.

As the rain continued, we decided to stop another night at Mrs. MacPherson’s, so we went out to make some purchases at the chemist’s shop, which also served as an emporium—­in fact as a general stores.  We had a chat with the proprietor, who explained that Fort William was a very healthy place, where his profession would not pay if carried on alone, so he had to add to it by selling other articles.  The Fort, he told us, was originally built in the time of Cromwell by General Monk to overawe the Highlanders, but was afterwards re-erected on a smaller scale by William III; hence its name of Fort William.

[Illustration:  BEN NEVIS AS SEEN FROM BANAVIE.]

We asked the chemist if he could recommend to us a good shoemaker, who could undertake to sole and heel two pairs of boots before morning, as ours were showing signs of wear-and-tear owing to the long distances we had walked both before and after reaching John o’ Groat’s.  This he promised to do, and he sent one across to Mrs. MacPherson’s immediately.  After we had parted with our boots, we were prisoners for the remainder of the day, though we were partially reconciled to our novel position when we heard the wind driving the rain against the windows instead of against ourselves.  But it seemed strange to us to be sitting down hour after hour reading the books our hostess kindly lent to us instead of walking on the roads.  The books were chiefly historical, and interested us, as they related to the country through which we were passing.  Terrible histories they contained too! describing fierce battles and murders, and giving us the impression that the Scots of the olden times were like savages, fighting each other continually, and that for the mere pleasure of fighting.  Especially interesting to us was the record of the cruel massacre of Glencoe, for we intended visiting there, if possible, on the morrow.  It was not the extent of the carnage on that occasion, but the horrible way in which it was carried out, that excited the indignation of the whole country, and my brother spent some time in copying in his note-book the following history of—­