Kidnapped

David and the crew are awakened to the news that Shaun badly beat Ransome. Hoseason asks David to take up Ransome’s duties in the roundhouse. David goes to his new quarters to find Shaun drunk and senseless. The captain and Riach return with news of Ransome’s death. Shaun’s reason for beating the boy was that Ransome brought him a dirty cup.

David takes up Ransome’s duties, serving the crew food and drink. He shares the room with the senior crew. Shaun mostly ignores David and seems to have lost his wits after the murder. David buries himself in work to forget his despair.

The Covenant sails into a thick fog, where it crashes into and sinks a smaller boat, killing its passengers save one. The man is brought aboard and meets the captain. He wears a French soldier’s jacket, two pistols, and a great sword but speaks with a Scottish accent and presents himself with elegant manners that impress both David and Captain Hoseason.

The man reveals himself to be a Jacobite. He supports the restoration of the Stuart line of Catholic kings who were deposed and exiled to France decades before. He is trying to avoid British authorities. Though Hoseason is a Protestant, he agrees to transport the man to safety for a hefty payment.

As the man settles in, David overhears the captain and his crew conspiring to attack him and steal his money. Furious at their treachery, David warns the man and agrees to fight alongside him. The man thanks David and introduces himself as Alan Breck Stewart.

Because they are in the roundhouse, they can access the ship’s firearms and food stores. David and Alan barricade the entries, load their pistols, and strategize. Alan, a seasoned fighter, sets David to guard the rear entry and skylight with his pistols and plans to stand and fight at the narrow main entrance with his sword.

The Captain returns to the roundhouse and finds David and Alan ready for a fight. Hoseason chides David for revealing their treachery to Alan and leaves to fetch his men.

The first bout of fighting erupts suddenly and ends quickly. Alan takes on the men who charge the front, killing two, including Shaun. David sees several crew approaching the back door with a battering ram and fires blindly into them, wounding the captain. He fires several times more as the men retreat and then returns to Alan, who warns him that another bout is soon to follow.

David is nearly overcome with fear now that the rush of the first fight has passed, but he remains at his post. When the next charge comes, two sailors crash through the skylight. David initially hesitates to fire, but then he shoots both when one tries to grab hold of him. Alan finishes with his men at the front door as the rest flee. Alan, thrilled at their victory, hums and sings as he drives his sword through the four dying men in the roundhouse. He then shares a song about the battle that he composed in Gaelic that neglects to mention David. David, for his part, collapses into sobs when he thinks of the men he killed. Alan assures the young man that he just needs sleep and agrees to take first watch while they wait for the crew to come parley. 

David and Alan have a rich breakfast in the roundhouse amidst “a horrid mess of blood” from the skirmish (57). Alan assures David that the sailors will come soon to negotiate, particularly since they lack the roundhouse’s liquor. While they wait, Alan cuts a silver button from his coat and gives it to David as a token of their friendship.

Mr. Riach comes to arrange a negotiation between Alan and the captain, swearing that the crew has had enough fighting and is done with their treachery. As Alan predicted, the mate begs David for brandy before leaving. Alan and Hoseason meet, and after some back and forth, the captain agrees to take Alan to his family’s hereditary lands. The journey will be perilous since Shaun, the brig’s best seaman, was killed in the melee. As a final matter, the two sides exchange water for brandy, and David and Alan wash the blood from the roundhouse.

David and Alan pass the time enjoying the captain’s tobacco and sharing stories. Alan talks about his family history and his brief time in the British Army before he deserted. David casually mentions his village priest, Mr. Campbell, and Alan bursts out that he hates “all that are of that name” (61). Alan explains that the Campbells and his clan, the Stewarts, have a long history of conflict. The Campbells support the British government and have used their position to take Stewart lands. This effort is currently being led by Colin Campbell, known as the Red Fox, the king’s agent in Stewart lands.

Because the Stewarts remain loyal to the descendants of James II, they pay taxes (rents) to the crown and also support Jacobite leaders abroad. The Red Fox seeks to remove Stewarts from their property, thus cutting off income going to the Jacobite cause. Alan’s open declaration that he would murder the Red Fox if given the chance shocks David. The two men seem to have distinct and sometimes opposite ideas of what it means to be honorable or act morally. However, David continues to value Alan’s friendship despite their political and moral differences.

Hoseason comes to the roundhouse in a panic and tells Alan and David that the ship is in danger. They follow him on deck to see the Covenant surrounded by reefs. Despite not being a seaman, Alan knows the area as the Torran Rocks. He is unsure of the way through but vaguely recalls that the best route runs close to the shore.

Hoseason follows his instructions, and it seems they’ve made it through when the Covenant suddenly runs onto the rocks. David and the other sailors rush to get a boat into the water so they can ferry ashore, but a large wave washes over the deck and carries David into the sea. David struggles, being a poor swimmer, but he paddles ashore, marooned and alone.