“The Fray of Suport”

The English speaker calls out the men of the countryside and the coopers working in the woods to rise in arms against the band of marauding Scots who stole the narrator’s horse and cattle the previous night and also lamed the guest who had tried to help defend his or her home. The narrator says that all the fords on the Liddel and a gap which is a possible escape route are guarded to prevent the Scots from returning home to Scotland. The narrator finally announces the arrival of authorities (the Captain of Bewcastle, Jephtha’s John and Captain Musgrave) and the ringing of the town bell of Carlisle, which are an assurance that the property will not be taken over the border without a fight.