The argument went backwards and forwards, all through the evening and over the next days and nights. But then word came from Maclain himself that he was willing to go and sign the peace treaty. If King James agreed.
But King James was exiled in France, hundreds of miles away. He did give his permission for the chiefs of the Higlands to swear allegiance to the new King William.
But by the time the message came back to Glencoe it was the 29th of December.
Chief Maclain Macdonald had two days before the deadline.
Yet no one was panicking. There wad still time. The chief chose his guides and helpers. Jamie was to be one of them.
It was all quite straightforward.
'I don't like the weather,' said Conn's father uneasily. 'It is too good. When it changes, it will change fast.'