"Well, then," replied the other, "I"m one Barney Casey, sir, who lives in Rathfillan House, as a servant to Mr. Lindsay, step-father to that murtherin" blackguard."
Greatrakes then examined him closely, and made him promise to come to Rathfillan that night, in order that he might accompany him to the hut of old Sol Donnel, the herbalist.
"I am resolved," said he, "to investigate this matter, and in my capacity of a magistrate to bring the guilty to justice."
"Faith, sir," replied Barney, "and I"m not the boy who is going to stand in your way in such a business as that. You know that it was I that put you up to it, and any a.s.sistance I can give you in it you may reckon on.
Although not a magistrate, as you are, maybe I"m just as fond of justice as yourself. Of coorse I"ll attend you to-night, and show you the devil"s nest in which Sol Donnel and his blessed babe of a niece, by name Caterine Collins, live."
Greatrakes took down the name of Caterine Collins, and after having arranged the hour at which Barney was to conduct him to Sol Donnel"s hut, they separated.
About eleven o"clock that night Barney and Greatrakes reached the miserable-looking residence in which this old viper lived.
"Now," said Greatrakes, addressing the herbalist, "my business with you is this: I have a bitter enemy who wants to establish a claim upon my property, and I wish to put him out of my way. Do you understand me? I am a wealthy man, and can reward you well."
"I never talk of these things in the presence of a third party," replied the herbalist, looking significantly at Barney, whom he well knew.
"Well," replied the other, "I dare say you are right. Casey, go out and leave us to ourselves."
There was a little hall in the house, which hall was in complete obscurity. Barney availed himself of this circ.u.mstance, opened the door and clapped it to as if he had gone out, but remained at the same time in the inside.
"No, sir," replied Sol Donnel, ignorant of the trick which Barney had played upon him, "I never allow a third person to be present at any of those conversations about the strength and power of my herbs. Now, tell me, what it is that you want me to do for you."
"Why, to tell you the truth," replied Greatrakes, "I never heard of your name until within a few days ago, that you were mentioned to me by Mr.
Henry Woodward, who told me that you gave him a dose to settle a dog that was laboring under the first symptoms of hydrophobia. Well, the dog is dead by the influence of the bottle you gave him; but now that we are by ourselves I tell you at once that I want a dose for a man who is likely, if he lives, to cut me out of a large property."
"O, Cheernah!" exclaimed the old villain, "do you think that I who lives by curin" the poor for nothing, or next to nothing, could lend myself to sich a thing as that?"
"Very well," replied the other, preparing to take his departure, "you have lost fifty pounds by the affair at all events."
"Fifty pounds!" exclaimed the other, whilst his keen and diabolical eyes gleamed with the united spirit of avarice and villany. "Fifty pounds!
well how simple and foolish some people are. Why now, if you had a dog, say a setter or a pointer, that from fear of madness you wished to get rid of, and that you had mentioned it to me, I could give you a bottle that would soon settle it; I don"t go above a dog or the inferior animals, and no man that has his senses about him ought to ask me to do anything else."
"Well, then, I tell you at once that, as I said, it is not for a dog, but for a worse animal, a man, my own cousin, who, unless I absolutely contrive to poison him, will deprive me of six thousand a year. Instead of fifty I shall make the recompense a hundred, after having found that your medicine is successful."
The old villain"s eye gleamed again at the prospect of such liberality.
"Well now," said he, "see what it is for a pious man to forget his devotions, even for one day. I forgot to say my Leadan Wurrah this mornin", and that is the raison that your temptation has overcome me.
You must call then to-morrow night, because I have nothing now, barrin"
what "ud excite the bowels, and it seems that isn"t what you want; but if you be down here about this same hour to-morrow night, you shall have what will put your enemy out of the way."
"That will do then," replied Greatrakes, "and I shall depend on you."
"Ay," replied the old villain, "but remember that the act is not mine but your own. I simply furnish you with the necessary means--your own act will be to apply them."
On leaving the hut, Greatrakes was highly gratified on finding that Barney Casey had overheard their whole conversation.
"You will serve as a corroborative evidence," said he.
The herbalist, at all events, was entrapped, and not only his disposition to sell botanical poisons, but his habit of doing so, was clearly proved to the benevolent magistrate.
On the next night he got the poison, and having consulted with Casey, he said he would not urge the matter for a few days, as he wished, in the most private way possible, to procure further evidence against the guilty parties.
In the meantime, every preparation was made in both families for Woodward"s wedding. The old peer, who had cross-examined his niece upon the subject, discovered her attachment to Woodward; and as he wished to see her settled before his death with a gentlemanly and respectable husband--a man who would be capable of taking care of the property which he must necessarily leave her, as she was his favorite and his heiress--and besides, he loved her as a daughter--he was resolved that Woodward and she should be united."
"I don"t care a fig," said he, "whether this Woodward has property or not. He is a gentleman, respectably connected, of accomplished manners, handsome in person, and if he has no fortune, why you have; and I think the best thing you can do is to accept him without hesitation. The comical rascal," said he, laughing heartily, "took me in so completely during our first interview, that he became a favorite with me."
"I think well of him," replied his firm-minded niece; "and even I admit that I love him, as far as a girl of such a cold const.i.tution as mine may; but I tell you, uncle, that if I discovered a taint of vice or want of principle in his character, I could fling him off with contempt."
"I wish to heaven," replied the uncle, rather nettled, "that we could have up one of the twelve apostles. I dare say some of them, if they were disposed to marry, might come up to your mark."
"Well, uncle, at all events I like him sufficiently to consent that he should become my husband."
"Well, and is not that enough; bless my heart, could you wish to go beyond it?"
In the meantime, very important matters were proceeding, which bore strongly upon Woodward"s destiny. Greatrakes had collected--aided, of course, by Barney Casey, who was the princ.i.p.al, but not the sole, evidence against him--such a series of facts, as, he felt, justified him in receiving informations against him.
At this crisis a discovery was made in connection with the Haunted House, which was privately, through Casey, communicated to Greatrakes, who called a meeting of the neighboring magistrates upon it. This he did by writing to them privately to meet him on a particular day at his little inn in Rathfillan. For obvious reasons, and out of consideration to his feelings, Mr. Lindsay"s name was omitted. At all events the night preceding the day of Woodward"s marriage with Miss Riddle had arrived, but two circ.u.mstances occurred on that evening and on that night which not only frustrated all his designs upon Miss Riddle, or rather upon her uncle"s property, but--however, we shall not antic.i.p.ate.
It was late in the evening when Miss Riddle was told by a servant that a young man, handsome and of fine proportions, wished to see her for a few minutes.
"Not that I would recommend you to see him," said the serving-woman who delivered the message. "He is, to be sure, very handsome; but, then, he is one of those wild people, and armed with a great mid-dogue or dagger, and G.o.d knows what his object may be--maybe to take your life. As sure as I live he is a tory."
"That may be," replied Miss Riddle; "but I know, by your description of him, that he is the individual to whose generous spirit I and my dear uncle owe our lives: let him be shown in at once to the front parlor."
In a few minutes she entered, and found Shawn before her.
"O Shawn!" said she, "I am glad to see you. My uncle is using all his interest to get you a pardon--that is, provided you are willing to abandon the wild life to which you have taken."
"I am willing to abandon it," he replied; "but I have one task to perform before I leave it. You have heard of the toir, or tory-hunt, which was made after me and others; but chiefly after me, for I was the object they wanted to shoot down, or rather that he, the villain, wanted to murder under the authority of those cruel laws that make us tories."
"Who do you mean by he?" asked Miss Riddle.
"I mean Harry Woodward," he replied. "He hunted me, disguised by a black mask."
"But are you sure of that, Shawn?"
"I am sure of it," he replied; "and it was not until yesterday that I discovered his villany. I know the barber in Rathfillan where the black mask was got for him, I believe, by his wicked mother."
Miss Riddle, who was a strong-minded girl, paused, and was silent for a time, after which she said,--
"I am glad you told me this, Shawn. I spoke to him in your favor, and he pledged his honor to me previous to the terrible hunt you allude to, and of which the whole country rang, that he would never take a step to your prejudice, but would rather protect you as far as he could, in consequence of your having generously saved my dear uncle"s life and mine."
"The deeper villain he, then. He is upon my trail night and day. He ruined Grace Davoren, who has disappeared, and the belief of the people is that he has murdered her. He possesses the Evil Eye too, and would by it have murdered Miss Goodwin, of Beech Grove, in order to get back the property which his uncle left her, only for the wonderful power of Squire Greatrakes, who cured her. And, besides, I have raison to know that he will be arrested this very night for attempting to poison his brother. I am a humble young man, Miss Riddle, but I am afeard that if you marry him you will stand but a bad chance for happiness."
"She was again silent, but, after a pause, she said--
"Shawn, do you want money?"
"I thank you, Miss Riddle," he replied, "I don"t want money: all I want is, that you will not be desaved by one of the most d.a.m.nable villains on the face of the earth."