"You ought to do so," said Fergus, "for it is not merely Whitecraft you have to deal wid, but ould Folliard himself, who now swears that if he should lose half his fortune he will either hang or transport you."
"Ah! Fergus," replied the other, "there is an essential difference between the characters of these two men. The father of _Cooleen Bawn_ is, when he thinks himself injured, impetuous and unsparing in his resentment; but then he is an open foe, and the man whom he looks upon as his enemy always knows what he has to expect from him. Not so the other; he is secret, cautious, cowardly, and consequently doubly vindictive. He is a combination of the fox and the tiger, with all the treacherous cunning of the one, and the indomitable ferocity of the other, when he finds that he can make his spring with safety."
This conversation took place as Reilly and his companion bent their steps towards one of those antiquated and obsolete roads which we have described in the opening portion of this narrative.
"But now," asked Fergus, "where do you intend to go, or what do you intend to do with yourself?"
"I scarcely know," replied Reilly, "but on one thing my mind is determined--that I will not leave this country until I know the ultimate fate of the _Cooleen Bawn_. Rather than see her become the wife of that diabolical scoundrel, whom she detests as she does h.e.l.l, I would lose my life. Let the consequences then be what they may, I will not for the present leave Ireland. This resolution I have come to since I saw her to-night. I am her only friend, and, so help me G.o.d, I shall not suffer her to be sacrificed--murdered. In the course of the night we shall return to my house and look about us. If the coast be clear I will secure my cash and papers as I said. It is possible that a few stragglers may lurk behind, under the expectation of securing me while making a stolen visit. However, we shall try. We are under the scourge of irresponsible power, Fergus; and if Whitecraft should burn my house to-night or to-morrow, who is to bring him to an account for it? or if they should, who is to convict him?"
The night had now become very dark, but they knew the country well, and soon found themselves upon the old road they were seeking.
"I will go up," said Reilly, "to the cabin of poor widow Buckley, where we will stop until we think those blood-hounds have gone home. She has a free cottage and garden from me, and has besides been a pensioner of mine for some time back, and I know I can depend upon her discretion and fidelity. Her little place is remote and solitary, and not more than three quarters of a mile from us."
They accordingly kept the old road for some time, until they reached a point of it where there was an abrupt angle, when, to their utter alarm and consternation, they found themselves within about twenty or thirty yards of a military party.
"Fly," whispered Fergus, "and leave me to deal with them--if you don"t it"s all up with you. They won"t know me from Adam, but they"ll know you at a glance."
"I cannot leave you in danger," said Reilly.
"You"re mad," replied the other. "Is it an ould beggar man they"d meddle with? Off with you, unless you wish to sleep in Sligo jail before mornin."
Reilly, who felt too deeply the truth of what he said, bounded across the bank which enclosed the road on the right-hand side, and which, by the way, was a tolerably high one, but fortunately without bushes. In the meantime a voice cried out, "Who goes there? Stand at your peril, or you will have a dozen bullets in your carca.s.s."
Fergus advanced towards them, whilst they themselves approached him at a rapid pace, until they met. In a moment they were all about him.
"Come, my customer," said their leader, "who and what are you?
Quick--give an account of yourself."
"A poor creature that"s lookin" for my bit, sir, G.o.d help me."
"What"s your name?"
"One Paddy Brennan, sir, please your honor."
"Ay--one Paddy Brennan (hiccough), and--and--one Paddy Brennan, where do you go of a Sunday?"
"I don"t go out at all, sir, of a Sunda"; whenever I stop of a Sat.u.r.day night I always stop until Monday mornin"."
"I mean, are you a Papish?"
"Troth, I oughtn"t to say I am, your honor--or at least a very bad one."
"But you are, a Papish."
"A kind of one, sir."
"Curse me, the fellow"s humbug-gin" you, sergeant," said one of the men; "to be sure he"s a Papish."
"To be sure," replied several of the others--"doesn"t he admit he"s a Papish?"
"Blow me, if--if--I"ll bear this," replied the sergeant. "I"m a senior off--off--officer conductin" the examination, and I"ll suffer no--no--man to intherfare. I must have subor--or--ordination, or I"ll know what for. Leave him to me, then, and I"ll work him up, never fear.
George Johnston isn"t the blessed babe to be imposed upon--that"s what I say. Come, my good fellow, mark--mark me now. If you let but a quarter of--of--an inch of a lie out of your lips, I you"re a dead man. Are you all charged, gentlemen?"
"All charged, sergeant, with loyalty and poteen at any rate; hang the Pope."
"Shoulder arms--well done. Present arms. Where is--is--this rascal? Oh, yes, here he is. Well, you are there--are you?"
"I"m here, captain."
"Well blow me, that"s not--not--bad, my good fellow; if I"m not a captain, worse men have been so (hiccough); that"s what I say."
"Hadn"t we better make a prisoner of him at once, and bring him to Sir Robert"s?" observed another.
"Simpson, hold--old--your tongue, I say. Curse me if I"ll suffer any man to in--intherfere with me in the discharge of my duty."
"How do we know," said another, "but I he"s a Rapparee in disguise?--for that matter, he may be Reilly himself."
"Captain and gentlemen," said Fergus, "if you have any suspicion of me, I"m willin" to go anywhere you like; and, above all things, I"d like to go to Sir Robert"s, bekaise they know me there--many a good bit and sup I got in his kitchen."
"Ho, ho!" exclaimed the sergeant; "now I have you--now I know whether you can tell truth or not. Answer me this. Did ever Sir Robert himself give you charity? Come, now."
Fergus perceived the drift of the question at once. The penurious character of the baronet was so well known throughout the whole barony that if he had replied in the affirmative every man of them would have felt that the a.s.sertion was a lie, and he would consequently have been detected. He was prepared, however.
"Throth then, gintlemen," he replied, "since you must have the truth, and although maybe what I"m goin" to say won"t be plaisin" to you, as Sir Robert"s friends, I must come out wid it; devil resave the color of his money ever I seen yet, and it isn"t but I often axed him for it.
No--but the sarvints often sind me up a bit from the kitchen below."
"Well, come," said the sergeant, "if you have been lyin" all your life, you"ve spoke the truth now. I think we may let him go."
"I don"t think we ought," said one of them, named Steen, a man of about fifty years of age, and of Dutch descent; "as Bamet said, "we don"t know what he is," and I agree with him. He may be a Rapparee in disguise, or, what is worse, Reilly himself."
"What Reilly do yez mane, gintlemen, wid submission?" asked Fergus.
"Why, w.i.l.l.y Reilly, the famous Papish," replied the sergeant. (We don"t wish to fatigue the reader with his drunken stutterings.) "It has been sworn that he"s training the Papishes every night to prepare them for rebellion, and there"s a warrant out for his apprehension. Do you know him?"
"Throth I do, well; and to tell yez the truth, he doesn"t stand very high wid his own sort."
"Why so, my good fellow?"
"Bekaise they think that he keeps too much company wid Prodestans, an"
that he"s half a Prodestan himself, and that it"s only the shame that prevents him from goin" over to them altogether. Indeed, it"s the general opinion among the Catholics--"
"Papishes! you old dog."
"Well, then, Papishes--that he will--an" throth, I don"t think the Papishes would put much trust in the same man."
"Where are you bound for now? and what brings you out at an illegal hour on this lonely road?" asked Steen.
"Troth, then, I"m on my way to Mr. Graham"s above; for sure, whenever I"m near him, poor Paddy Brennan never wants for the good bit and sup, and the comfortable straw bed in the barn. May G.o.d reward him and his for it!"