d she'll see the sense of
presenting the illuminated address."

"Is it that one present the address? Believe you me, doctor, if she does
the Lord-Lieutenant won't be inclined for giving us the pier. The look
of her would turn a barrel of porter sour."

"She'll look quite different," said Dr. O'Grady, "when the time comes.
After all, Ford has to make the best of his opportunities like the
rest of us. He can't afford to allow his wife to scowl at the
Lord-Lieutenant."

"Was there no one else about the place, only her?" said Doyle.

"There were others, of course; but--the fact is, Doyle, if we got her
back up at the start her husband would have written letters to
Dublin Castle crabbing the whole show. Those fellows up there place
extraordinary confidence in resident magistrates. They'd have been much
more inclined to believe him than either you or me. If Ford was to set
to work to spoil our show we'd probably not have got the Lord-Lieutenant
down here at all. That's why I was so keen on your getting the letter to
her at once, and leaving her under the impression that you'd had it in
your pocket for two days."

"Devil the sign of believing any such thing there was about her when I
left."

"She may come to believe it later on," said Dr. O'Grady, "when she and
Ford have had time to talk the whole thing over together."

The doctor's servant came into the room while he spoke.

"Constable Moriarty is outside at the door," she said, "and he's wishing
to speak with you. There's a young woman along with him."

"Mary Ellen, I expect," said Dr. O'Grady.

"He's upset in his mind about that same Mary Ellen," said Doyle, "ever
since he heard she was the niece of the General. It's day and night he's
round the hotel whistling all sorts and----"

"You told me all about that before," said Dr. O'Grady. "Bring him in,
Bridgy, bring in the pair of them, and let's hear what it is they want."

Constable Moriarty entered the room, followed at a little distance by
Mary Ellen. He led her forward, and set her in front of Dr. O'Grady. He
looked very much as Touchstone must have looked when he presented the
rustic Audrey to the exiled Duke as "a poor virgin, sir, an ill-favoured
thing, sir, but mine own."

"If you want a marriage license," said Dr. O'Grady, "you've come to the
wrong man. Go up to Father McCormack."

"I do not want a marriage license," said Constable Moriarty, "for I'm
not long enough in the force to get leave to marry