ise state of the poll, I mean case; so
now go to work, and mind you do the trick properly."

Thus adjured, the old man, who appeared completely bewildered by all
that was going on, mechanically took hold of a rope, and began slowly
and at stated intervals tolling one of the bells.

"Where are your assistants, my good man?" inquired Coleman after a short
pause.--The only answer was a stare of vacant surprise, and Coleman
continued, "Why, you don't mean to say you only ring one bell, to be
sure? oh, this is all wrong:--what do you say, Mr. President?"

"Wrong?" replied Lawless, removing the cigar from his mouth and puffing
a cloud of smoke into the sexton's face, "I should just think it _was_,
most particularly and confoundedly wrong. I'll tell you what it is, old
death's-head and cross-bones; things can't be allowed to go on ~131~~in
this manner. Reform, sir, is wanting, 'the bill, the whole bill, and
nothing but the bill'. I mean to get into Parliament some day, Fairlegh,
when I am tired of knocking about, you know--but that wasn't exactly
what I was going to say."

"Suppose we show him the proper way to do it, Mr. President!" suggested
Freddy, catching hold of the rope of one of the bells.

"Off she goes," cried Lawless, seizing another.

"Gentlemen, good gentlemen, don't ring the bells, pray," implored the
old man, "you'll raise the whole town; they are never rung in that way
without there's a fire, or a flood, or the riot act read, or something
of that dreadful natur the matter."

But his expostulations were vain. Lawless had already begun ringing his
bell in a manner which threatened to stun us all; and Coleman saying to
me, "Come, Frank, we're regularly in for it, so you may as well take a
rope and do the thing handsomely while we _are_ about it; it would
be horridly shabby of you to desert us now," I hastened to follow his
example.

Now it must be known that when I arrived at the inn, before supper,
owing probably to a combination of the fatigue of the day, the
excitement of the evening and the pain of my arm, I felt somewhat faint
and exhausted, and should have greatly preferred going at once quietly
to bed; but, as I was aware that by so doing I should break up the party
I resolved to keep up as well as I could, and say nothing about it.
Finding myself refreshed by the bottled porter, I repeated the dose
several times, and the remedy continuing to prove efficacious, without
giving the thing a thought, I