looked down on me. I daresay I was paler than usual, though I
did my best to imitate his coolness.

"Keep up your spirits, Terence," he said. "I don't believe that those
fellows intend to carry out their threats. Though why they have made us
prisoners is beyond my comprehension."

Some of our captors growled out something, but what it was I could not
understand, though I think it was a hint to the major and me to hold our
tongues. The hunchback kept close to me, having released my throat, and
merely held on to me by one of my legs. Hoolan himself stalked at our
head, with the pistol, which he had reloaded, in his hand. The men
talked among themselves in their native Irish, but didn't address
another word to us. They seemed eager to push on, but the character of
the road prevented our moving out of a foot's pace. On and on we went,
till we saw a group of large trees ahead. Hoolan pointed to them with a
significant gesture. His followers, with loud shouts, hurried us
forward. I now observed that two of them had coils of rope under their
arms. They were of no great strength, but sufficient to bear the weight
of an ordinary man. We quickly reached the trees, when the outlaws made
us dismount under one, which, I remarked, had a wide extending bough,
about fifteen feet from the ground. My uncle now began to look more
serious than before, as if, for the first time, he really believed that
our captors would carry out their threats.

"Terence, we must try and free ourselves from these ruffians," he said.
"I have no care for myself, but I don't want your young life to be taken
from you. Keep your eyes about you, and if you can manage to spring
into your saddle, don't pull rein until you have put a good distance
between yourself and them."

"I could not think of going, and leaving you in the hands of the
ruffians, Uncle McMahon," I answered. "I'll beg them to spare your
life, and will promise them any reward they may demand,--a hundred, or
two hundred pounds. Surely they would rather have the money than take
your life."

"Don't promise them anything of the sort," he said. "If they were to
obtain it, they would be seizing every gentleman they could get hold of.
Their object is not money, or they would have robbed us before this.
Do as I tell you, and be on the watch to escape while they are trying to
hang me. I'll take care to give you a good chance."

While he was speaking they were throwing the ropes ove