d sure it's all the same to you,
alive or dead?'

'Oh, that won't do,' says his frind; 'I can't wait no more,' says he.

'I don't want you to wait, my dear frind,' says the colonel; 'all I
want is, that you'll be plased to kill me before you take me away.'

'With pleasure,' says Owld Nick.

'But will you promise me my choice of dyin' one partic'lar way?' says
the colonel.

'Half a dozen ways, if it plazes you,' says he.

'You're mighty obleegin',' says the colonel; 'and so,' says he, 'I'd
rather die by bein' hanged with a rope _made out of the sands of the
say_,' says he, lookin' mighty knowin' at the _owld fellow_.

'I've always one about me,' says the divil, 'to obleege my frinds,'
says he; and with that he pulls out a rope made of sand, sure enough.

'Oh, it's game you're makin',' says the colonel, growin' as white as a
sheet.

'The _game is mine_, sure enough,' says the owld fellow, grinnin',
with a terrible laugh.

'That's not a sand-rope at all,' says the colonel.

'Isn't it?' says the divil, hittin' him acrass the face with the ind
iv the rope, and the sand (for it _was_ made of sand, sure enough)
went into one of his eyes, and made the tears come with the pain.

'That bates all I ever seen or heerd,' says the colonel, sthrivin' to
rally and make another offer; 'is there anything you _can't_ do?'

'Nothing you can tell me,' says the divil, 'so you may as well leave
off your palaverin' and come along at wanst.'

'Will you give me one more offer,' says the colonel.

'You don't desarve it,' says the divil; 'but I don't care if I do';
for you see, sir, he was only playin' wid him, and tantalising the
owld sinner.

'All fair,' says the colonel, and with that he ax'd him could he stop
a woman's tongue.

'Thry me,' says Owld Nick.

'Well then,' says the colonel, 'make my lady's tongue be quiet for the
next month and I'd thank you.'

'She'll never trouble you agin,' says Owld Nick; and with that the
colonel heerd roarin' and cryin', and the door of his room was thrown
open and in ran his daughter, and fell down at his feet, telling him
her mother had just dhropped dead.

The minit the door opened, the divil runs and hides himself behind a
big elbow-chair; and the colonel was frekened almost out of his siven
sinses by raison of the sudden death of his poor lady, let alone the
jeopardy he was in himself, seein' how the divil had _forestalled_ him
every way; and after ringin' his bell and callin' t