s we have seen, proverbial for what we call "ould
naygurliness." So there was a general tendency to say, "The divil's cure
to him," and listen complacently to any details their visitors could
impart. For in his private capacity a policeman, provided that he be
otherwise "a dacint lad," which to do him justice is commonly the case,
may join, with a few unobtrusive restrictions, in our neighborly
gossips; the rule in fact being--Free admission except on business.

Only Mrs. Kilfoyle was so much cast down by her misfortune that she
could not raise herself to the level of an interest in the affairs of
her thrifty suitor, and the babble of voices relating and commenting
sounded as meaningless as the patter of the drops which jumped like
little fishes in the large puddle at their feet. It had spread
considerably before Constable Black said to his comrade:--

"Well, Daly, we'd better be steppin' home wid ourselves as
wise as we come, as the man said when he'd axed his road of
the ould black horse in the dark lane. There's no good goin'
further, for the whole gang of them's scattered over the
counthry agin now like a seedin' thistle in a high win'."

"Aye, bedad," said Constable Daly, "and be the same token,
this win' ud skin a tanned elephant. It's on'y bogged and
drenched we'd git. Look at what's comin' up over there. That
rain's snow on the hills, every could drop of it; I seen Ben
Bawn this mornin' as white as the top of a musharoon, and
it's thickenin' wid sleet here this minute, and so it is."

The landscape did, indeed, frown upon further explorations.
In quarters where the rain had abated it seemed as if the
mists had curdled on the breath of the bitter air, and they
lay floating in long white bars and reefs low on the track of
their own shadow, which threw down upon the sombre bogland
deeper stains of gloom. Here and there one caught on the
crest of some gray-bowldered knoll, and was teazed into
fleecy threads that trailed melting instead of tangling. But
toward the north the horizon was all blank, with one vast,
smooth slant of slate-color, like a pent-house roof, which
had a sliding motion onwards.

Ody Rafferty pointed to it and said, "Troth, it's teemin'
powerful this instiant up there in the mountains. 'Twill be
much if you land home afore it's atop of you; for 'twould be
the most