e or you brittle a syllable of this
to Father Pether, I'll read you both oat--do you hear that now? Bring
Barney here, then."

Barney accordingly made his appearance.

"Now mark me," continued the priest, "if either of you ever brathes a
syllable of this, salvation to me, but I'll read you both out from the
althar. Here now help me on with this sack; it's for a distressed person
in the neighborhood that wants it badly, as you may judge, or I wouldn't
be trudging off with it at this hour of the night. Katty, you go to
bed, and let Barney stay up till I come back--did you mind my words, I
repate--read you both out, if ever a syllable comes to Father Pother's
ears, or anybody's else's but our own."

The servant man accordingly assisted him to raise upon his stout and
honest shoulders a short heavy bag of oatmeal, into which he had
thrust a large flitch of newly-hung bacon; and thus loaded, the violent
anti-tithe priest bent his way, nearly at the hour of twelve o'clock, to
the residence of the Rev. Mr. Goodison, his neighbor.

It is necessary to state here, that the glebe-house of that gentleman
was situated within about two hundred yards of two crossroads, one of
which went by the gate of entrance to it. After a severe trudge, during
a night that began now to brighten as the moon rose, Father Anthony
found himself approaching the cross-roads in question, and for a moment
imagined that he saw his own shadow before him, an impression which
soon changed on observing that the shadow, or whatever it was, although
loaded much as he himself was, that is to say, with a sack on his
shoulders, evidently approached him--a circumstance which he knew to
be an impossibility, and that it must, consequently, be a distinct
individual. Having satisfied himself of this, he got under the shade of
a hedge, a movement in which he was instantly imitated by the stranger.
Each stood concealed for some time, with a, hope that the other might
advance and turn probably out of his way; but neither seemed disposed to
move. At length, Father Anthony gave a kind of inquisitive, dry cough,
by way of experiment, which was instantly responded to by another cough
equally dry and mysterious. These were repeated two or three times
without success, when at last Father Anthony advanced a little under
shadow of the hedge, and found as before that the strange individual did
the same; and thus, in fact, they kept gradually, coughing at each other
and approachi