edoubtable Fitzy O'Driscol, who was by no means
prepared for seeing such a number of Whiteboys about his house. Alick
Purcel and M'Carthy also got horses, and as they went along, M'Carthy
received from him a solution to the mysterious occurrences in which he
had been involved.

"Mr. Purcel's family," said he, but not in hearing of the females, "is
the last family that I ought to protect this night. They have shot my
twin brother, the man that went by the name of Buck English. He is now
gone to his reckonin' and may God forgive him! He was tried and found
guilty of murdher in the county of Cork, and the worst of it was that
it was in the act of robbin' a gentleman's house that the murdher was
committed. While he was in gaol I contrived to get into him, and we
managed so well that he escaped, and I was kept in his place. The next
day I tould them the truth, and he was taken again; but it seems that
the gintleman that prosecuted, on hearin' that there was another person
so like him, felt unaisy in his mind and got him off for the murdher,
in dread he might have sworn against the wrong man. He couldn't keep
himself quiet though, for, on the very day before his pardon came, he
was caught, along wid some others, in the act of breakin' out of
the gaol, and for that he got a severe wound and seven years'
transportation. All our lives, I and my other brother--"

"Why, have you another brother, Cannie?" asked M'Carthy.

"Troth, and I have; and you may thank God that I have, or it isn't here
but in heaven, I hope, you'd be this night. Well, as I was sayin', I
an' my other brother spent our whole life in tryin' to defate him in his
plans and skames--may God forgive him! We often did, but not always; for
sometimes he was too many for both of us."

"But, Cannie, about the night I was in Frank Finnerty's, who was it that
saved my life twice?"

"One of them--he that wounded the fellows--I don't wish to name--but,
indeed I'm crippled here, bekaise you know, gintlemen, that there
are laws in the land. A friend to your family met Mogue Moylan, and,
suspectin' what was in the wind, sent that friend to assist you, and it
was by volunteerin' to take your life that he was able to save you. My
brother, afther meetin' him, and hearin' from him what happened was the
man that met you aftherwards, that gave you the passwords, and showed
you how to open the windey. There were others there that knew you, for I
hope you don't think that every ma