"What of that?" answered Thady; "I suppose some of them meet there
mostly every night?"

"But to-morrow's the night, Mr. Thady, when yer honer's to be
inisheated among us sworn brothers."

"I shan't be in it at all to-morrow, then."

"Not be in it! why you promised; and the boys is all noticed now.
Didn't you take the oath, Mr. Thady?" and he whispered down close to
his ear.

"I took no oath about any day. I suppose I needn't come before I
choose?"

Biddy now returned, and Thady got up to go to his dinner; Pat
followed him, and renewed the conversation in the passage. Thady,
however, would give no definite promise to come to-morrow, or the
next day, but said he meant to come some day. Pat observed that the
boys would be furious--that they would think themselves deceived and
betrayed--then urged the necessity of taking steps to prevent their
paying the rent to Keegan--hinted that Ussher had been with Miss
Feemy that morning--and at last departed when he found that his
master was not in a proper mood to be persuaded, remarking that "he
would come up again in the morning, when perhaps his honer would be
thinking better of it, and not break his promised word to the boys,
as there would be a great ruction among them, av he didn't go down
jist to spake a word to them afther what had passed; besides, Mr.
Thady," he added, "av you wor to go back now, some of thim boys as
wor in it last night, would be going to Jonas Brown's, thinking to
get the first word agin you--thinking, you know, as how you would
'peach agin thim, may be."

After this threat, Pat took his leave, and Thady, with a sad heart,
and low spirits, which even three glasses of whiskey had not raised,
went in to dinner. After swallowing a few hasty morsels, without
speaking either to his father or his sister, he returned to the
kitchen and again sat there smoking, till one of the girls came
in, telling him that Father John was on the steps of the hall-door
waiting for him--that he couldn't come in, but that he said he had
important business to speak of, and must see Mr. Thady.

"Confound you," muttered Thady, in a low voice, "why didn't you say
I was out?"

"Shure, you niver told me, Mr. Thady."

Thady considered a moment, whether he should escape through the back
door; at last, however, he plucked up his courage, and went out to
meet the priest.

CHAPTER XVI.

PROMOTION.

As soon as Father John had gone, Mrs. McKeon prepared to persuade