n him: jist for all the
world--the Lord be about us--as Antony and me war coming out on the road
at the bridge, there he was standing--a headless man, all black, without
face or eyes upon him--and then we left the coffin and cut acrass the
fields home."

* My soul to God and the Virgin.

** By the very book--meaning the Bible, which, in the
Irish, is not simply called the book, but the very
book, or the book itself.

"But where is he now, Eman?" said one of them, "are you sure you seen
him?"

"Seen him!" both exclaimed, "do you think we'd take to our scrapers
like two hares, only we did; arrah, bad manners to you, do you think the
coffin could walk up wid itself from the bridge to this, only he brought
it?--isn't that enough?"

"Thrue for yez," the rest exclaimed, "but what's to be done?"

"Why to bring the coffin home, now that we're all together," another
observed; "they say he never appears to more than two at wanst, so he
won't be apt to show himself now, when we're together."

"Well, boys, let two of you go down to it," said one of them, "and we'll
wait here till yez bring it up."

"Yes," said Eman Dhu, "do you go down, Owen, as you have the Scapular*
on you, and the jug of holy water in your hand, and let Billy M'Shane,
here repate the confeethurs (* _The Confiteor_) along wid you."

* The scapular is one of the highest religious orders,
and is worn by both priest and layman. It is considered
by the people a safeguard against evil both spiritual
and physical.

"Isn't it the same thing, Eman," replied Owen, "if I shake the holy
water on you, and whoever goes wid you? sure you know that if only one
dhrop of it touched you, the devil himself couldn't harm you!"

"And what needs yourself be afraid, then," retorted Eman; "and you has
the Scapular on you to the back of that? Didn't you say, you war coming
out, that if it was the devil, you'd disparse him?"

"You had betther not be mintioning his name, you _omadhaun_," replied
the other; "if I was your age, and hadn't a wife and childre on my
hands, it's myself that would trust in God, and go down manfully; but
the people are hen-hearted now, besides what they used to be in my
time."

During this conversation, I had resolved, if possible, to keep up the
delusion, until I could get myself extricated with due secrecy out of
this ridiculous situation; and I was glad to find that, owing to their
cowardice, there was s