door of his shop. He beckoned to the
sergeant.

"It's lucky," he said, "things happening the way they have on the very
first night of the new doctor being here."

"I don't know so much about luck," said Sergeant Rahilly. "What luck?"

"The half of the children in the town is took with it," said Flanagan.

"You may call that luck if it pleases you," said the sergeant. "But it's
not my notion of luck. My own Molly's bellowing like a young heifer, and
Mrs. Conerney's boy is dying, so she tells me. If that's luck I'd rather
you had it than me."

"I'm sorry for the childer," said Flanagan; "but Mrs. Doolan, who's
in the shop this minute drinking porter, says it'll do them no harm if
they're given a sup of water to drink out of the Holy Well beyond Tubber
Neeve, and a handful of rowan berries laid on the stomach or where-ever
else the pain might be."

"Rowan berries be damned," said the sergeant. "I'm off for the doctor;
not that I'm expecting much from him. A young fellow with a face like
that! I wish to God Dr. Farelly was back with us."

"Doctors is no use," said Flanagan, "neither one nor another, if it's
true what Mrs. Doolan says."

"And what does Mrs. Doolan say?" asked the sergeant.

"I'm not saying I believe her," said Flanagan, "and I'm not asking you
to believe her, but what she says is----"

He whispered in the sergeant's ear. The sergeant looked at him
bewildered.

"Them ones?" he said, "Them ones? Now what might you and Mrs. Doolan be
meaning by that, Timothy Flanagan?"

"Just fairies," said Flanagan. "Mind you, I'm not saying I believe it."

"Fairies be damned," said the sergeant.

"They may be," said Flanagan. "I'm not much of a one for fairies myself;
but you'll not deny, sergeant that it looks queer, all the children
being took the same way at the same time. Anyhow, whether you believe
what Mrs. Doolan says or not----"

"I do not believe it," said the sergeant. "Not a word of it."

"You needn't," said Flanagan, "I don't myself. All I say is that it's
lucky a thing of the sort happening the very first evening the new
doctor's in the place. It's fairies he's after, remember that. It's
looking for fairies that brought him here. Didn't Dr. Farelly tell me
so himself and tell you? Wasn't Dr. Farelly afraid he wouldn't stay on
account of fairies being scarce about these parts this long time? And
now the place is full of them--according to what Mrs. Doolan says."

Sergeant Rahilly heard, or fan