lake--ay, and see if there isn't a boat on it. Well, well, but it's
beautiful--one could walk up the shepherd's path there, where the goat
is--ay, there's a fellow going up--musha, that's me--I'm going over to
Cubber-na-creena, by the short cut."

"Tell me all you know of what happened last night, Terry," repeated Sir
Marmaduke.

"It was a great fire, devil a doubt of it," said Terry, eagerly; "the
blaze from the big stack was twice as high as the roof; but when I put
the wet sail of the boat on it, it all went into black smoke; it nearly
choked me."

"How did it catch fire first, Terry? can you tell us that?"

"They put a piece of tindir in it; I gave them an ould rag, and they
rubbed it over with powder, and set it burning.'

"Who were they that did this?"

"The fellows that threw me down--what fine pistols they had, with silver
all over them! They said that they would not beat me at all, and they
didn't either. When I gave them the rag, they said, 'Now, my lad, we'll
show you a fine fire;' and, true for them, I never seen a grander."

In this vague, rambling strain, did Terry reply to every question put
to him, his thoughts ever travelling in one narrow circle. Who they were
that fired the haggard, how many, and what kind of appearance they wore,
he knew nothing of whatever; for in addition to his natural imbecility
of mind, the shock of the adventure, and the fever of his wounds and
bruises, had utterly routed the small remnant of understanding which
usually served to guide him.

To one question only did his manner evince hesitation and doubt in the
answer, and that was, when Sir Marmaduke asked him, how it happened that
he should have been up at the Lodge at so late an hour, since the doors
were all locked and barred a considerable time previous.

Terry's face flushed scarlet at the question, and he made no reply; he
stole a sharp, quick glance towards Miss Travers, beneath his eyelids,
but as rapidly withdrew it again, when his colour grew deeper and
deeper.

The old man marked the embarrassment, and all his suspicions were
revived at once. "You must tell me this, Terry," said he, in a voice of
some impatience; "I insist upon knowing it."

"Yes, Terry, speak it out freely; you can have no cause for
concealment," said Sybella, encouragingly.

"I'll not tell it!" said he, after a pause of some seconds, during
which he seemed to have been agitating within himself all the reasons on
either side--"I'll n