u sheltered at the South lodge, one of the many your goodness
has comforted. A bad fellow through and through."

"He will not harm us, Shawn. He is dead. He was found with a broken
neck just by the doorway of the Admiral's tomb. He must have stepped
over the edge of the Mount not knowing there was a steep fall."

"I am glad for your sake and Terry's. For my own sake I should welcome
any atonement."

He went on in a low voice.

"A strange thing happened to me--when was it--the day I went hunting?"

"It is the third day since that day."

"I did not know it was so long. You remember that Black Prince was
lame. That was why Patsy was late. He wanted me not to ride Mustapha,
but I was determined. The horse went all right during the day--a bit
difficult and sulky at some of the jumps, but I kept coaxing him and
got him along. It was a long day. We put up three foxes. The last
gave us a smart run before we lost him the other side of Altnabrocky.
It was late by then and it was raining. You'd think Mustapha would
have come home quietly. There was the devil in him, poor brute; and
Patsy could not exorcise it. I suppose he is dead?"

"He broke his back."

"Ah, well, he meant to break mine, I think. You know what wild country
there is about Altnabrocky. The dusk came fast and I lost my way. I
knew it was going to be very dark before the moon rose; the rain was
beating in my face and Mustapha kept jibbing and trying to turn round,
for he hated the rain and the wind on his eyes. I was considering
whether I ought to lead him, and wondering where on earth we were, when
a low white light came under the rim of an immense cloud. It was like
daylight come back for a little while. By the light I saw a little
farmhouse up a boreen off the road. I was dreading to lose the road in
the darkness, for it was not much more than a track. Mustapha had been
dancing about a bit, but suddenly he whinnied and made a rush for the
boreen. It was all right, as I wanted to go there, but he'd have gone
whether I wanted to or not.

"An extraordinary thing happened. The door of the cottage opened and
out stepped a little old man. I could see his figure against the light
within: and Mustapha, who was such a devil with all of us, started
whinnying and nuzzling the old fellow, who seemed just as delighted to
see him.

"'How far am I from the main road to Galway?' I asked; for I knew I'd
be all right once I got on to that. I