ane held her hand while
she wrote, to Mr M'Keown.

"I write to tell you that Tom Kelly is away to Africa," the letter ran.
"And Mrs Kelly cried and old Davy said he would be her grandson now and
that would make you laugh again if you knowed Davy for he is the cross
old man and never says a word but it is a bad one and Doctor Dixey
knowed a man there and Jane is awful sorry she called you an old miser."

CHAPTER VIII

THE BANTAM HEN

"Father Ryan's lost his wee bantam hen," said Patsy when they were
having supper one evening. "Ould Rosie was out lukin' for it as I come
past the presbytery."

"Somebuddy's stole it," said Honeybird. Mick challenged this statement.

"Well, it's just like what somebuddy 'ud do," Honeybird replied.

"I'm goin' to help ould Rosie to luk for it the morra," said Patsy.

Honeybird looked up from her porridge. "Ye'll niver fin' it," she
said. "Somebuddy that lives away at the other side a' the town tuk it.
I seen him goin' away with it under his arm."

The others stopped scraping their plates to look at her.

"Why didn't ye tell us afore?" Jane asked.

"'Cause I was feared," said Honeybird. "He tould me that if I telt
anybuddy he'd come back an' cut my throat."

The family stared at her. Here was a wonderful adventure Honeybird had
been through, and had never said a word about it till this minute.
Questions poured in on her. Lull, remembering that Honeybird had been
out by herself all afternoon, listened anxiously. Honeybird glanced
quickly over her shoulder, as though she were afraid of being
overheard. "I was coming along the road," she began, lowering her
voice, "when who should I meet but a big, wicked-lukin' man, with a
baldy head on him, an' two roun' eyes as big as saucers."

"Away ar that, Honeybird," Patsy interrupted.

"Well, I can tell ye they luked like that to me," said Honeybird. "An'
just as he was passin' me I seen a wee beak keekin 'out a' his pocket,
an' sez I to myself: 'Thon's Father Ryan's bantam hen.'" Honeybird had
an attentive audience. "An' sez I to him: 'Drap it,' sez I."

"Lord love ye, child, the man might 'a' hurted ye," said Lull.

"He very near did," said Honeybird. "He lifted a big stone, an'
clodded it at me, an' sez he: 'If ye tell on me I'll cut yer throat,'
sez he."

"That's the last time ye're out stravagin' the roads by yer lone," said
Lull. "Yez'll not have to lave the wee sowl after this," she cautioned
the others. T