oved to loiter by them, to watch them bubbling and
sparkling over the rocks, to dabble her hands and feet in them, or to
lie her length upon the turf beside them, in keen consciousness of the
incessant, delicate, delicious murmur of the water, a sound which
conveyed to her much more than can be expressed in articulate speech. At
times too, when she was tired of loitering, she would look up and see
the mountain-top just above her, and begin to climb; but always when she
came to the spot, there was the mountain-top just as far above her as
before; so she used to think that the mountain really reached the sky.

When they returned, late that afternoon, Riley met them with a very
serious face, and told Captain Caldwell mysteriously that Pat Murphy's
horse was ill.

"What a d----d unfortunate coincidence," Captain Caldwell muttered to
his wife; and Beth noticed that her mother's face, which had looked
fresh and bright from the drive, settled suddenly into its habitual
anxious, careworn expression.

Beth loitered about the yard till her parents had gone in; then she
climbed the turf-stack, and looked over. The sick horse was tied to
the stable-door, and stood, hanging his head with a very woebegone
expression, and groaning monotonously. Murphy was trying to persuade
him to take something hot out of a bucket, while Bap-faced Flanagan
and another man, known as Tony-kill-the-cow, looked on and gave good
advice.

Beth's fury revived when she saw Murphy, and she laughed aloud
derisively. All three men started and looked up, then crossed
themselves.

"Didn't I tell ye, Pat!" Beth exclaimed. "Ye may save yourself the
trouble of doctoring him. He's as dead as my magpie."

Murphy looked much depressed. "Shure, Miss Beth, the poor baste done
ye no harm," he pleaded.

"No," said Beth, "nor my bird hadn't done you any harm, nor the cow
Tony cut the tail off hadn't done him any harm."

"I didn't kill yer burrd," Murphy asserted doggedly.

"We'll see," said Beth. "When the horse dies we'll know who killed the
bird. Then one of you skunks can try and kill me. But I'd advise you
to use a silver bullet; and if you miss, you'll be damned.--Blast ye,
Riley, will ye let me alone!"

Riley, hearing what was going on, and having called to her vainly to
hold her tongue, had climbed the stack himself, and now laid hold of
her. Beth struck him in the face promptly, whereupon he shook her, and
loosening her hold of the wall, began to carry