All-Hallow Eve; or, The Test of Futurity, Chapters XXX-XXXVI [pp. 241-263]

4tll-Hallow FEve; or, The Test of Futurity.
"No, dear. Give me a sup of milk,
or I will choke."
Poor Winny, in the ignorance of
her past habits, called out to Biddy to
bring her some.
Biddy answered with a smothered
cry from the inner room. Cotter
flew to the door and unlocked it. In
another moment he had set her free
from her cords, and she darted across
the kitchen to minister to the old
man's wants at Winny's direction.
Poor Bully-dhu then pointed out
to Cotter the share he had taken in
the night's work, and it might almost
be said quietly "gave himself up."
At least he showed no disposition to
escape. He lay down at the dead
man's head, sweeping the floor with
an odd wag of his bushy tail, rather
proud than frightened at what he had
done. That it was his work, Cotter
could not for a moment doubt. The
man's throat had by this time turned
almost black, and there were the
marks of the dog's teeth sunk deep at
each side of the windpipe, where
the choking grip of death had prevailed.
Cotter then brought a quilt from
the room where he had released
Biddy Murtagh, and spread it over
the corpse, and was bringing Bullydhu out to the yard, when he met
Jamesy Doyle at the door. Jamesy
took charge of him at ontce, and
brought him round to the yard, where
for the present he shut him up in his
wooden house; but he did not intend
to neglect him.
Jamesy told Cotter that Sergeant
Driscoll and his men had taken their
prisoners safe to the barracks, and
desired him to'tell Cotter to join them
as soon as soon as possible.
4"I I cannot join them yet awhile,
Jamesy; we have a corpse in the
house."
"God's mercy! an' shure it's
not the poor ould masther?" said
Jamesy.
"No; I don't know who he is.
He must have been one of the depredators."
"An' th' ould masther done for
him!-God be praised? More power to his elbow!"
"No, Jamesy, it was not the
old master. It was Bully-dhu that
choked him-see here;" and he
turned down the quilt.
" The divil a word of lie you're tellin', sir; dear me, but he gev' him
the tusks in style. Begorra, Bully, I'll
give you my own dinner to-day, an' tomorrow, an' next day for that. See,
Mr. Cotter, how the Lord overtakes
the guilty at wanst, sometimes.
Didn't he strike down Tom Murdock
wid lightning, an' he batin' me out a
horseback? an I'd never have cum up
wid him only for that."
Cotter could not help smiling at
Jamesy's enthusiam.
"What are you laughin' at, Mr.
Cotter? Maybe it's what you don't
give in to me; but I tell you I seen
the flash of li,ghtning take him down ov
the:horse, as plain as the daylight.
Where's Miss Winny?"
"Whist, whist, boy, don't be talking that way. Never heed Miss
Winny; she's with her father. I
would not like her to see this dead
man here; don't be talking so loud.
Is there any place we could draw him
into, until we find out who he is?"
- "An' I'd like to show him to Miss
Winny, for Bully-dhu's sake. Will I
call her?"
"If you do, I'll stick you with
this, Jamesy," said Cotter, getting
angry, and tapping his bayonet with
his finger.
"Begorra, an' that's not the way
to get me to do anytlling, I can tell
you; for I-"
" Well, there's a good boy, James;
you have proved yourself one tonight; and now for God's sake
don't fret poor Miss Winny worse
than what she is already, and it
would nearly kill her to see this
dead man here now-it would make
her think of some one else dead,
Jamesy —tigum thu?"
"Thau, begorra - you're right
enough."
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