The Emigrants Of Ahadarra. William Carleton

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СКАЧАТЬ her father's bag, which he carried as a mendicant, and he could not avoid remarking that there was in her whole manner, which was furtive and hurried, an obvious consciousness of something that was not right. He resolved, however, to follow up the impression which he felt, and accordingly in a few minutes after her father had taken his departure, he brought her aside, and without giving her a moment to concoct a reply, he asked what it was that he saw her thrusting in such a hurried manner into his bag. She reddened like scarlet, and, after pausing a moment, replied, “Nothing, sir, but an ould pair of shoes.”

      “Was that all?” he asked.

      “That was all, sir,” she replied.

      The blush and hesitation, however, with which she answered him were far from satisfactory; and without more ado he walked briskly down the avenue, and overtook her father near the gate at its entrance.

      “Peety,” said he, “what was that your daughter Nanny put into your bag a while ago? I wish to know?”

      “Deed an its scarcely worth your while, Master Hycy,” replied the mendicant; “but since you'd like to know, it was a pair of ould brogues, and here they are,” he added, “if you wish to see them.”

      He laid down the bag as he spoke, and was proceeding to pull them out, when Hycy, who felt angry with himself as well as ashamed at being detected in such a beggarly and unbecoming act of espionage, turned instantly back, after having vented several hearty curses upon the unfortunate mendicant and his bags.

      As he approached the hall-door, however, he met Nanny crossing into the kitchen-yard, and from the timid and hesitating glance she cast at him, some vague suspicion again occurred, and he resolved to enter into further conversation with her. It struck him that she had been watching his interview with her father, and could not avoid yielding to the impression which had returned so strongly upon him.

      “I saw your father, Nanny,” he said, in as significant and dry a tone as possible.

      “Did you, sir?” said she; and he remarked that while uttering the words, she again colored deeply and did not raise her eyes to his face.

      “Yes,” he replied; “but he did not bear out what you said—he had no pair of shoes in his bag.”

      “Did you see what he had in it, Master Hycy?”

      “Why,” said he, “a—hem—a—a—I didn't look—but I'll tell you what, Nanny, I think you look as if you were in possession of some secret. I say so, and don't imagine you can for a moment impose upon me. I know what your father had in his bag.”

      “Well then, if you do, sir,” she replied, “you know the saycrit.”

      “So there is a secret, then?”

      “So you say, Masther Hycy.”

      “Nanny,” he proceeded, “it occurs to me now that you never underwent a formal examination about this robbery that took place in our house.”

      “That wasn't my fault,” she replied; “I mostly happened to be out.”

      “Well, but do you know anything about it?”

      “Not a thing—no more than yourself, Mr. Hycy.”

      Her interrogator turned upon her a hard scrutinizing glance, in which it was easy to see that she read a spirit of strong and dissatisfied suspicion. She was evidently conscious of this; for as Hycy stood gazing upon her, she reddened, and betrayed unequivocal symptons of confusion.

      “Because, Nanny,” he proceeded, “if you knew anything about it, and didn't mention it at once to the family, you would be considered as one of the robbers.”

      “An' wouldn't I be nearly as bad if I didn't?” she replied; “surely the first thing I'd do would be to tell.”

      “It's very strange,” observed Hycy, “that such a robbery could be committed in a house where there are so many servants, without any clue whatsoever to a discovery.”

      “Well, I don't agree with you there, Mr. Hycy—if what your father and mother an' all o' them say is true—that it wasn't often the hall-door was bolted at night; and that they can't say whether it was fastened on that night or not. Sure if it wasn't, there was nothing to prevent any one from comin' in.”

      “Very true, Nanny,” he replied, “very true; and we have paid severely for our negligence.”

      This closed the conversation, but Hycy felt that, proceed from whatever source it might, it was impossible to dismiss certain vague suspicions as connected with the mendicant's daughter. He determined, however, to watch her narrowly; and somehow he could not divest himself of the impression that she saw through his design. This incident occurred a few days after the robbery.

      Jemmy Burke, though in many respects a man of easy and indolent character, was nevertheless a person who, as is familiarly! said, “always keep an eye to the main chance.” He was by no means over-tidy either in his dress or farming; but it mattered little in what light you contemplated him, you were always certain to find him a man not affected by trifles, nor rigidly systematic in anything; but at the same time you could not help observing that he was a man of strong points, whose life was marked by a course of high prosperity, that seemed to flow in upon him, as it were, by some peculiar run of good fortune. This luck, however, was little less than the natural result of shrewd mother-wit, happily applied to the: ordinary transactions of life, and assuming the appearance of good fortune rather than of sound judgment, in consequence of the simplicity of character under which it acted. Ever since the night of the robbery, he had devoted himself more to the pipe than he had ever been known to do before; he spoke little, too; but what he did say was: ironical, though not by any means without a tinge of quiet but caustic humor.

      Hycy, on entering the parlor, found him! seated in an arm-chair, smoking as usual, whilst his mother, who soon came down stairs, appeared dressed in more than her usual finery.

      “What keeps Patsy Dolan wid the car?” she inquired. “Hycy, do you see any appearance of him?”

      “No, ma'am,” replied the son; “I didn't know you wanted him.”

      Jemmy looked at her with a good deal of surprise, and, after whiffing away the smoke, asked—“And well, Rosha—begs pardon—Mrs. Burke—is it a fair question to ax where you are bound for?”

      “Fair enough, Mr. Burke,” she replied; “but I'm not goin' to answer it.”

      “You're bound for a journey, ma'am, I think?”

      “I'm bound for a journey, sir.”

      “Is it a long journey, Mrs. Burke?”

      “No, indeed; it's a short journey, Mister Burke.”

      “Ah!” replied her husband, uttering a very significant groan; “I'm afraid it is.”

      “Why do you groan, Mr. Burke?”

      “Oh it doesn't signify,” he replied, dryly; “it's no novelty, I believe, to hear a man—a married man—groan in this world; only if you wor for a long journey, I'd be glad to give you every assistance in my power.”

      “You СКАЧАТЬ