42 GARRYOWEN 



and the moon glowed out, making wonderland of 

 the world around them. 



" We're more than ten miles on our road now, 

 miss," said Moriarty, speaking across the car to 

 Miss Grimshaw. " Do you see that crucked tree 

 bey ant on the right be the bog patch? " 



" Yes." 



" It was haK-way betune that and thim bushes 

 they shot ould Mr Moriarty two years ago come 

 next June." 



" Shot him? " 



" Faith they filled him so full of bullets that the 

 family had to put a sintry over the grave for fear 

 the boys would dig him up to shtrip him of his 

 lead." 



" But who shot him? " 



" That's what the jury said, miss, when they 

 brought it in not guilty against Billy the Rafter, 

 Long Sheelan and Mick Mulcahy, and they taken 

 with the guns smokin' in their hands — the black- 

 guards! " 



*' Good heavens, but why did they shoot him? " 



" Well, he'd got himself disliked, miss. For 

 more than five years the boys had been warning 

 him ; sure they sent him enough pictures of coffins 

 and skulls to paper a wall with, and he, he'd fight 

 his pipe with them. Little he cared for skulls or 

 cross-bones. ' To blazes with them,' he'd say. 

 ' All right,' says the boys, ' we'll give you one 

 warnin' more.' ' Warn away,' says he, and they 

 warned. Two nights after they laid him out — do 



