20 THE SILVER FOX 



mercy on him, and more than he'd ax of it. 

 Ye needn't be talking of respect." 



Several of the party remarked, ''that's 

 thrue," and the publican felt that he had 

 said the right thing. Danny Quin's son 

 here rose and went round the circle with the 

 bottle. The attention was accepted with 

 protests, or with groans that betokened 

 indifference to all earthly affairs. Young 

 Quin sat down again. He was not drunk, 

 but he had been drinking and crying on and 

 off for three days and nights, and his big 

 limbs felt tremulous and his brain hot. 



" A nice, dacent little man as ever was in 

 the barony," said an old woman glibly ; 

 " the Lord have mercy on him, 'tis he got 

 the death very sudden " — she crossed her- 

 self — " and very quare, the Lord save us." 



" I uudherstand," said the publican, con- 

 scious of leading the conversation with 

 ability, " that he sustained fatal injuries 

 from a fall." 



*' Arrah, what fatal injuries ! " returned 

 the old woman with scorn ; "no, but to 



