218 DAYS STOLEN FOR SPORT 



Evidently O'Malley was all important and we 

 entered into Pat's anxiety as to the possibilities of 

 his being away. Harry gave expression to this 

 anxiety by asking : " How many miles have we to 

 drive before we come to O'Malley's place ? " 



" It's foive of them, yer honour, and if they 

 weren't so long there would be more av thim I'm 

 thinking ; but it's meself and Kitty'll make them 

 divilish short. It's in his pratie plot we'll have to 

 find the rogue." 



Down rough roads, along level ones with ruts, 

 round corners, the mare spun the wheels as if she 

 too would be glad to see O'Malley, and, when the 

 village in which he lived was sighted, she seemed 

 to quicken her pace, for the car swayed more than 

 ever, and fairly jumped when a wheel took a larger 

 stone than usual. On our right as we neared the 

 group of dwellings men and women were at work 

 on patches of a much-divided field and, to get a 

 view of them, Pat stood up, and there he saw 

 O'Malley, no room for doubt, for he twirled his 

 whip round his head in the wildest fashion while 

 he shouted: "The bhoy is digging praties. It's 

 meself that sees him." In his excitement he did 

 not notice that he was nearing a shallow ditch until 

 the heavy drop of the wheel on my side banged 

 him down heavily upon his seat. 



* 'Whist, ye careliss brute. Couldn't ye see I 

 was shpaking to O'Malley ? Come out av it." 



The energy of our driver continued unabated 

 until we were in the boat, which was in a much 

 briefer space of time than I expected considering 

 she lay 100 yards or more from where she could 

 be launched and the bhoy O'Malley was far older 



