Page:A Mainsail Haul - Masefield - 1913.djvu/166

154 the old religion, and there's wraiths in it, besides Themselves; and it was there they caught Andy. It was one twilight they caught him. He was standing on the grass, bowing to a great black goat; and every time he bowed the goat spoke to him in ancient Irish. Wasn't that a wonderful thing now? There was a strong magic in that; indeed there was. The shepherds didn't say anything, for Andy was a great gentleman, but they thought it a queer thing, for all that. And Carr kept wondering all the time what had become of the ship, and all the men left behind in Scotland.

"Now just about a year after Andy MacDonnell had come home, he and Carr, and Clelia and the child were sitting on the grass (on a carpet) looking out over the bay, and it was one evening, getting towards sunset; and as they were sitting talking, they saw a small boat pulling in to the bay, and Carr said, 'It's a tired man in that boat,' for he was pulling like a crazy man. And Clelia said, 'It'll be some poor man who has maybe lost his ship.' And Andy MacDonnell looked hard at the boat, and says he, 'I'll be going in,' he said, 'the evening strikes cold,' he