Page:The Land of Wonders - O Conaire.pdf/26

 20 the two pistols! And the long broad sword at his side! Maire could not take her eyes from the belt for a long time, but when she did and caught sight of his face she was seized with terror.

A long, black moustache drooped over his mouth like a tree overhanging a brook. He was squint-eyed, and Maire thought he was looking at her when in reality he was looking at the Captain. He had only one ear, but there was an ear-ring in it bigger than a ring for a bull's nose. Maire thought it was the weight of the ring that had wrenched the other ear off him, and that the good ear would in time be torn off in like manner. His skin was the colour of a horse-chestnut in the autumn. She thought that possibly he was the devil himself in the form of a man. She was terrified when she heard her father call him Satan, and no wonder, for she did not yet know that this was his nickname on board the ship.

he nor the Captain delayed long in the cabin and they climbed the stairs, and Maire Ban heard them pacing the deck.

She was listening attentively and in a state of terror, but she only caught an odd word of what they were saying. She only heard what was