Page:The Snake's Pass (Stoker).djvu/105

 subject," and I looked rather angrily at him, when Dick was not looking.

Andy hastened to put matters right—he evidently did not want to lose his day's hire on the morrow:—

"Yer 'an'rs! ye may take me wurrd for it—there's a bog beyant at Knocknacar which'll intherest yez intirely—I remimber it meself a lot higher up the mountain whin I was a spalpeen—an' it's been crawlin' down iver since. It's a mighty quare shpot intirely!"

This settled the matter, and we arranged forthwith to start early on the following morning for Knocknacar, Andy, before he left, having a nightcap—out of a tumbler.

We were astir fairly early in the morning, and having finished a breakfast sufficiently substantial to tide us over till dinner time, we started on our journey. The mare was in good condition for work, the road was level and the prospect fine, and altogether we enjoyed our drive immensely. As we looked back we could see Knockcalltecrore rising on the edge of the coast away to our right, and seemingly surrounded by a network of foam-girt islands, for a breeze was blowing freshly from the south-west.

At the foot of the mountain—or rather, hill—there was a small, clean-looking sheebeen. Here Andy stopped and put up the mare; then he brought us up a narrow lane bounded by thick hedges of wild briar to where we could see the bog which was the object of our visit. Dick's foot was still painful, so I had to give him an arm, as on yes-