"Whisht!" said Frayne: "upon my word, I blieve the old Square's comin'
to pay tis a visit; does any of yez hear a horse trottin' with a shoe
loose?"


"I sartinly hear it," observed Andy Morrow.

"And I," said Ned himself.

There was now a general pause, and in the silence a horse, proceeding
from the moors in the direction of the house, was distinctly heard;
and nothing could be less problematical than that one of his shoes was
loose.

"Boys, take care of yourselves," said Shane Fadh, "if the Square comes,
he won't be a pleasant customer--he was a terrible fellow in his day:
I'll hould goold to silver that he'll have the smell of brimstone about
him."

"Nancy, where's your prayer now?" said M'Kinley, with a grin: "I think
you had betther out with it, and thry if it keeps this old brimstone
Square on the wrong side of the house."

"Behave yourself, Alick; it's a shame for you to be sich a hardened
crathur: upon my sannies, I blieve your afeard of neither God nor the
divil--the Lord purtect and guard us from the dirty baste!"

"You mane particklarly them that uses short measures and light weights,"
rejoined M'Kinley.