all, it must be by the hair of the head. No, no; let us bring him first,
whether he will or not, an' ax his consent aftherwards!"

"I'll tell you what it is, boys," continued Connell, "I'll hould a
wager, if you lave him to me, I'll bring him wid his own consint."

"No, nor sorra that you'll do, nor could do," replied Traynor: "for,
along wid every thing else, he thinks he's not jist doated on by the
Findramore people, being one of the Ballyscanlan tribe. No, no; let two
of us go to his place, and purtind that we have other business in the
fair of Clansallagh on Monday next, and ax him in to dhrink, for he'll
not refuse that, any how; then, when he's half tipsy, ax him to convoy
us this far; we'll then meet you here, an' tell him some palaver or
other--sit down where we are now, and, afther making him dead dhrunk,
hoist a big stone in the creel, and Mat in the sack, on the other side,
wid his head out, and off wid him; and he will know neither act nor part
about it till we're at Findramore."

Having approved of this project, they pulled out each a substantial
complement of stout oaten bread, which served, along with the whiskey,
for breakfast. The two persons pitched on for decoying Mat were Dolan
and Traynor, who accordingly set out, full of glee at the singularity
and drollness of their undertaking. It is unnecessary to detail the
ingenuity with which they went about it, because, in consequence of
Kavanagh's love of drink, very little ingenuity was necessary.
One circumstance, however, came to light, which gave them much
encouragement, and that was a discovery that Mat by no means relished
his situation.

In the meantime, those who stayed behind in the glen felt their patience