"Oh, mother, hush! he will hear," said Nora.

"It is just like you, Nora; you wish to keep----"

"Oh, come, now," said the Squire; "I hear the grumbles beginning. No
grumbles when we are having our ride--eh, Ellen? I want you to come
back with a hearty appetite for dinner, and a hearty inclination to
sleep tonight."

They drove faster and faster. Occasionally Nora touched the mare the
faintest little flick with the end of her long whip. The creature
responded to her touch as though girl and horse were one.

At last they drew up outside a dilapidated gate, one hinge of which
was off. The Squire jumped down from his seat, came round, and held
the horse's head.

"Whoa! whoa!" he said. "Hullo, you, Mike! Why aren't you in your
place? Come and open the gate this minute, lad."

A small boy, with bare feet and ragged trousers, came hurrying, head
over heels, down the road. Mrs. O'Shanaghgan shuddered and shut her
eyes. The gate was swung open. Nora led the mare skillfully round a
somewhat sharp corner, and the next instant they were dashing with
headlong speed up a steep avenue. It was neglected; weeds grew all
over it, and the adjacent meadows were scarcely distinguishable from
the avenue itself.

The Squire ran after the dog-cart, and leaped up while the mare was