of Doyle. He means well, but he's frightfully
careless."

"What has Mr. Doyle to do with it?"

"I gave him the letter to post. Did you really not get it?"

"I got no letter whatever."

"I don't know what you must have thought of us. I don't know what Mr.
Ford must have thought. I don't know how to apologise. But the first
thing we did, the very first----Mrs. Gregg and the bouquet were a mere
afterthought, we just tacked her on to the programme so that the poor
little woman wouldn't feel out of it. She is a silly little thing, you
know. Not more than a child after all. It was better to humour her."

"What was in the letter which you say you posted?" said Mrs. Ford.

"I didn't say I posted it. I said Doyle forgot to. It's in his pocket at
this moment, I expect."

"What was in it?"

"Can you ask? There is only one thing which could possibly be in it. It
expresses the unanimous wish of the committee--the reception committee,
you know--Major Kent's on it--that you should present an illuminated
address of welcome to His Excellency."

"If such a letter were really written----"

"My dear Mrs. Ford! But I don't ask you to take my word for it. Just
walk straight into Ballymoy yourself. I'll stay here till you come back.
Go into the hotel. You'll find Doyle in his own room drinking whisky
and water with Thady Gallagher. Don't say a word to him. Don't ask him
whether he was given a letter or not. Simply put your hand into his
breast pocket and take it out."

"Thank you," said Mrs. Ford. "I do not care to have anything to do with
Mr. Doyle when he is drunk."

"He won't be. Not at this hour. It takes a lot to make Doyle drunk."

"When the letter arrives, if it ever does, I shall consult Mr. Ford as
to what answer I shall give."

"I can tell you what he'll say beforehand," said Dr. O'Grady. "He'll
realise the importance of the illuminated address. He'll understand that
it's the thing and that the bouquet----"

"Good-bye, Dr. O'Grady," said Mrs. Ford.

The doctor mounted his bicycle. His face was very nearly as purple as
Mrs. Ford's. He had, with the greatest difficulty survived a crisis. He
rode at top speed into Ballymoy, and dismounted, very hot, at the door
of the hotel. It was shut. He ran round to the back of the house and
entered the yard. Constable Moriarty and Mary Ellen were sitting side by
side on the wall of the pig-stye. They were sitting very close together.
Moriarty was whistling "Eileen Allan-nah" s