hrough the bulrushes. Half of the barge had
passed him, and he held out his hands. The ground gave way and he went
under the water; green light took the place of day, and when he
struggled to the surface he saw the rudder moving. He went under again,
and remembered no more until he opened his eyes and saw the bargeman
leaning over him.

"Now, what ails you to be throwing yourself into the water in that way?"

Ulick closed his eyes; he had no strength for answering him, and a
little while after he heard someone come on board the barge, and he
guessed it must be the man who drove the horse. He lay with his eyes
closed, hearing the men talking of what they should do with him. He
heard a third voice and guessed it must be a man come up from the
cabin. This man said it would be better to take him back to the last
lock, and they began to argue about who should carry him. Ulick was
terribly frightened, and he was just going to beg of them not to bring
him back when he heard one of them say, "It will be easier to leave him
at the next lock." Soon after, he felt the boat start again, and when
Ulick opened his eyes, he saw hedges gliding past, and he hoped the
next lock was a long way off.

"Now," said the steersman, "since you are awaking out of your faint
you'll be telling us where you come from, because we want to send you
home again."

"Oh," he said, "from a long way off, the Shannon."

"The Shannon!" said the bargeman. "Why, that is more than seventy miles
away. How did you come up here?"

It was a dreadful moment. Ulick knew he must give some good answer or
he would find himself in his mother's keeping very soon. But what
answer was he to give? it was half accident, half cunning that made him
speak of the Shannon. The steersman said again, "The Shannon is seventy
miles away, how did you get up here?" and by this time Ulick was aware
that he must make the bargemen believe that he had hidden himself on
one of the boats coming up from the Shannon, and that he had given the
bargemen some money, and then he burst into tears and told them he had
been very unhappy at home; and when they asked him why he had been
unhappy, he did not answer, but he promised he would not be a naughty
boy any more if they would take him back to the Shannon. He would be a
good boy and not run away again. His pretty face and speech persuaded
the bargemen to bring him back to the Shannon; it was decided to say
nothing about him to the lock-keeper,