rspiration broke forth on his
forehead, and, wiping the drops away, he said--

'Lord have mercy upon us--Lord deliver us--Lord have mercy upon us,'
like a man dying.

Mr. Dangerfield's bold proposition seemed quite to overpower and unman
him.

The white figure turned short, facing the clerk, and said he--

'See you, Mr. Irons, I'm serious--there must be no shirking. If you
undertake, you must go through; and, hark! in your ear--you shall have
five hundred pounds. I put no constraint--say yes or no--if you don't
like you needn't. Justice, I think, will be done even without your help.
But till he's quiet--you understand--_nothing_ sure. He has been dead
and alive again--curse him; and till he's at rest, and on the surgeon's
table--ha! ha!--we sha'n't feel quite comfortable.'

'Lord have mercy upon us!' muttered Irons, with a groan.

'Amen,' said Dangerfield, with a sneering imitation.

'_There_, 'tis enough--if you have nerve to speak truth and do justice,
you may have the money. We're men of business--you and I. If not, I
sha'n't trouble you any more. If you like it, come to me at eight
o'clock in the morning; if not, why, stay away, and no harm's done.'

And with these words, Mr. Dangerfield turned on his heel once more, and
started at a lively pace for Chapelizod.

CHAPTER LXXXVI.

IN WHICH MR. PAUL DANGERFIELD MOUNTS THE STAIRS OF THE HOUSE BY THE
CHURCH-YARD, AND MAKES SOME ARRANGEMENTS.

The white figure glided duskily over the bridge. The river rushed
beneath in Egyptian darkness. The air was still, and a thousand
celestial eyes twinkled down brightly through the clear deep sky upon
the actors in this true story. He kept the left side, so that the road
lay between him and the Phoenix door, which gaped wide with a great
hospitable grin, and crimsoned the night air with a glow of candle-light.

The white figure turned the corner, and glided onward in a straight,
swift line--straight and swift as fate--to the door of Doctor Sturk.

He knocked softly at the hall-door, and swiftly stepped in and shut it.

'How's your master?'

'Jist the same way, plaze yer honour; jist sleepin'--still
sleepin'--sleepin' always,' answered the maid.

'Has the Dublin doctor come?'

'No.'

'The mistress--where's she?'

'In the room, Sir, with the masther.'

'Present my service to her--Mr. Dangerfield's compliments, you know--and
say I await her permission to come up stairs.'

Presently the maid returned, w