e against the
assaults of the hungry animals. I had not long lain down when a man
entered (the door consisted of a pair of tongs, so placed as to prevent
the egress of the cattle), lay at full length on the table, and fell
fast asleep. In an hour or so afterwards, there came another, who groped
his way over the cattle, and, sweeping the fire from the hearth, lay
down to sleep in peace. This man slept uneasily, and groaned heavily, as
if some terrible sense of guilt or fear pressed against his heart.

I had a vague feeling of uneasiness, not free from alarm, but the hearty
snoring of the one, and the fitful complaints of the other of my
bedfellows died away on my ear, and I, too, shared their unconsciousness
in deep sleep. The man who brought my baggage arrived early next
morning. My host soon provided a good substantial breakfast--excellent
new potatoes, which had escaped the blight, butter, new milk, and a
slice of the flesh of fried badger. He then proposed to accompany us
with his son, aged about thirteen, who by some inexplicable privilege
seemed exempt from any portion of the drudgery which was the lot of the
family. The other man who brought the baggage was persuaded to leave his
horse and car, and accompany us with my bundle, as far as the summit of
the hill. To climb the steepest mountain side had become an amusement to
me, and we ascended the one then before us, merrily, our host relating
many anecdotes of sportsmanship, and detailing the startling incidents
and wild rapture of badger-hunting. From the summit we commanded a view
of the country for miles around. "Here we are," said our host, "higher
than the proudest of your enemies." He then traced the route of the man
with the bundle, through the open plain, and by the nearest way; and
turning to me, he said: "You must not go in the same direction, for
every yard of it is set. Follow my son," he said, and turning to the
boy, he named several points in the path whereby he should conduct me.
"Lead Mr. Doheny safely," he concluded, "and remember you are the son of
----." In utter astonishment I inquired how he knew me, and he answered
by waving his hand in the direction of the boy, who had bounded off and
was scarcely perceptible above the tall heath. I soon overtook him, and
as we went along, I learned that my two companions during the night were
also evading the law's pursuit. One of them he described as having
killed a man by accident, and ever after leading, t