ell, Larry?" Walter asked, as the light boat touched the bank.

"All is well, your honour," Larry said, stepping ashore, and lifting the
light boat on to his head.

"You had better stow it away close here, Larry, till the morning. It's so
dark that you will be sure to pitch over something, if you go further.

"Now, tell me all about it," he went on, as Larry stowed away the boat
among some bushes.

"There is little enough to tell, yer honour. I just rowed across and
landed, and made straight for the house. Everything was quiet and still.
I went round to the stables, and up into the loft where Pat sleeps.

"'Are you there, Pat Ryan,' says I?

"'Who is it calls Pat Ryan?' says he.

"'It's myself, Larry, Mr. Davenant's boy.'

"'Why, I thought you had gone,' says he. 'Are you sure it's yourself?'
says he.

"'And who else should it be, Pat Ryan? Don't yer know my voice?'

"By this time I had got into the corner where he slept, and touched him.

"'I am glad to feel you, Larry,' says he, 'for I wasn't sure that you
hadn't fallen in with the troopers, and it wasn't your ghost that come to
visit me.'

"'Whist,' says I, 'I have no time to waste upon ye. The master and the
troops are stationed just across the river, at Ballygan. Mr. Davenant has
given me a letter for Miss Conyers, telling her all about it. I don't
exactly know what he said, and maybe she would like it given privately,
so do you hand it to Bridget in the morning, and ask her to give it to
her mistress, and to hand over to you any answer there may be. I will
come across for it tomorrow night. But that's not all, Pat. You know the
devil's work that William's men have been carrying on, on the march.'

"'Av course, everyone has heard the tales of the villains' doings,
Larry.'

"'Well, the young master is mighty anxious about it, as you may guess.
Has Mr. Conyers come?'

"'Yes. He rode in at four this afternoon.'

"'Well, Mr. Davenant says you will all be safe as long as he's here, but
maybe that at some time, when he's away, you may have a troop of these
villains of the world ride in here, and little they care whether it's
Protestants or Catholics that they plunder. So, if they come here and
begin their devilries, you run for your life down to the river, opposite
Ballygan, with a white cloth or a shirt, if it's daytime, and wave it.
You are to have a pile of sticks and straw ready, and, if it's night, ye
will just set it in a blaze, and there will be