the misfort'nit little crathurs. And don't be offerin' to darken our
doors agin wid the ojis sight of you."

"Gimme a hand wid liftin' in them two tables," said Mad Bell. Whereupon
Big Anne whisked away from her, and banged the door in her face.

Mad Bell, however, did not appear to be discouraged by this reception.
She finished unloading the cart of all except the tables, which she
found unwieldy single-handed. Then she unharnessed old Neddy, and went
and seated herself on the low wall beside the house. She was seemingly
quite content with the situation. But to the two women indoors it was a
dreadful experience. Their minds were firmly persuaded that the daft
little woman had designedly set fire to some dwelling, and made off with
what household gear she could lay hands on, leaving the hapless children
to perish amid the flames. It shocked and enraged them that their
premises should be infested by the presence of such a criminal, and that
her ill-gotten goods and chattels should be brought to their very
threshold, not to speak of her outrageous proposal to harbour them under
their roof. Big Anne declared that wid the legs of them chairs and
tables glimpsing through the door, as if they were on'y turned out to be
airin' a bit, she and the Dummy seemed as good as a pair of murderers.

Every now and then they went to the door and peered out, and the
incendiary always greeted them with cheerful nods. On these occasions
Big Anne sometimes said: "Oh, very well, me good woman. Just you sit
brazenin' there till the patrol comes round this way, and then if I
don't give you in charge as sure as the sun's shinin' crooked over our
heads.--Begone out of that, and take them things out of litterin' about
our place." Or she would remark loudly to her companion: "Just stop a
minyit, Winnie, till I sling me ould shawl over me head, and run down to
the barracks. It's not very long they'll be puttin' her out of it, and
bundlin' her into jail, instead of to be sittin' there, wid ne'er a
spark of shame in her, annoyin' dacint people." But neither mode of
address produced any effect. The morning sunbeams still slanted down on
the small pile of furniture, and old Neddy went on munching the blades
off which they were drying the dew, and Mad Bell continued to sit upon
the wall, as if placidly waiting for events.

Such was the posture of affairs until towards noon, when an outside-car
came trotting quickly down the lane. On one side of it sat