's hind leg."

The last part of Tim's eloquence was addressed to the man who held
the foremost end of the rope, and who was following his officer at a
rapid pace.

Captain Ussher made no further answer to his remonstrating prisoner,
but marched on rapidly towards Carrick after the advanced party,
with whom was Cogan the informer. He, after having pointed out the
cabin, of course did not wait to be recognised by its occupiers.
This capture was the subject of the discussion held on the fair-day
at Mulready's whiskey-shop in Mohill, at which Joe Reynolds
the prisoner's brother had presided, as Brady informed Thady
Macdermot,--or at any rate had taken the most noisy part. To tell the
truth, our friend Pat himself had been present all the evening at
Mulready's, and if he did not talk so loud, he had said full as much
as Joe. The latter was naturally indignant at the capture of his
brother, who, in fact, at the time was living in his cabin, though he
did hold an acre or two of ground in the same town-land as Joe Smith
and the widow Byrne. He was not, however, engaged in the potheen
making there; and though at the moment of the entrance of the police,
the party were all talking of the malt, which had, in fact, been
brought from Byrne's cabin to that of his mother and brother-in-law,
Reynolds had really nothing to do with the concern.

His known innocence made the party more indignant, and they
consequently swore that among them they'd put an end to our poor
friend Ussher, or as Joe Reynolds expressed it, "we'll hole him till
there ar'nt a bit left in him to hole." Now, for the benefit of the
ignorant, I may say that, "holing a man," means putting a bullet
through him.

The injuries done by the police were not, however, the only subject
discussed at Mulready's that night.

Ribbonism, about 183--, was again becoming very prevalent in parts
of Ireland, at any rate so said the stipendiary magistrates and the
inspectors of police; and if they said true, County Leitrim was full
of ribbonmen, and no town so full as Mohill. Consequently the police
sub-inspector at Ballinamore, Captain Greenough, had his spies as
well as Captain Ussher, and Joe Reynolds was a man against whom
secret information had been given. Joe was aware that he was a marked
man, and consequently, if not actually a ribbonman, was very well
inclined to that or anything else, which might be inimical to gaols,
policemen, inspectors, gaugers, or any other recogni