his hand when he took hold
of hers, and nodded her head to him, when he begged her to exert
herself.

In the meantime Mr. O'Malley was continuing the examination of his
witnesses. The first who appeared on this the second morning of the
trial was Corney Dolan, who unfortunately came prepared to swear
anything which he thought might benefit the prisoner. He said he
remembered the evening of the wedding, he remembered the conversation
at which the prisoner had been present, that he was quite sure
Ussher's name wasn't mentioned--or at any rate that if mentioned, it
was not accompanied by any threat--that, the only plan of violence
alluded to during the evening was that one or two of the boys said
that they would duck Keegan in a bog hole if he came to receive rents
at Ballycloran.

This was all very well, as long as the questions were put to him by
Mr. O'Malley; but he was forced to tell a somewhat different tale
when examined by Mr. Allewinde, by whom he was made to own that
there had been projects abroad for murdering Ussher, though he still
maintained that none of them had been alluded to by the party at Mrs.
Mehan's. He was also made to give himself so bad a character that it
was more than probable that the jury would not believe a word he had
said.

Father John was the next; he was only called on to prove that Thady
had been intoxicated when he left the party at Mrs. Mehan's, and to
speak as to character. With tears in his eyes he corroborated all
that the barrister had said in his speech in praise of his poor young
friend; he described him as honest, industrious, and manly--patient
under his own wrongs, but unable to endure quietly those inflicted on
his family.

Tony McKeon was the next, and with the exception of Feemy, the last;
and he too had only to speak as to character.

Just as Father John had been getting into the chair, a policeman had
come into court and whispered to Doctor Blake, who was sitting in one
of the lower benches; and the Doctor immediately got up from his seat
and went away with the man.

Father John had not observed the occurrence; but when he was leaving
the table, and as Tony was getting up, the latter whispered to him,
"Blake has been called out. Just look to Feemy."

And at the same moment Mr. O'Malley said out aloud:

"Mr. Magrath, if I might trouble you so far, would you have the
kindness to bring Miss Macdermot into court? I do not anticipate that
we shall have much delay wit