see nor hear anything whatsoever to which they might
possibly be ascribed.

She reached home about one o'clock, and after having sat musing for a
time over the fire, which was raked for the night--that is, covered over
with greeshaugh, or living ashes--she was preparing to sleep in her
humble bed, behind a little partition wall about five feet high, at
the lower end of the cabin, when her father, who had been moaning, and
staring, and uttering abrupt exclamations in his sleep, at length rose
up, and began deliberately to dress himself, as if with an intention of
going out.

"Father," said she, "in the name of goodness, where are you goin' at
this time o' the night?"

"I'm goin' to the murdhered man's grave," he replied, "I'm goin' to toll
them all how he was murdhered, an' who it was that murdhered him."

A girl with nerves less firm would have felt a most deadly terror at
such language, on perceiving, as Sarah at once did, that her father,
whose eyes were shut, was fast asleep at the time. In her, however, it
only produced such a high degree of excitement and interest, as might be
expected from one of her ardent and excitable temperament, imbued as it
was with a good deal of natural romance.

"In God's name," she said to herself, "what can this mean? Of late he
hasn't had one hour's quiet rest at night; nothin' but startin' and
shoutin' out, an' talkin' about murdher an' murdherers! What can it
mane? for he's now walkin' in his sleep? Father," said she, "you're
asleep; go back to bed, you had betther."

"No, I'm not asleep," he replied; "I'm goin' down to the grave here
below, behind the rocks down in Glendhu, where the murdhered man is
lyin' buried."

"An' what brings you there at this time o' the night?"

"Ha! ha!" he replied, uttering an exclamation of caution in a low,
guarded voice--"what brings me?--whisht, hould your tongue, an' I'll
tell you."

She really began to doubt her senses, notwithstanding the fact of his
eyes being shut.

"Whisht yourself," she replied; "I don't want to hear anything about it;
I have no relish for sich saicrets. I'm ready enough with my own hand,
especially when there's a weapon in it--readier then ever I'll be again;
but for all that I don't wish to hear sich saicrets. Are you asleep or
awake?"

"I'm awake, of coorse," he replied.

"An' why are your eyes shut then? You're frightful, father, to look at;
no corpse ever had sich a face as you have; your heavy brows are k