as being one which
the son expects on returning from hunting. In this expectation Mr.
Jones gave way. Frank shook his head, but did not utter a word.

"What do you mean by that?" asked the father.

"The whole country is in arms." This, no doubt, was an exaggeration,
as the only arms that had been brought to Moytubber on the occasion
had been the pistol in Tom Daly's pocket.

"In arms?" said Philip Jones.

"Well, yes! I call it so. I call men in arms, when they are prepared
to carry out any illegal purpose by violence, and these men have done
that all through the County Galway."

"What have they done?"

"You know where the meet was; well, they drew Ballytowngal, and found
no fox there. It was not expected, and nothing happened there. The
people did not come into old Nick Bodkin's demesne, but we had heard
by the time that we were there that we should come across a lot of
Landleaguers at Moytubber. There they were as thick as bees round the
covert, and there was one man who had the impudence to tell Tom Daly
that draw where he might, he would draw in vain for a fox to-day in
County Galway."

"Do you mean that there was a crowd?" asked Mr. Jones.

"A crowd! Yes, all Claregalway seemed to have turned out. Claregalway
is not much of a place, but everyone was there from Oranmore and from
Athenry, and half the town from Galway city." This certainly was an
exaggeration on the part of Frank, but was excused by his desire to
impress his father with the real truth in the matter. "I never saw
half such a number of people by a covert side. But the truth was
soon known. They had beat Moytubber, and kicked up such a row as the
foxes in that gorse had never heard before. And they were not slow in
obtaining their object."

"Their object was clear enough."

"They didn't intend that the hounds should hunt that day either at
Moytubber or elsewhere. Daly did not put his hounds into the covert
at all; but rode away as fast as his horse's legs could carry him to
Kilcornan."

"That must be ten miles at least," said his father.

"Twenty, I should think. But we rode away at a hand-gallop, leaving
the crowd behind us." This again was an exaggeration. "But when we
got to the covert at Kilcornan there was just the same sort of crowd,
and just the same work had been on foot. The men there all told us
that we need not expect to find a fox. A rumour had got about the
field by this time that Tom Daly had a loaded pistol in his pocket.