He is but ten years old, and will soon live it down. And the
disgrace of the lie will be drowned in the triumph of telling the
truth at last. We should all feel,--I should feel,--that he would
in such case deserve well, rather than ill, of his father and of me,
and of all of us. Besides you had some idea of sending him to school
in England." Here Mr. Jones shook his head, intending to indicate
that no such expensive step as that would be possible after the loss
incurred by the flooding of the eighty acres. "At any rate my advice
to you is to make him declare the truth. I think little harm of a
boy for lying, but I do think harm of those who allow a lie to pass
unnoticed." So saying Mr. Blake ended the meeting, and took Mr. Jones
away to see Mrs. Blake and the girls.

"I do suppose that father has gone to Carnlough, to consult with Mr.
Blake about this affair of the flood." It was thus that Ada spoke to
her brother Florian, when he came to her discussing the matter of
their father's absence.

"What can Mr. Blake know about it?" said Florian.

"I suppose he means to ask about you. It is quite clear, Florian,
that no one in the house believes you."

"Peter does."

"You mean that Peter thinks you are right to stand to the lie now you
have told it. More shame for Peter if he does."

"You wouldn't have a fellow go and put himself out of favour with all
the boys through the country? There is a horrible man that wears a
mask--" Then he remembered, and stopped himself. He was on closer
terms with Ada than with Edith, but not on terms so close as to
justify his whispering a word about the man in the mask.

"Where did you see the man in the mask?" asked Ada. "Who is the man
in the mask?"

"I don't know."

"But you know where you saw him. You must know that. What did the man
in the mask say to you?"

"I am not going to tell you anything about him," said the boy. "I
am not going to have my secrets got out of me in that way. It isn't
honest. Nobody but a Protestant would do it." So saying Florian left
his sister, with the tale of the man in the mask only half told.

CHAPTER V.

MR. O'MAHONY AND HIS DAUGHTER.

We must now turn to another personage in our story, and tell
our readers something of the adventures and conditions of this
gentleman;--something also of his daughter. The adventures of her
early life will occupy much of our time and many of our pages; and
though her father may not be so interesting as