, these ten men
hanging in a row will be a goodly sight."

There must have been a feeling in the minds of these three men that
some terrible step must be taken to put an end to the power of this
aristocracy, before life in the country would be again possible.
When they had come together to watch their friends and neighbours,
and see what the ten were about to do, there must have been some
determination in their hearts to tell the story of that which would
be enacted. Why should these ten have all the power in their own
hands? Why should these questions of life and death be remitted to
them, to the exclusion of those other three? And if this family of
Kellys were doomed, why should there not be other families of other
Kellys,--why not their own families? And if Kerrycullion were made to
swim in blood,--for that was the name of the townland in which these
Kellys lived,--why not any other homestead round the place in which
four or five victims may have hidden themselves? So the three, with
mutual whisperings among themselves, with many fears and with much
trembling, having obtained some tidings of what was to be done,
agreed to follow and to see. It was whispered about that one of the
family, the poor man's wife, probably, had seen the attack made upon
poor Pat Gilligan, and may, or may not, have uttered some threat
of vengeance; may have shown some sign that the murder ought to be
made known to someone. Was not Pat Gilligan her sister's husband's
brother's child? And he was not one of the other, the rich
aristocracy, against whom all men's hands were justly raised. Some
such word had probably passed the unfortunate woman's lips, and the
ten men had risen against her. The ten men, each protecting each
other, had sworn among themselves that so villainous a practice, so
glaring an evil as this, of telling aught to the other aristocracy,
must be brought to an end.

But then the three interfered, and it was likely that the other, the
rich aristocracy, should now know all about it. It was not to save
the lives of those unfortunate women and children that they went.
There would be danger in that. And though the women and children
were, at any rate, their near neighbours, why should they attempt to
interfere and incur manifest dangers on their account? But they would
creep along and see, and then they could tell; or should they be
disturbed in their employment, they could escape amidst the darkness
of the night. There could be