e nearest place they cud be
marr'd at, an' bein' marr'd be him was like bein' marr'd be a priest.

"So they wint alang the road to where the foot-path laves it be the
oak-tree, then up the path an' through the boreen to where Misther
Dawson's black mare broke her leg jumpin' the hedge, an' whin they rached
that shpot they heard a noise on the road behint thim an' stud be the
hedge, peepin' through to have a look at it an' see phat it was. An' there
was Lord Robert an' a dozen av his bad min, wid their waypons an' the
armor on thim shinin' in the moonlight. It was ridin' to O'Connor's they
were, an' whin Tim an' Kathleen set their eyes on thim, they seen they'd
made a narrer eshcape.

"Howandiver, as soon as Lord Robert an' his min were out o' sight, they
ran wid all their shpeed, an' lavin' the path where Dennis Murphy fell
into the shtrame lasht winter comin' back from Blanigan's wake whin he'd
had too much, they tuk the rise o' the hill, an' that was a mishtake. If
they'd kep be the hedge an' 'round be the foot-bridge, then up the footway
the other side o' the brook an' ferninst the mill, they'd have kep out o'
sight, an' been safe enough; but as they were crassin' the hill, wan av
Robert's min saw thim, fur it was afther the girl he was sure enough, an'
whin he found from her father her an' Tim were gone, they rode aff here
an' there sarchin' afther thim. Whin the sojer shpied thim on the top o'
the hill, he blew his thrumpet, an' here come all the rest shtreelin'
along on the run, round the hill as fast as their bastes 'ud take thim,
fur they guessed where the two 'ud be goin'. An' Kathleen an' Tim come
tumblin' down the shlope, an' bad luck to the minnit they'd to shpare whin
they got into the cave before here was the whole gang, wid their horses
puffin', an' their armors rattlin' like a pedler's tins.

"The saint was on a pile av shtraw in the corner, shnorin' away out av his
blessed nose, fur it was as sound aslape as a pig he was, bein' tired
entirely wid a big day's job, an' didn't wake up wid their comin' in. So
Lord Robert an' his min left their horses below an' climbed up an' looked
in, but cud see nothin' be razon av the darkness.

"'Arrah now,' says he, 'Kathleen, come along out o' that now, fur I've got
ye safe an' sound.'

"They answered him niver a word, but he heard a noise that was the saint
turnin' over on his bed bein' onaisey in his slape.

"'Come along out o' that,' he repaited; 'an' you, Tim