ds wid him--another wid his arm round
his shoulders, and"--here Tom blushed and stammered, and at last stopped
dead short.

"Well, go on, what were you going to say?"

"Faix, I'm ashamed then--but 'tis true enough--saving your presence, I
saw two of them kiss him."

Kate could not help laughing at Tom's astonishment at this specimen of
French greeting--while for the first time, perhaps, did the feeling of
the peasant occur to herself, and the practice she had often witnessed
abroad, without remark, became suddenly repugnant to her delicacy.

"And did Master Mark come back alone," asked she, after a minute's
hesitation.

"No, my lady, there was a little dark man wid gould epaulettes, and
a sword on him, that came too. I heerd them call him, Mr. Morris, but
sorra word of English or Irish he had."

"And where did they land, and which way did they take afterwards?"

"I put them ashore at Glengariff, and they had horses there to take them
up the country. I heerd they were going first to Father Rourke's in the
glen."

"And then, after that?"

"Sorra a one of me knows. I never set eyes on them since--I was trying
to get a warp out for one of the French ships, for the anchors was
dragging--they came to the wrong side of the island, and got into the
north channel, and that was the reason they had to cut their cables and
stand out to sea till the gale is over, but there's not much chance of
that for some time."

Kate did not speak for several minutes, and at length said--

"The people, tell me of them, were they in great numbers along the
coast, were there a great many of them with Mr. Mark when he came down
to the shore?"

"I'll tell you no He, my lady; there was not--there was some boys from
Castletown, and down thereabouts, but the O'Learys and the Sullivans,
the McCarthys--my own people--and the Neals wasn't there; and sure
enough it was no wonder if Master Mark was angry, when he looked about
and saw the fellows was following him. 'Be off,' says he, 'away wid ye,
'tis for pillage and robbery the likes of ye comes down here--if the men
that should have heart and courage in the cause won't come forward, I'll
never head ruffians like you to replace them.' Them's the words he said,
and hard words they were."

"Poor fellow," said Kate, as she wiped away a tear from her eye, "none
stand by him, not one, and why is this the case," asked she, eagerly,
"have the people grown faint-hearted--are there cowards amongst t