A little later, when he went out for a moment, the people told me he
beats up and down between Killorglin and Ballinskelligs and the Inny
river, and that he is a particular crabby kind of man, and will not
take anything from the people but coppers and eggs.

'And he's a wasteful old fellow with all,' said the woman of the
house, 'though he's eighty years old or beyond it, for whatever
money he'll get one day selling his eggs to the coastguards, he'll
spend it the next getting a drink when he's thirsty, or keeping good
boots on his feet.'

From that they began talking of misers, and telling stories about
them.

'There was an old woman,' said one of the men, 'living beyond to the
east, and she was thought to have a great store of money. She had
one daughter only, and in the course of a piece a young lad got
married to her, thinking he'd have her fortune. The woman died
after--God be merciful to her!--and left the two of them as poor as
they were before. Well, one night a man that knew them was passing
to the fair of Puck, and he came in and asked would they give him a
lodging for that night. They gave him what they had and welcome; and
after his tea, when they were sitting over the fire--the way we are
this night--the man asked them how they were so poor-looking, and if
the old woman had left nothing behind her.

'"Not a farthing did she leave," said the daughter.

"And did she give no word or warning or message in her last moments?"
said the man.

'"She did not," said the daughter, "except only that I shouldn't
comb out the hair of her poll and she dead."

'"And you heeded her?" said the man.

'"I did, surely," said the daughter.

'"Well," said the man, "to-morrow night when I'm gone let the two
of you go down the Relic (the graveyard), and dig up her coffin and
look in her hair and see what it is you'll find in it."

'"We'll do that," said the daughter, and with that they all
stretched out for the night.

'The next evening they went down quietly with a shovel and they dug
up the coffin, and combed through her hair, and there behind her
poll they found her fortune, five hundred pounds, in good notes and
gold.'

'There was an old fellow living on the little hill beyond the
graveyard,' said Danny-boy, when the man had finished, 'and he had
his fortune some place hid in his bed, and he was an old weak
fellow, so that they were all watching him to see he wouldn't hide
it away. One time there was no one in it