McHale chuckled to himself, having succeeded in his purpose of getting
Mr. Quilty going.

"Irish? Not on your life!" he denied gravely. "What put that notion in
your head? The McHales is high-grade Scotch. Always was. They come from
Loch Lomond or Commarashindhu or them parts. Annie Laurie married a
McHale. Of course we're Scotch. You can tell by the Mac. The only
McHale that ever was in Ireland went there to civilize it."

"To civ'lize Ireland!" Mr. Quilty cried in derision. "Hear till him!
And Ireland the owldest civ'lization in the wurruld, barrin' none, and
the best! Faix, we was givin' lessons in it to all mankind whin th' dom
raggety-britched tattherdemalions iv Scotchmen hadn't th' dacincy to
wear kilts, even, but wint about bare to th' four winds iv hivin, a
barbarious race lower nor a Digger Injun, a scandal to God, man, and
faymales black and white."

"Well, maybe you're right about them old times, Corney," admitted
McHale, with an innocent face. "I meant a little later than that. This
here McHale was with William the Conqueror at the Battle of the
Boyne----"

Mr. Quilty spat at the mention of this historic event.

"Bad scran till him, then!" he exclaimed. "Yez do be a high-grade liar,
and ign'rant as well. Willyum th' Conq'ror was Irish on his mother's
side, an' he bate th' heads off iv th' bloody Sassenach, an' soaked
their king wan in th' eye wid a bow 'n' arry at a fight I disremimber
th' name of, back a thousand years before Willyum th' Dutchman--may his
sowl get its needin's!--come out iv his swamps. I tell yez th' McHales
come from Galway. In th' good owld days they hanged thim be th' dozen
to th' glor iv God an' th' greater safety iv all live stock. An th'
pity is they didn't make a cleaner job iv ut."

McHale, who was enjoying himself hugely, sifted tobacco into paper.

"I won't say you ain't right, Corney," he observed mildly. "I always
understood we was Scotch, but I ain't noways bigoted about it. That
hangin' business seems to point to us bein' Irish. Did you ever notice
how many Irishmen is hanged? Of course, there's lots ain't that ought
to be, but the general average is sure high."

"I hope to glory ye boost it wan higher yerself," Quilty retorted.
"Small loss 'tw'u'd be to anny wan. A divil iv a desp'rado yez are, wid
yer gun an' all! I'm a good mind to swipe yez over th' nut wid me
lanthern an' take ut away from yez!"

McHale drew the weapon gently, and spun it on his finger, check