e poor devils go, Mr. O'Ruddy, and I'll be parole
that they won't attack you again."

"And who will give his parole that Lord Strepp will not attack me
again?"

"Well, O'Ruddy,"--I took great comfort from the fact that he dropped
the Mr.,--"Well, O'Ruddy, you see we cannot possibly give up this
estate. You are not legally entitled to it. It is ours and always has
been."

"I'm not fighting for any estate, Lord Strepp."

"Then, in Heaven's name, what are you fighting for?"

"For the consent of the Earl and Countess of Westport to my marriage
with Lady Mary, your sister."

Lord Strepp gave a long whistle; then he laughed and sat down in the
nearest chair.

"But what does Mary say about it?" he asked at last.

"The conceit of an Irishman, my lord, leads me to suspect that I can
ultimately overcome any objections she may put forward."

"Oho! that is how the land lies, is it? I'm a thick-headed clod, or I
would have suspected something of that sort when Mary pulled me down
so sharply as I was cursing you at the front door." Then, with a
slight touch of patronage in his tone, he said:

"There is some difference in the relative positions of our families,
Mr. O'Ruddy."

"Oh, I'm quite willing to waive that," said I. "Of course it isn't
usual for the descendant of kings, like myself, to marry a daughter of
the mere nobility; but Lady Mary is so very charming that she more
than makes up for any discrepancy, whatever may be said for the rest
of the family."

At this Lord Strepp threw back his head and laughed again joyously,
crying,--

"King O'Ruddy, fill me another cup of your wine, and I'll drink to
your marriage."

We drank, and then he said:

"I'm a selfish beast, guzzling here when those poor devils think
they're smothering down below. Well, O'Ruddy, will you let my unlucky
fellows go?"

"I'll do that instantly," said I, and so we went to the head of the
circular stair and sent the guard down to shout to them to come on,
and by this time the daylight was beginning to turn the upper windows
grey. A very bedraggled stream of badly frightened men began crawling
up and up and up the stairway, and as Tom Peel had now returned I
asked him to open the front door and let the yeomen out. Once on the
terrace in front, the men seemed not to be able to move away, but
stood there drawing in deep breaths of air as if they had never tasted
it before. Lord Strepp, in the daylight, counted the mob, asking them
if they w