“Be quiet, Doyle,” said Dr. O’Grady. “Go off and get the bouquet as quick as you can and give it to Mrs. Gregg.” Lord Alfred Blakeney, who had gasped with astonishment at the end of Dr. O’Grady’s last speech to him, recovered his dignity with an effort. “You evidently don’t understand that I have come here, at the Lord-Lieutenant’s express command——” “You said that before,” said Dr. O’Grady. “To ask for—in fact to demand an explanation of——” “I should have thought that you’d have offered some sort of explanation to us. After all, we’ve been rather badly treated and——” “An explanation,” said Lord Alfred sternly, “if any explanation is possible, of the extraordinary hoax which you’ve seen fit to play on His Excellency.” A group of spectators formed a circle round Dr. O’Grady and Lord Alfred. Father McCormack, puzzled and anxious, stood beside Mrs. Gregg. The Major was at a little distance from them. Mary Ellen stood almost alone beside the statue. The children of the town, attracted by some new excitement, had left her, and in spite of Sergeant Colgan, were pushing their way towards Lord Alfred. Dr. O’Grady looked round him and frowned at the people. Then he took Lord Alfred by the arm and led him away to a corner of the square near the police barrack where there were very few people. “Now,” he said, “we can talk in peace. It’s impossible to discuss anything in the middle of a crowd. You seem to think that the Lord-Lieutenant has some sort of grievance against us. What is it?” “You surely understand that,” said Lord Alfred, “without my telling you. You’ve attempted to play off an outrageous hoax on the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. At least that’s my view of it.” “Quite a mistaken one!” “The Lord-Lieutenant himself hopes that there may be some other explanation. That is why he sent me down here. He wants to give you the chance of clearing yourselves if you can. I may say frankly that if he’d asked my opinion I should——” “You’d have put us in prison at once,” said Dr. O’Grady, “and kept us there till we died. You’d have been perfectly right. We’d have deserved it richly if we really had——” “Then you are prepared to offer an explanation?” “I’ll explain anything you like,” said Dr. O’Grady, “if you’ll only tell me what your difficulty is. Oh, hang it! Excuse me one moment. Here’s that ass Doyle coming at us again.” Doyle had brought the bouquet out of the hotel and given it to Mrs. Gregg. He had warned Constable Moriarty not to allow the people to press against the statue. He was crossing the square in the direction of the police barrack when Dr. O’Grady saw him and went to meet him. “Doctor,” said Doyle, “will you keep in mind what I was saying to you this minute about the pier? Get a promise of it out of the gentleman.”