Tim, though apparently half-asleep, put his fiddle to his chin, and began scraping away, nodding his head and stamping with his foot in time to the tune he was eliciting from his instrument. The effect was magical. The whole party, men and women,--there were not a few of the latter, not among the most refined of their sex,--began dancing jigs. Tim next played slower, but his speed increased again as he saw the dancers warming to their work, till his bow moved so rapidly over the strings of his fiddle, and his arm and his head gave such eccentric jerks, that I half expected at any moment to see the one fly off at a tangent and the other come bounding into the middle of the room. Larry and I kept on one side, trying to look greatly interested with the performance, while we managed to have a few words now and then with some of the men, who were either seated on the benches or standing against the wall. Among them were several who had not the appearance of seamen, and who, I surmised, were highwaymen or housebreakers. Two of them were especially ruffianly looking. As I examined the countenance of one of these, I felt convinced that I had seen it before, and not long ago either. I was careful, however, that he should not discover that I was observing him. I took an opportunity of asking Larry if he knew who the man was. "Shure it's no other than Dan Hoolan himself," he answered. I fancied that at length his keen eyes were directed on Larry, whom he was more likely to recognise than me, seeing that I was the most completely disguised of the two. At length, having gained all the information we could, I determined to try and get out of the place, so that I might make my way to Nettleship, and show him the best situation for posting his men to capture any who might attempt to escape. It had been arranged that Nettleship's party was to enter the grog-shop one by one; then, at a signal, force their way along the passage through which Mother McCleary had led us. "I'm mighty afraid the press-gang will be coming this way, and if this hullaballoo reaches their ears, they'll be after putting their noses in to see what the fun is about. If they're from our own ship, bedad, we shall be worse off than we would have been outside," I said to our new acquaintance, who, by this time, was not quite steady on his pins. "I'd just like to slip away, and try and find out if they're near this at all. My mate here is plaised to stay behind, as he's mighty eager to dance himself." After further pressing the point with all necessary caution, our new friend, Barney Reillagan, as he called himself, offered to show me the way out, and to let me in again when I wished to return. "You're free of the place, I'm supposing; and shure I am that I may be after trusting you," he observed as he accompanied me into the passage I spoke of.