"I thought yez'd come to-day, bein' offered the convayniance of the car an' horse. Sure young blood'll be young blood, an' even the dogs is off to Annagassan Races. Not so much as an intelligent baste for me to exchange a word wid until the people comes troopin' home in the cool of the evenin'." The boys "yoked up" the old mare under Barney's supervision. She was a very Rosinante of a steed, and her harness, which must have been the first harness made, was broken in many places, and tied together with stout twine. The car was coated with years of mud, which hung down in stalactites behind, and the old cushions protruded their hair stuffing in every direction through the rags and tatters that pretended to cover it. However, Barney looked at it with such pride when it stood ready for us that none of us had the heart to find fault with the equipage. Off we started, Donald driving, and with lurchings of the old mare to this side and that, which sent the fowls flying in every direction, amid shrieks of indignation from the hens. However, when once she had got clear of the village, she settled down to a leisurely walk, which seemed likely to get us to Annagassan about sunset. When Donald tickled her with the whip she only flicked her tail as at an intrusive fly. This made us laugh, and at the sound of our laughter the old mare turned calmly on to a green patch at the side of the road and settled to make a hearty luncheon. However, by dint of threats and coaxing we got her to a better pace in time, and reached Annagassan just after the second race had been run. We were all pretty hot and dusty, for we had walked up every hill, and we had assisted the mare over so many difficult places, that, but for the grandeur of it, as the boys said, we might as well have walked. The boys had come off in their old homespuns for fear of arousing Oona's suspicions, but Esther and I had managed to creep out in our new pink ginghams, which we weren't supposed to wear for a month yet. I thought Esther looked lovely, with the sparkle and glow in her dusky face, and her eyes, brown as a trout stream, made deeper in colour by contrast with her pink frock. Of course she had only cotton gloves and a cheap little black straw hat with pink roses in it, but I am sure she was far prettier than any of the fine ladies who presently passed us by with their cavaliers, on their way to see the horses take the big jump. I wasn't a bit pleased to see that some of the gentlemen looked at her as if they admired her very much. It vexed me even more than the smiles of some of the ladies at our equipage and ourselves. I felt rather the worse for the wear by this time, though Esther seemed to be irreproachably fresh; and the boys with their hair sticking out through their tattered straw hats, and their muddy boots and faded clothes, looked a pair of little scarecrows indeed.