The House by the Church-YardLe Fanu, Joseph Sheridan
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The House by the Church-Yard
Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan
Country life -- Ireland -- Fiction; Ireland -- Social life and customs -- 18th century -- Fiction
She said every now and then aloud, to reassure herself--'What a noise
the wind makes to be sure!' and after a while she opened the window
wider. But her candle flared, and the flame tossed wildly about, and the
perplexed lady feared it might go out absolutely. So she shut down the
window altogether; for she could not bear the ill-omened baying any
longer.
So it grew to be past two o'clock, and she was afraid that Barney would
be very angry with her for sitting up, should he return.
She went to bed, therefore, where she lay only more
feverish--conjecturing, and painting frightful pictures, till she heard
the crow of the early village cock, and the caw of the jackdaw wheeling
close to the eaves as he took wing in the gray of the morning to show
her that the business of a new day had commenced; and yet Barney had not
returned.
Not long after seven o'clock, Dr. Toole, with Juno, Caesar, Dido, and
Sneak at his heels, paid his half-friendly, half-professional visit at
the Mills.
Poor little Mrs. Nutter was much better--quiet for her was everything,
packed up, of course, with a little physic; and having comforted her,
as well as he was able, he had a talk with Moggy in the hall, and all
about Nutter's disappearance, and how Mrs. Macan saw him standing by the
river's brink, and that was the last anyone near the house had seen of
him; and a thought flashed upon Toole, and he was very near coming out
with it, but checked himself, and only said--
'What hat had he on?'
So she told him.
'And was his name writ in it, or how was it marked?'
'Two big letters--a C and an N.'
'I see; and do you remember any other mark you'd know it by?'
'Well, yes; I stitched the lining only last month, with red silk, and
that's how I remember the letters.'
'I know; and are you sure it was that hat he had on?'
'Certain sure--why, there's all the rest;' and she conned them over, as
they hung on their pegs on the rack before them.
'Now, don't let the mistress be downhearted--keep her up, Moggy, do you
mind. I told her the master was with Lord Castlemallard since yesterday
evening, on business, and don't you say anything else; keep her quiet,
do ye mind, and humour her.'
And away went Toole, at a swift pace, to the town again, and entered the
barrack, and asked to see the adjutant, and then to look at the hat the
corporal had fished up by 'Bloody Bridge;' and, by Jupiter! his heart
gave a couple of great bounces, and he felt himself grow pale--they were
the identical capitals, C N, and the clumsy red silk stitching in the
lining.
Toole was off forthwith, and had a fellow dragging the river before
three-quarters of an hour.
Dr. Walsingham, returning from an early ride to Island Bridge, saw this
artist at work, with his ropes and great hooks, at the other side of the
river; and being a man of enquiring mind, and never having witnessed the
process before, he cried out to him, after some moments lost in
conjecture--
'My good man, what are you fishing for?'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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