Ireland -- Fiction; Land League (Ireland) -- Fiction; Land tenure -- Fiction; Political fiction
Though Pat Carroll was not at once set at liberty, his trial was
brought to an end. It was felt to be impossible to send the case to
the jury when the only two witnesses belonging to the Crown had been
murdered. The prisoner was remanded, or sent back to gaol, so that
the Crown might look for more evidence if more might chance to be
found, and everybody else connected in the matter was sent home. A
dark gloom settled itself on Galway, and men were heard to whisper
among themselves that the Queen's laws were no longer in force. And
there was a rowdy readiness to oppose all force, the force of the
police for instance, and the force of the military. There were men
there who seemed to think that now had come the good time when they
might knock anyone on the head at their leisure. It did not come
quite to this, as the police were still combined, and their enemies
were not so. But such men as Captain Clayton began to look as though
they doubted what would become of it. "If he thinks he is big enough
to catch a hold of Terry Lax and keep him, he'll precious soon find
his mistake." This was said by Con Heffernan of Captain Clayton.
CHAPTER XXXII.
MR. O'MAHONY AS MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT.
Frank Jones had travelled backwards and forwards between Morony
Castle and the North more than once since these things were doing,
and had met the new member for Cavan together with Rachel on the very
evening on which poor Florian had been murdered. It was not till the
next morning that the news had become generally known. "I am sorry to
hear, Frank," said Rachel, "that you are all doing so badly at Morony
Castle."
"Badly enough."
"Are you fetching all these people down from here to do the work the
men there ought to do? How are the men there to get their wages?"
"That is the essence of boycotting," said Frank. "The men there won't
get their wages, and can only live by robbing the governor and men
like him of their rents. And in that way they can't live long.
Everything will be disturbed and ruined."
"It seems to me," said Rachel, "that the whole country is coming to
an end."
"Your father is Member of Parliament now, and of course he will set
it all to rights."
"He will at any rate do his best to do so," said Rachel, "and will
rob no man in the doing it. What do you mean to do with yourself?"
"Stick to the ship till it sinks, and then go down with it."
"And your sisters?"
"They are of the same way of thinking, I take it. They are not good
at inventing any way of getting out of their troubles; but they know
how to endure."
"Now, Frank," said she, "shall I give you a bit of advice?"
"Oh yes! I like advice."
"You wanted to kiss me just now."
"That was natural at any rate."
"No, it wasn't;--because you and I are two. When a young man and a
young woman are two they shouldn't kiss any more. That is logic."
"I don't know about logic."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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