Now that our friend Brady's character is perfectly understood, we will return to our story; first, however, explaining that he had witnessed the scene between the attorney and his master, and had determined to make the most of it. Thady had turned on the road towards the priest's house without taking any notice of his dependant, but this Pat could not allow. "Well, Mr. Thady, you'll live to be even with him yet--the born ruffian! faix and a good sight more nor even; else it'll be no one's fault but yer own." "Even with who?" "With who now? why didn't I see it with my own eyes?--the born thief of the world! Didn't he knock flashes out of yer shoulther with the shilaleh he had--Mr. Keegan, I main? And if it worn't that you hadn't--bad cess to the luck of it!--your own bit of a stick in your hand, wouldn't you have knocked the life out of him for the name he put on your sisther, Miss Feemy?--the blackguard!" "And did you hear him, Pat?" "Shure I did, yer honer." "And did you see him?" "See him, yes, shure; I seed him riz his big stick, and I thought it was nigh kilt you were." "And you heard him call your misthress the name he called; and you saw him sthrike at me the way he did, and I having nothing but my fist to help me; and were you so afraid of a man like Keegan, you wouldn't step forward to strike a blow for me?" "Afraid of Keegan! No, Masther Thady, I arn't afraid of him; but you wouldn't have had me come up, jist to witness that you war the first to strike at him." "Nonsense! wasn't he the first to call my sisther the name he did?" "Ah! but that warn't a braich of the pace. You see, Mr. Thady, thim divils of lawyers is so cute; and av I had come to help you, or sthrike a blow, or riz my stick, he'd have had both before old Jonas Brown to-morrow morning; and where'd we've been then? But, Mr. Thady, as I said before, you'll be more nor even with Mr. Keegan yet, any way." "How'll I be even with him, Pat?" "But where are you going, Mr. Thady? shure an't it your dinner time at the house? and remimber you've to be at the wedding to-night." "Oh! d----n the wedding. Do you think I'd be playing the fool at weddings to-night, afther what just took place? I want to see Father John; and I'll go and catch him before he goes down to your sisther." "What, Mr. Thady! to tell about the blow, and the dishonour the ruffian put on you and Miss Feemy?--shurely you wouldn't be doing that." "And why not?--won't all Carrick have it before long?" "That's no rule why you should be going and telling Father John about it yourself. And won't he be putting you against revenging yourself; and you wouldn't, Mr. Thady, with the owld blood in your veins, and in Miss Feemy's--may the divil's curse blacken him for the name he give her!--you wouldn't be putting up quiet and aisy with what he's done?--and the like of him too!"