Though the crime of abduction was punishable with death, as the girls who were thus carried off were in most instances immediately married, few were found willing to prosecute their husbands. The law was consequently almost inoperative, and the abominable practice up to this day had continued unchecked. Mr Ferris was of course highly indignant. He at once took steps to discover the offender, though, as he had not succeeded in his attempt, there was little probability that he would be captured, or if so, punished. The annoyance, also, to which his daughter and her friend must in future be subjected, from being unable to venture outside the garden without a strong guard, was provoking in the extreme; still, the daring characters of the men who were known to be combined for the purpose rendered it unsafe for the young ladies to go abroad unless thus protected. Dan and Pompey, with the other seamen of the _Ouzel Galley_, and several friends who joined them, as soon as they had left Norah and Ellen safe at home, set off in chase of the ruffians, armed with such weapons as they could hastily obtain, in addition to the shillelaghs they had before possessed. Following in the direction they had seen the horsemen going, they made their way over all impediments, inquiring of every one they met, and hoping by perseverance to overtake them. They learnt, however, after proceeding a considerable distance, that the men had separated, one going off with the led horses in the direction of the mountains to the westward, another turning southward towards Tramore Bay, while the third followed a road which would conduct him to Passage, near the mouth of the river, whence he could cross into Wexford. The parties accordingly divided, but had not gone far when they lost all trace of the fugitives, and as Dan observed, "They might as well be looking for a needle in a bottle of hay, as hope to find the spalpeen." Late at night they returned to Kingscourt House, the residence of Mr Ferris, to report the ill-success of their expedition. "Bedad, your honour, we'll be after keeping a sharp look-out on the fellows, and if any one of them shows his ugly face in the neighbourhood, we'll be down upon him as quick as lightning," said Dan. "But if you don't know the men--and from what I understand, you only saw their backs in the gloom--you will find a considerable difficulty in recognising them," observed Mr Ferris, "and may chance to lay hands on the wrong persons." "Shure, your honour, we'll ask them if they're the right ones before we give them a taste of the shillelagh," answered Dan. "At all events, Connor, I wish you, and a dozen stout fellows you may pick out, to act as a guard at my house, to protect my daughter and her friend, should any yet more daring attempt be made to carry them off," replied Mr Ferris.