“He attacked you,” said Mr. Sanders; “he knocked you down. He has imprisoned you, and yet you say----” “If he’s brought up before the Petty Sessions,” said the sergeant, “I’ll tell what he’s done; but till he is I don’t see what right I have to put the handcuffs on the doctor on account of what might be no more than some kind of a joke that’s passing between him and another gentleman....” CHAPTER XXV At ten o’clock next morning Jimmy O’Loughlin entered the commercial room of his hotel. Miss Blow was breakfasting by herself. Miss Farquharson, who had finished her breakfast an hour earlier, was writing letters at one end of the long table, having folded back the white cloth. Mrs. Dick and Mrs. Sanders were still in their bedrooms, mourning for their husbands. “There’s five police after coming into the town from Ballymoy,” said Jimmy excitedly; “and it’s what I’m after hearing from Moriarty that there’s more expected.” Miss Blow looked up from her breakfast. Her face expressed irritation and incredulity. “It’s the truth I’m telling you,” said Jimmy. “Begad, but Mr. Goddard’s the fine man.” “You told us last night,” said Miss Farquharson, “that Mr. Goddard had vanished like every one else. Has he appeared again?” “He never was lost, thanks be to God! He was up with Lord Manton beyond at the Castle, devising plans and concocting stratagems for the settling of the matter that’s been troubling you; and settled it’ll be now the one way or the other.” “I know the sort of plans he and Lord Manton would be likely to devise,” said Miss Blow, scornfully. “I’ve had some experience of them.” She poured out a cup of tea as she spoke and devoted herself to her breakfast. Bridgy burst into the room. She appeared to be in a condition of violent excitement. “There’s four police on a car,” she said, “driving up to the barrack, and two more along with them on bicycles.” “Is that four more on top of the first five?” asked Jimmy O’Loughlin. “It is, it is,” said Bridgy. “The Lord save us and help us! There’d hardly be more of them if there was to be a Member of Parliament making speeches about the land!” “There now,” said Jimmy O’Loughlin, reproachfully, to Miss Blow. “What did I tell you? Sure, Mr. Goddard’s as fine a man as e’er a one that’s in it. It’s himself will do a job in fine style when once he takes it in hand at all. That’s eleven men, and Constable Moriarty makes twelve, and there was a sergeant with the first lot that I seen myself. Was there e’er a sergeant on the other car, Bridgy?” “There was,” said Bridgy. “I took notice of him passing, and one of them two that came on bicycles had two stripes on his arm.” “That makes two sergeants and an acting sergeant,” said Jimmy O’Loughlin. “What more would you expect? What more would anybody want, unless it would be a gunboat sent round from Cork? And that’s what you could hardly expect, unless it might be for an eviction on one of the islands.”