"You killed him, Mr. Thady ah! now, you're joking."
"Stop!" said Thady—for they were now in the avenue—"joking or not, his body is somewhere here;—and he had Feemy here, dragging her along the road, and I struck him with my stick across the head, and now they'll say I've murdhered him."
Brady soon touched the body with his foot; and the two raised it together, and put it off the path on the grass, and then held a council together, as to what steps had better be taken.
Brady, after his first surprise and awe at hearing of Ussher's death was over, spoke of it very unconcernedly, and rather as a good thing done than otherwise. He recommended his master to get out of the way; he advised him at once to go down to Drumleesh and find out Joe Reynolds; he assured Thady that the man would even now be willing to befriend him and get him out of harm's way. He told him that Reynolds and others had places up in the mountains where he might lie concealed, and where the police would never be able to find him; and that if he only got out of the way for a time, it might probably not be found murder by the Coroner, and that in that case he could return quietly to Ballycloran.
Thady listened sadly to Brady's advice, but he did not know what better to propose to himself. He remembered the last words which Reynolds had said to him, and he made up his mind to go down at once to Corney Dolan's, who was a tenant of his own, and from him find out where Reynolds was.
"But, Pat," said Thady, when he had made up his mind to the line of conduct he meant to pursue, "what shall we do with the man's body? We can't let it lie here. As I trust in God, I had no thoughts to kill him! and I would not run away, and lave the body here, as though I'd murdhered him."
"Jist lay him asy among the trees, Mr. Thady, till you're out of the counthry; and then I'll find it,—by accident in course, and get the police to carry it off. Thim fellows is paid for sich work."
"No, Pat; that wouldn't do at all. I won't have them say I hid the body; every one 'll know 'twas I did it; mind, I don't ask you to tell a lie about it; and I'll not have it left here, as though I'd run away the moment afther I struck him. We must take him into the house, Brady."
"Into the house, yer honer! not a foot of it! why, you'd have Miss Feemy in fits; and the owld man'd be worse still, wid all thim fellows coming from Carrick and sitting on the body, discoursing whether it wor to be murdher or not."
"Well, then; we'll take it to Mrs. Mehan's."