Mr. O'Laugher in his cross-examination bothered this young gentleman considerably, but as neither the questions nor the answers are material to the story, it would be useless to repeat them.
The next witness was Pat Brady, and as the verdict to which the jury came, depended in a great degree on his evidence, it will be given as nearly as possible in detail.
Having given his name, he stated that at the time of Ussher's death he was in the employment of the prisoner; that he had been his confidential servant, and was intimate with all his habits; that on the night when the deceased was killed, at some time, he supposed, about half-past nine o'clock, his master had entered the kitchen at Ballycloran, and had desired him, Brady, to follow him out into the avenue; that his master, when in the avenue, had told him that he had killed Captain Ussher.
By this time the counsel had ceased asking questions, and as the witness was telling his own story, we will leave it in his words.
"I thought it war poking his fun at me, yer honours—for I knowed the Captain hadn't been at Ballycloran that night, and that the masther had been ating his dinner at home, so I didn't be taking much notice of what he war saying, till we war mostly half down the avenue, when Mr. Thady told me the body war there. Well, yer honours—what with the night, and what wid the trees it was a'most too dark to see; but I felt the man's body with my foot, and then I know'd it war thrue enough what the masther was afther saying. I axed no questions thin, for I knew there'd been ill blood betwixt them, and when I comed to remember myself, I wasn't that much surprised. But Mr. Thady axed me what we'd be doing wid the body, and I can't exactly take upon myself to say what I answered; but, at last, he said as how we would take it down to Mrs. Mehan's as keeps the shebeen shop beyond Ballycloran. He then told me something about Miss Feemy and the Captain—as how he was carrying her off by force like, and that war why he'd stretched him. Well, yer honours, at the bottom of the avenue, at the gate like,—though for the matter of that, there ain't no gate there,—we discovered the Brown Hall gig, and Mr. Fred's crop-tailed bay pony horse standing in the middle of the road—and the masther bid me take the body away to the police at Carrick, saying he would be off at oncet to the mountains in Aughacashel. Well, yer honours, this I did—I left the Captain's body with the police—I took the gig to Brown Hall—and I brought home Miss Feemy's bundle as had been left there in the gig, when the Captain came out into the avenue—and that's the long and the short of what I knows about it, yer honours—at laste, all I knows about the murder."
"The prisoner then owned to you," continued Mr. Allewinde, "that it was he who killed Captain Ussher?"
"Shure he made no bones about it all—but told me straight out that he'd killed him in the avenue."
"Did he say why he had done so?"
"Faix I don't remember his saying thin why he'd done it—and I didn't think to ask him. He was in a flurry like, as war nathural, and he and I carrying the dead man that'd been hearty only a few minutes afore! But shure, yer honour knows the thing had been talked over."
"What thing had been talked over?"