"'Your behaviour was very unfair, sir,' says Jimmy to the boyo, an' he risin' to his feet, 'but I'll be expectin' your salute the next time, an' I don't think you'll have the pleasure o' givin' it. Just gi'me a fair start, an' see which of us'll be at the wood first. Now, one, two, three, an' off we go.' An' Jimmy started to run quicker nor ever he went before, but he wasn't two minutes runnin' when he got the thump again an' down he had to flop a second time in spite of himself, an' there was the ram standin' over him an' his eyes sayin', 'It's not the Sojer M'Keon or the peelers that's in it this time, Jimmy,' an' all my poor Jimmy could do was groan an' feel himself where he was sore.
"'This won't do for Jimmy Malone, if he doesn't want to be caught, so you'll allow me to lead you to the ditch,' says Jimmy, catchin' hold o' the ram's horns, an' startin' to drag him along as well as he could, an' the bucko draggin' against him. If he got him as far as the wood he knew he'd be all right, because he could manage to get away from him, but in the open field there was no chance. So there was Jimmy with his two hands grippin' the ram's horns, an' the hares tied round his waist, an' he tryin' to coax the lad over to the edge o' the wood till he'd get away from him.
"He was about three hundred yards from the wood, an' the ram stickin' his feet in the ground an' refusin' to budge an inch, when who did he see comin' across the field at full trot only the Sojer M'Keon an' he leerin' like a monkey. Jimmy got a bit of a start when he saw him first, because he thought the peelers 'd be with him, but when he knew there was only the Sojer in it, he was delighted instead o' bein' afraid.
"The Sojer came up to him, an' a big stick in his hand an' he chucklin' an' grinnin' with delight.
"'Ha, ha, Mister Malone,' says he to Jimmy, 'you're nabbed at last. 'Twasn't enough to be snarin' the Major's hares an' rabbits, but you must turn to stealin' his mountainy sheep. Gettin' a likin' for mutton, is that it, Mister Malone? They'll hardly give you any mutton in jail, though, unless Julia an' myself sends you a bit o' what we'll have at the weddin'. No girl 'd like to marry a sheep-stealer; would she, Mister Malone?'
"Jimmy was ragin', but he knew that if it came to a fight with M'Keon the Sojer 'd beat him, because he was a powerful big man, an' along with that if the peelers came an' they squabblin', M'Keon 'd accuse him o' sheep-stealin' an' poachin' an' he'd be done for. So he kept his temper, an' says he, real quiet an' humble like:
"'You have me this time, Jack,' says he, 'but what's the use o' tormentin' a fellow. I gave the whole lot o' you a good run for it, anyway, an' I'm not goin' to cry over it. An' sure if Julia Dermody doesn't want me she can have the man that caught me, an' welcome. There's your friends, the peelers, comin', an' you can call them to arrest me.'
"'Where?—where are they? Where are they?' says the Sojer, turnin' round, an' he real excited an' like as if he was frightened.
"As soon as he turned round, Jimmy let go his hold o' the ram's horns an' away with him for the wood, racin' faster than ever he went in his life before. M'Keon got as big a surprise as the 'sheep,' as he took Jimmy's gentleman friend to be, but as soon as he saw the dodge, off he started after him an' he shoutin' to him to stop. He couldn't run well, though, because he was stiff an' lazy, an' the dickens a very far he went when he got a thump from the ram's horns that made him yell, an' the next minute there he was stretched at full length on the grass, an' the ram standin' over him as mild as you please. The Sojer gave him a string of army curses an' up he jumps again an' after Jimmy—the boyo was within a few perch o' the wood an' he runnin' for the bare life an' never lookin' behind him—but the dickens a far Mister M'Keon went till the ram was up with him an' had him stretched on the grass the same as before, an' he cursin' for all he was worth.
"When Jimmy got into the shelter o' the wood he drew his breath an' looked round, an' there he saw my brave Sojer an' he havin' a hold o' the ram's horns the same as he was himself a few minutes before that an' he pullin' at his best an' the ram pullin' against him, an' risin' with every jump now an' again that nearly lifted the Sojer off his feet.