“Do you really think so?” asked Nelligan, eagerly.
“I know it, sir; and every gentleman at this table knows it.”
A strong chorus in assent murmured around the board.
“It would be a great struggle,” muttered Nelligan.
“And a great victory!” said the priest.
“What a deal of money, too, it would cost!”
“You have the money, Dan Nelligan; and let me tell you one thing,”—here he leaned over his chair and whispered some words in the other's ear.
Old Nelligan's face flushed as he listened, and his eyes sparkled with intense excitement.
“If I thought that—if I only thought that, Father Rafferty—I 'd spend half my fortune on it to-morrow.”
“It's as true as I'm a living man,” said the priest, solemnly; and then with a motion of his hand gestured caution, for Massingbred was slowly ascending the steps, and about to enter the room.