"We—we can't," replied Murtagh. "We have to go—I mean," he said, recovering himself, "we have something else to do."
"Look here, Murtagh, I don't see a bit of use all of us going," exclaimed Rosie, gaining a sort of desperate courage from Nessa's presence; "and I'm not, for one."
"Do you mean," exclaimed Murtagh, astonished, "that you're not coming up to—" He stopped short, growing scarlet at the thought of how nearly he had betrayed himself.
Nessa looked at him in surprise, while Rosie answered stoutly, "No, I'm not."
"Couldn't your business wait till to-morrow?" Nessa asked gently.
"No," said Murtagh, with a sort of shutting of himself up that made further questions impossible.
There was a minute's silence; then Nessa asked whether she knew the way to Mrs. Daly's cottage, and if it would be too far for Ellie to walk.
"I tell you what," said Winnie, presently, "if you'll wait for us at the cottage, we'll come there after; that's the way we'll come home. Rosie can go with you if she likes," she added contemptuously.
Dinner over, the children went to prepare for their walk.
"What is to be done, Murtagh?" asked Rosie, as they mounted the little staircase. "Goodness knows when that stupid Mr. Plunkett will get well again! I think much the best plan is to give up the whole thing, and tell Mrs. Daly now all about Theresa. We can't possibly keep her there forever, and we shall be getting into an awful row, for the police always find things out."