He handed her the telegram, which she perused in silence, then burst out laughing, and read it again aloud for his edification:—
"Very strong Honey just arrived—bulls a-light on Bank of Ireland—Sent by an unknown Fiend—fail immediately—Sell Chief—consult a Gent, and strip Aaron at once—Do not lose a moment."
"Mr. Walters must be gone raving mad, or is this a practical joke, and why do you bring it here?"
"I don't think it's a joke," answered Bill ruefully. "I brought it because you know everything. If you can't help me, I'm done!"
"Quite right," said she. "Always consult a woman in a tangle. Now this thing is just like a skein of silk. If we can't unravel it at one end, we begin at the other. In the first place, who is Aaron? and how would you proceed to strip him?"
"Aaron," repeated Bill thoughtfully. "Aaron—I never heard of such a person. There's Sharon, you know; but stripping him would be out of the question. It's generally the other way!"
"Sharon's a money-lender, isn't he?" she asked. "What business have you to know anything about him, you wicked young man?"
"Never borrowed a sixpence in my life," protested Bill, which was perfectly true. "But I've been to him often enough lately about this business of Daisy's. We've arranged to get fifteen hundred from him alone. Perhaps that is what is meant by stripping him. But it was all to be in hard money; and though I know Sharon sometimes makes you take goods, I never heard of his sending a fellow bulls, or strong honey, or indeed, anything but dry sherry and cigars."
She knit her brows and read the message again. "I think I have it," said she. "'Strip Aaron.' That must mean 'Stop Sharon.' 'Sell the Chief',—that's 'Tell the Colonel.' Then 'fail immediately' signifies that the writer means to cross by the first boat. Where does it come from—Dublin or Roscommon?"