“An explanation,” said Lord Alfred sternly, “if any explanation is possible, of the extraordinary hoax which you’ve seen fit to play on His Excellency.”
A group of spectators formed a circle round Dr. O’Grady and Lord Alfred. Father McCormack, puzzled and anxious, stood beside Mrs. Gregg. The Major was at a little distance from them. Mary Ellen stood almost alone beside the statue. The children of the town, attracted by some new excitement, had left her, and in spite of Sergeant Colgan, were pushing their way towards Lord Alfred. Dr. O’Grady looked round him and frowned at the people.
Then he took Lord Alfred by the arm and led him away to a corner of the square near the police barrack where there were very few people.
“Now,” he said, “we can talk in peace. It’s impossible to discuss anything in the middle of a crowd. You seem to think that the Lord-Lieutenant has some sort of grievance against us. What is it?”
“You surely understand that,” said Lord Alfred, “without my telling you. You’ve attempted to play off an outrageous hoax on the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. At least that’s my view of it.”
“Quite a mistaken one!”
“The Lord-Lieutenant himself hopes that there may be some other explanation. That is why he sent me down here. He wants to give you the chance of clearing yourselves if you can. I may say frankly that if he’d asked my opinion I should——”
“You’d have put us in prison at once,” said Dr. O’Grady, “and kept us there till we died. You’d have been perfectly right. We’d have deserved it richly if we really had——”
“Then you are prepared to offer an explanation?”
“I’ll explain anything you like,” said Dr. O’Grady, “if you’ll only tell me what your difficulty is. Oh, hang it! Excuse me one moment. Here’s that ass Doyle coming at us again.”