“I love you altogether, Denis! I love you so much that I would give my soul for you!”
A man came down the road walking fast. He passed the gate of Drennan’s farm and came near the corner where the lovers stood. Denis took his arm from Mary’s waist, and they moved a little apart. The man stopped when he came to them.
“Good-evening, Denis!” he said. “Good-evening, Miss Drennan!”
The greeting was friendly enough, but he looked at the girl with unfriendly eyes.
“Don’t forget the meeting to-night, Denis!” he said. “It’s in Flaherty’s barn at nine o’clock. Mind, now! It’s important, and you’ll be expected!”
The words were friendly, but there was the hint of a threat in the way they were spoken. Without waiting for an answer, he walked on quickly towards the town. Mary stretched out her hands and clung tight to her lover’s arm. She looked up at him, and fear was in her face.
“What is it, Denis?” she asked. “What does Michael Murnihan want with you?”
Women in Ireland have reason to be frightened now. Their lovers, their husbands, and their sons may be members of a secret society, or they may incur the enmity of desperate men. No woman knows for certain that the life of the man she loves is safe.
“What’s the meeting, Denis?” she whispered. “What does he want you to do?”
He neither put his arm round her nor took her hand again.