Yes! It was no other than Pat himself!
A wild uproar of cheers and voluble questionings greeted the returning wanderer.
“When did you get out of the woods?” they asked.
“Whin, is it? Sure it wor ony five minutes ago.”
“Where are you going?”
“Where, is it? Sure I’m goin back till the ‘Cad’my.”
“The Academy? Pooh! you’re going straight away from it. Come along with us. Didn’t you hear us calling you?”
“Callin me? Niver a call did I hear.”
“Why, we followed you, and yelled, and shouted, and halloed, and hooted, and screamed, and bawled, and roared, and squalled, and whistled, and crowed, and croaked, and made every noise that we could make. We gave up everything to find you. It was only by chance that we found the road. We have just been talking about you. We were thinking about going into the woods again a little way, and shouting. But where’s your pole, and what’s become of the animal that you were chasing?”
“Sure an it’s the mischief itsilf intirely. Niver did I see such a baste. I chased it, an chased it, an it dodged, an I thought I sthruck it a hundhred times; but the little baste got off afther all, so it did.”