"That's all right," and he moved a step backwards.
"Father!" said Mary softly.
He returned to her.
"What more do you want?" said he impatiently.
She put her arms about his neck.
"What the devil are you doing?" said he in astonishment, and he tried to wriggle loose from her.
But she did not say another word, and after a moment he put his own arms about her with a grunt and held her tightly.
"I'm away now," said he, and, moving against the darkness, he disappeared.
For half a minute the sound of his feet was heard, and then the darkness covered him.
Mary returned to her place by the brazier. She stretched close to Eileen Ni Cooley and lay staring at the moving clouds.