She did that; and Heffernan looked terribly put about. But he took it the best ever you knew. Far worse Marg herself was.
“We’ll go at once and notice the polis!” he said; “sure whoever took the money can’t be far!”
So they did that; but they scarcely had their story told, when in walked two constables, and Ratigan between them.
It was all up with him then! the butter came out of the stir-about in earnest. The whole thing was opened up and explained. Great excitement there was over it, and a trial of law, that you can hear talked about still in Ardenoo.
What never was rightly known was, who told the polis. Some laid it on Dark Moll, but others would not believe she’d do such a dirty mean turn. Still, she had a spleen in for Ratigan, because he never gave her so much as the price of a drink of porter; penny wise and pound foolish as the saying is.
CHAPTER VIII
ROSY AT FURRY FARM
Kitty Grennan was just after starting the children off for school, of a dark, rainy morning, coming up to the Christmas. She was readying-over the house, stooping to make down a fire for the pig’s pot, when she heard a quick, heavy step outside, and in comes Dan, very hurried.
“Musha then, Dan,” said Kitty, a bit short, “what brings you back here so soon?”
She was feeling that she had a lot to get through, and that she could do it better if there was no one in the place only herself.
“Sure, I thought,” she went on, “that if I seen you here by dinner-time, it would be the soonest I need expect, after all you told me last night had to be done, below there at that gap, to keep the cattle from breaking out of their own fields.... But Dan, agra! is there anything the matter with ye? You look pale-looking, someways ... as if you were after seeing something not right ... a ghost or.... Gashly white you are indeed, God help ye!”