"He had no sooner said those words than the wall fell and his head was taken off entirely.
"You see, he didn't pray for the whole of him.
"Now, my good father said that was just right. The man was selfish to think only of himsilf. He should have prayed large, for all the folk around him, and not small, just for himsilf. It was the judgment of Hiven upon him.
"But, dear me! I must tend to my baking. I had clean forgot it in the storm."
Mrs. O'Neil turned to the fireplace and lifted a round, low pot out of the ashes. When she had set it on the table, she took off the cover. Then, turning the pot upside down, a dark, heavy loaf of bread fell out upon the table.
The visitors rose to go, thanking the good woman for her kindness in giving them shelter during the storm.
But Mrs. O'Neil would not hear of their leaving so near supper-time, with Killarney a good hour's drive away.
She told them she had a nice pat of butter in the cupboard. The wild berries picked by the children had been covered over, so they were not softened by the rain while on the way home. With a pot of good tea and the newly-baked bread, she proudly thought her visitors might satisfy their hunger.
After looking at her husband and the other gentlemen, the lady sat down again, saying: