"And where is he? And where's his flag?"
"His flag is it?" Paddy shook his head as if to say, "Now you have touched the sore spot. Shure, an' didn't he haul down the flag the day they took the affice frum him."
"And has he never put it up again?"
"Niver a bit av it, Man dear," and Paddy walked out with me in great excitement.
"Do you know he niver heard a word till the stage druv be his dure with the mail-bag an' the tap av it an' left the ould man standin' there alone. Man, do you know, you wud ha' cried, so you wud, at the look av him; and then he walked over to the flag and hauled it down an' flung it inside the affice, an' there it's yit; an' niver a joke out av him since."
"And what is McFarquhar doing all the time?"
"Shure he's off on his spring hunt this three months; an' he thried to get Ould Michael to go along wid him, but niver a bit wud he; but I heard he'll be in to-day and, bedad, there he is!"
Sure enough there was McFarquhar, riding toward us. He gave me a warm welcome back and then fell into talking of Ould Michael. He had only seen him once after the loss of his position, but he feared things were going badly with him. I told him all that Paddy had given me as we searched the saloons. Ould Michael was not to be seen.
"He will be at home very likely," said McFarquhar. "We will jist put a stop to this kind of work."