Now, you must know that the miller’s purty daughter had also a sweetheart called Suil Gair Maguire, or sharp-eye’d Maguire, an humble branch of the great Maguires of Enniskillen; an’ this same Suil Gair was servant an’ foster-brother to Simpson, who was the intended husband of Miss Graham. Simpson, who lived some miles off, on hearin’ the condition of the castle, gathered together all the royalists far an’ near; an’ as Crummle was honestly hated by both Romans an’ Prodestans, faith, you see, Maguire himself promised to send a few of his followers to the rescue. In the mean time, Suil Gair dressed himself up like a fool or idiot, an’ undher the protection of the miller’s daughter, who blarnied Saveall in great style, was allowed to wandher about an’ joke wid the sogers; but especially he took a fancy to Sandy, and challenged him to put one stone out of five in one of the port-holes of the castle, at a match of finger-stone. Sandy, who was nearly as famous at that as the musket, was rather relaxed when he saw that Suil Gair could at least put in every second stone, an’ that he himself could hardly put one in out of twenty. Well, at all events it was durin’ their sport that fool Paddy, as they called him, contrived to fling the scrap of writin’ I spoke of across the battlements at all chances; for when he undhertook to go to the castle, he gave up his life as lost; but he didn’t care about that, set in case he was able to save either his foster-brother or Miss Graham. But this is not at all indispensable, for it is well known that many a foster-brother sacrificed his life the same way, and in cases of great danger, when the real brother would beg to decline the compliment.
Things were now in a very connubial state entirely. Balgruntie heard that relief was comin’ to the castle, an’ what to do he did not know; there was little time to be lost, however, an’ something must be done. He praiched flowery discourses twice a-day from the mill-hopper, an’ sang psalms for grace to be directed in his righteous intentions; but as yet he derived no particular predilection from either. Sandy appeared to have got a more bountiful modelum of grace than his captain, for he succeeded at last in bringin’ the miller’s daughter to sit undher the word at her father’s hopper. Fool Paddy, as they called Maguire, had now become a great favourite wid the sogers, an’ as he proved to be quite harmless and inoffensive, they let him run about the place widout opposition. The castle, to be sure, was still guarded, but Miss Graham kept her heart up in consequence of the note, for she hoped every day to get relief from her friends. Balgruntie, now seein’ that the miller’s daughter was becomin’ more serious undher the taichin’ of Saveall, formed a plan that he thought might enable him to penethrate the castle, an’ bear off the lady an’ the money. This was to strive wid very delicate meditation to prevail on the miller’s daughter, through the renown that he thought Sandy had over her, to open a correspondency wid Miss Graham; for he knew that if one of the gates was unlocked, and the unsuspectin’ girl let in, the whole squadron would soon be in afther her. Now, this plan was the more dangerous to Miss Graham, because the miller’s daughter had intended to bring about the very same denouncement for a different purpose. Between her friend an’ her enemies it was clear the poor lady had little chance; an’ it was Balgruntie’s intention, the moment he had sequestrated her and the money, to make his escape, an’ lave the castle to whosomever might choose to take it. Things, however, were ordhered to take a different bereavement: the Hog of Cupar was to be trapped in the hydrostatics of his own hypocrisy, an’ Saveall to be overmatched in his own premises. Well, the plot was mentioned to Sandy, who was promised a good sketch of the prog; an’ as it was jist the very thing he dreamt about night an’ day, he snapped at it as a hungry dog would at a sheep’s trotter. That night the miller’s daughter—whose name I may as well say was Nannie Duffy, the purtiest girl an’ the sweetest singer that ever was in the counthry—was to go to the castle an’ tell Miss Graham that the sogers wor all gone, Crummle killed, an’ his whole army massacrayed to atoms. This was a different plan from poor Nannie’s, who now saw clearly what they were at. But never heed a woman for bein’ witty when hard pushed.
‘I don’t like to do it,’ said she, ‘for it looks like thrachery, espishilly as my father has left the neighbourhood, and I don’t know where he is gone to; an’ you know thrachery’s ondacent in either man or woman. Still, Sandy, it goes hard for me to refuse one that I—I——well, I wish I knew where my father is—I would like to know what he’d think of it.’
‘Hut,’ said Sandy, ‘where’s the use of such scruples in a good cause?—when we get the money, we’ll fly. It is principally for the sake of waining you an’ her from the darkness of idolatry that we do it. Indeed, my conscience would not rest well if I let a soul an’ body like yours remain a prey to Sathan, my darlin’.’
‘Well,’ said she, ‘doesn’t the captain exhort this evenin’?’
‘He does, my beloved, an’ with a blessin’ will expound a few verses from the Song of Solomon.’
‘It’s betther then,’ said she, ‘to sit under the word, an’ perhaps some light may be given to us.’
This delighted Saveall’s heart, who now looked upon pretty Nannie as his own; indeed, he was obliged to go gradually and cautiously to work, for cruel though Nolly Rednose was, Sandy knew that if any violent act of that kind should raich him, the guilty party would sup sorrow. Well, accordin’ to this pious arrangement, Balgruntie assembled all his men who were not on duty about the hopper, in which he stood as usual, an’ had commenced a powerful exhortation, the substratum of which was devoted to Nannie; he dwelt upon the happiness of religious love; said that scruples were often suggested by Satan, an’ that a heavenly duty was but terrestrial when put in comparishment wid an earthly one. He also made collusion to the old Squire that was popped by Sandy; said it was often a judgment for the wicked man to die in his sins; an’ was gettin’ on wid great eloquence an’ emulation, when a low rumblin’ noise was heard, an’ Balgruntie, throwin’ up his clenched hands an’ grindin’ his teeth, shouted out, ‘Hell and d——n, I’ll be ground to death! The mill’s goin’ on! Murdher! murdher! I’m gone!’ Faith, it was true enough—she had been wickedly set a-goin’ by some one; an’ before they had time to stop her, the Hog of Cupar had the feet and legs twisted off him before their eyes—a fair illustration of his own doctrine, that it is often a judgment for the wicked man to die in his sins. When the mill was stopped, he was pulled out, but didn’t live twenty minutes, in consequence of the loss of blood. Time was pressin’, so they ran up a shell of a coffin, and tumbled it into a pit that was hastily dug for it on the mill-common.
This, however, by no manner of manes relieved poor Nannie from her difficulty, for Saveall, finding himself now first in command, determined not to lose a moment in tolerating his plan upon the castle.
‘You see,’ said he, ‘that a way is opened for us that we didn’t expect; an’ let us not close our eyes to the light that has been given, lest it might be suddenly taken from us again. In this instance I suspect that fool Paddy has been made the chosen instrument; for it appears upon inquiry that he too has disappeared. However, heaven’s will be done! we will have the more to ourselves, my beloved—ehem! It is now dark,’ he proceeded, ‘so I shall go an’ take my usual smoke at the mill window, an’ in about a quarther of an hour I’ll be ready.’