Electronic Book page

"
"What mistake, my good man?" asked Darby.
"Why, simply, that instead of a robber, you have been sharp enough to
take up a most respectable Catholic clergyman from Ballytrain."
"What," said Darby, "a Popish priest! Curse me, but that's as good,
if not better, than the other thing. No Papist is allowed, under
the penalty of a felony, to carry arms, and here is a Popish priest
travelling with pistols. The other thing, Skipton, was only for the
magistrates, but this is a government affair."
"He may be Finnerty, after all," replied Skipton, aside; "this old
fellow is no authority as to his identity, as you may guess from what I
told you."
"At all events," replied Darby, "we shall soon know which he is--priest
or robber; but I hope, for our own sakes, he'll prove a priest on our
hands. At any rate the magistrates are now in the office, and it's full
time to bring his reverence up."
Corbet, in the meantime, had gone to Sir Thomas Gourlay's with his
reverence's message, and in a few minutes afterwards the prisoner,
strongly guarded, was conducted to the police office.


Pages:
648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672