“Well, I don’t know; I’m hammerin’ upon that for some time past, and can’t come at it.”

“Come, then, let us get the materials first, and then put them on the anvil of my imagination. Imprimis—­which means, Morty, in the first place, have you heard anything?”

“No; nothing to speak of.”

“Well, in the second place, have you seen or observed anything?”

“Why, no; not much.”

“Which means—­both your answers included—­that you have both heard and seen—­so I interpret ‘nothing to speak of,’ on the one hand, and your ‘not much,’ on the other.  Out with it; two heads are better than one:  what you miss, I may hit.”

“The devil’s no match for you, Bar—­Mr. Norton, and it’s hard to expect Dunroe should.  I’ll tell you, then—­for, in troth, I’m as anxious to come at the meanin’ of it myself as you can be for the life of you.  Some few months ago, when we were in London, there came a man to me.”

“Name him, Morty.”

“His name was M’Bride.”

“M’Bride—­proceed.”

“His name was M’Bride.  His face was tanned into mahogany, just as every man’s is that has lived long in a hot country.  ‘Your name,’ says he, ’is O’Flaherty, I understand?’”

“‘Morty O’Flaherty, at your sarvice,’ says I, ’and how are you, sir?  I’m happy to see you; only in the mane time you have the advantage of me.’”

“‘Many thanks to you,’ said he, ’for your kind inquiries; as to the advantage, I won’t keep it long; only you don’t seem to know your relations.’”

“‘Maybe not,’ says I, ’they say it’s a wise man that does.  Are you one o’ them?’”

“‘I’m one o’ them, did you ever hear of ould Kid Flaherty?’”

“’Well, no; but I did of Buck Flaherty, that always went in boots and buckskin breeches, and wore two watches and a silver-mounted whip.’”

“’Well, you must know that Kid was a son’—­and here he pointed his thumb over his left shoulder wid a knowin’ grin upon him—­’was a son of the ould Buck’s.  The ould Buck’s wife was a Murtagh; now she again had a cousin named M’Shaughran, who was married upon a man by name M’Faddle.  M’Faddle had but one sisther, and she was cousin to Frank M’Fud, that suffered for—­but no matther—­the M’Swiggins and the M’Fuds were cleaveens to the third cousins of Kid Flaherty’s first wife’s sister-in-law, and she again was married in upon the M’Brides of Newton Nowhere—­so that you see you and I are thirty-second cousins at all events.’”

“’Well, anyway he made out some relationship between us, or at least I thought he did—­and maybe that was as good—­and faith may be a great deal better, for if ever a man had the look of a schemer about him the same customer had.  At any rate we had some drink together, and went on very well till we got befuddled, which, it seems, is his besetting sin.  It was clearly his intention, I could see, to make me tipsy, and I dare say he might a done so, only for a slight mistake he made in first getting tipsy himself.”