“Aisy, Martin, and I’ll tell you.  Anty’s in the parlour.”

“In the parlour upstairs?” said he; “the deuce she is!  And what brought her here?  Did she quarrel with Barry, Meg?” added he, in a whisper.

“Indeed she did, out and out,” said Meg.

“Oh, he used her horrible!” said Jane.

“He’ll hear all about that by and by,” said Meg.  “Come up and see her now, Martin.”

“But does mother know she’s here?”

“Why, it was she brought her here!  She fetched her down from the house, yesterday, before we was up.”

Thus assured that Anty had not been smuggled upstairs, her lover, or suitor as he might perhaps be more confidently called, proceeded to visit her.  If he wished her to believe that his first impulse, on hearing of her being in the house, had been to throw himself at her feet, it would have been well that this conversation should have been carried on out of her hearing.  But Anty was not an exigent mistress, and was perfectly contented that as much of her recent history as possible should be explained before Martin presented himself.

Martin went slowly upstairs, and paused a moment at the door, as if he was a little afraid of commencing the interview; he looked round to his sisters, and made a sign to them to come in with him, and then, quickly pushing open the unfastened door, walked briskly up to Anty and shook hands with her.

“I hope you’re very well, Anty,” said he; “seeing you here is what I didn’t expect, but I’m very glad you’ve come down.”

“Thank ye, Martin,” replied she; “it was very good of your mother, fetching me.  She’s been the best friend I’ve had many a day.”

“Begad, it’s a fine thing to see you and the ould lady pull so well together.  It was yesterday you came here?”

“Yesterday morning.  I was so glad to come!  I don’t know what they’d been saying to Barry; but the night before last he got drinking, and then he was very bad to me, and tried to frighten me, and so, you see, I come down to your mother till we could be friends again.”

Anty’s apology for being at the inn, was perhaps unnecessary; but, with the feeling so natural to a woman, she was half afraid that Martin would fancy she had run after him, and she therefore thought it as well to tell him that it was only a temporary measure.  Poor Anty!  At the moment she said so, she trembled at the very idea of putting herself again in her brother’s power.

“Frinds, indeed!” said Meg; “how can you iver be frinds with the like of him?  What nonsense you talk, Anty!  Why, Martin, he was like to murdher her!—­he raised his fist to her, and knocked her down—­and, afther that, swore to her he’d kill her outright av’ she wouldn’t sware that she’d niver—­”

“Whist, Meg!  How can you go on that way?” said Anty, interrupting her, and blushing.  “I’ll not stop in the room; don’t you know he was dhrunk when he done all that?”