‘And where were you, Ulick?’ cried Maurice, in an imperious, injured way.  ’You said once, perhaps you would take me to see the fire; and I went up to the bank, and they said you were gone, and it was glaring so in the sky, and I did so want to go.’

‘I am glad you stayed away, my man,’ said Albinia.

‘I did want to go,’ said Maurice; ’and I ran up to the top of the street, and there was Mr. Tritton; and he said if I liked a lark, he would take care of me; but—­’ and there he stopped short, and the colour came into his face.

Albinia threw her arm round him, and kissed him, saying, ’My trusty boy! and so you came home?’

’Yes; and there was Awkey crying about their burning papa, and she would not go up to the garret-window to see the fire, nor do anything.’

‘Why, what is the sword here for?’ exclaimed Sophy, finding it on the stairs.

‘Because then Awkey was not so afraid.’

For once, Maurice had been exemplary, keeping from the tempting uproar, and devoting himself to soothing his little sister.  It was worth all the vexations of the evening; but he went on to ask if Ulick could not take him now, if the fire was not out yet,

‘Not exactly,’ said Mr. Kendal, drily.

‘I beg your pardon, Mr. Kendal,’ said Ulick, who had apparently only just resumed the use of speech; ’don’t know what I may have done when you collared me, but I’d no more notion of its being you than the Lord Lieutenant.’

‘And pray what took you there?’ asked Mr. Kendal.  ’The surprise was quite as great to me.’

‘Why,’ said Ulick, ’one of the little lads of my Sunday class gave me a hint the other day that those brutes meant to have a pretty go to-night, and that Jackson was getting up a figure of the Nabob to break their spite upon.  So I told my little fellow to give a hint to a few more of the right sort, and we’d go up together and not let the rascals have their own way.’

’Upon my word, I wonder what the Vicar will say to the use you make of his Sunday-school.  Pretty work for his model teacher.’

’What better could the boys be taught than to fight for the good cause?  Why, no one is a scratch the worse for it.  And do you think we could sit by and see our best friend used worse than a dog?’

‘Why not give notice to the police?’

‘And would you have me hinder a fight?’ cried Ulick, in the most Irish of all his voices.

’Oh! very well, if you like—­only there will be a run on the bank to-morrow.’

‘What has Ulick been doing, Sophy?’ asked Maurice.

‘Only what you would have done had you been older, Maurice,’ she said, in a hurt voice; ’defending papa’s effigy, for which he does not seem to meet with much gratitude.’

‘Well,’ said Mr. Kendal, who all the time had had more gratitude in his eyes than on his tongue, ’if the burning had had the same consequence as melting one’s waxen effigy was thought to have, it might have been worth while to interfere, but I should have thought it more dignified in a respectable substantial householder to let those foolish fellows have their swing.’