Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-03-03
Lost ON Dhu-C orrig.
By STANDISH O'GRADY
Copyright, lSs4, by American Press Associa-
toni

In the month of October. long after
the public excitement caused by the
disappearance of my brother John had
subsidized. and even after the local inter
est caused by Charley's curious be-
haviur and conversation had died away,
the suspicion, indeed the conviction,
that John had met with foul play, while
| il renewed the general excitement,
made our own grief only the deeper
and bitterer. Every one believed now
that my BROTHER had been murdered.
Dhu- Corrig, where Jack was last seen,
was not within sight of any house in
the neighborhool, utth"rc were house
and farm close 10y occupied by Il re-
turned Irish-American called Melody,
a very big man, noisy. quarrelsome and
given to drink. He was poor now,
though when he came home he had
! money. His wife WIS dead. He lived
! here with his mother, who was bedrid-
den, and three children, the eldest of
them called Dannie. who was a pupil
in my fathers parochial school. No
one liked Melody, nor am | surprised,
his WAYS were so different from those of
the rest of the people. One day | over
heard a laborer in the glebe say to an
other. Melody is drinking again. wher-
! ever he got the money | noticed the
| remark, for ON the previous evening
| had seen him staggering home from
| the adjoining village. He endeavored
TO enter into conversation with me, but
| stepped out and could hear him bawl-
| ing some impertinence after me. Mel
ody had money and was drinking The
: 4
| curiosity in the neighbCrhOOd.
\ few evenings later the schOolmas-
ter called at the glebe and inquired for
me. went into the kitchen and noticed
that his face was fixed and pale.
brought him into the dining room and
asked whether he was i'll. He said
| No. and was silent. |, too. WAS silent
| and only looked at him. He had piece
! of paper in his hand which he kept
! twlrling between his fingers in merry
| Gus manner.
Il came about Master John. at last
he suddenly said. II fear. sir, there
| has been foul play. You know taught
| him mathematics tor his Michaclmas
examination last year and was ii good
| deal with him i'll the evenings. He
| then showed mr his ring. 1t had a Latin
| inscription on the inside. Not knowing
! Latin, ! do not rightly recullcct the
words, though | read them at the time,
and he translated them for me.
Master Edward. Master Edward,
he cried in great agitation and laying
! the paper ON the table, are those they"
They are. - said l. We stood trem-
bling and looked ut each other. Writ
ten ON the paper in Il large schoolboy
| hand We're the words, Nee spcrncdu
| tam
This Is terrible, Mr.. Gloster, l
said at last. Tell me all. He did so
! and to the following effect:
Dluujr Melody, il seems. came to
school one day looking very big and i'm
| portaut and behaved so badly that he
had To he punished. The boy singular
behavior arose from the fact that he
was the pos >Sur of IL sixpcnny hit
| which he said his father had given to
| him. rs Dumu was never known to
have even Il Ina penny his fright sixpence
excited Il great deal Of curiosity. and all
| the boys We're very eager to find out the
| cause Of his fathers unexpected mu-
| nificenCe. Dannie. however, refused to
! tell. but, II seems after having pledged
! HIM 10 fidelity, communicated the Sc
| cr,t 10 little pal of his. One day Mr..
! Chester surprised these two friends
| idling ut their desk, or rather examining
| together piece of strange paper. Be
/ fore Duunic could conceal it Mr.. Clos
| ter Snatched 1t up and demanded the
meaning of the characters with which
ii was inscribed. They recalled To him
| the legend in the ring. The hoy began
| 10 cry and said that he could not tell;
that his father would beat him if he
| did. When the school WIS dismissed,
Mr.. Chester kept Daunic back and at
| length got the secret from him.
Daunie, it seems. coming home one day
found his father sitting 10y the fire and
examining a gold ring. The moment
| the hoy appeared he put il hastily int
! his pocket. He came back drunk from
| the yillace that night and slept long
| th,. ucxt morning Danniv. with ii
| child'S inuuisitiveness. searched his IA
| In rs pockets till he round the ring,
| AMI after examining it C.lriously for
| long time finally the within Sci. d him
! # copying out the strange words which
! he found on the INSIDE. lie kept the
! copy and put til ling ;ivk in the pocket
| from which Lr Id taken it, When his
! father awokr HrI lot up. he called the
toy outside ii the huu:c and said to
! him: Danuir, yuu SAY: Il ring with Inc
last night. Well, you re to tell no one
| about it. Ii you do, I'll break every
! bone in your body" Then he gave
! Daunie the sixpence as Il bride and made
| him give solemn promise Of secrecy.
| That WAS all Daunio had t" tell except
! that his father the same day went to
| our nearest market town, Ballymohur,
and sold the ring there, as Dannie Le-
! lleved, for he came back with money,
but without the ring
Mr.. Gloster wished to know from me
whether he should tell all this to my
| parents. Terrible as was the news
and great as would be the shock to
them, especially TO my poor mother.
! thought so. OF the effect upon them
shall say nothing. Later on in the even
! ing Mr.. Gloster and | set out for the
house of Mr.. Watkins, the subinspector
| of police. When Mr.. Watkins heard
this strange story, he resolved to arrest
at once Melody and his son. A warrant
| was procured from the nearest magis-
trate, and about nightfall we came to
Melody's cabin. 1t was absurdly small
to be the abode of such big man. The
thatch was secured by hay ropes held in
their places by stones attached to their
ends, a row of which hung all found
| the cabin under the caves like a neck
| lace. The tenants huge Gunner rod re-
| posed against the roof and stretched
away into the sky. Everything about
the place was as untidy and unkempt
as possible. Melody had learned moth
/ ing good, but much bad, during his So
journ in the great republic. The cabin
stool little distance in from the
boreen, which led from the high road