Morning journal and courier., 1894-03-10

you may be disturbed to night. Old Den is with donkey and cart might be along ida the wall; toward midnight, you ,nd ll4',
 ooh, master dearl--" but her voice ,nly broke into . roguish peal of laughter,
 Thst night in ssThs Den" lively banter ran the other way. The rector pleaded some pressing duty, and was not with them. From wendrous tales of other wondrous shoots, the rattle-brained gossip came along the nne of the noble youpgsters adventures in travel, ct tho university, in love, and finally to poachipg and poaehers and the remedy, In these wiseacres Jodg- ment, for the evil; Darlington holding with uniiinching sternneesto the rigid en- forcement of the law, and Vaudeville con, to know, and still less fail to overlook, | theee insignificant peculations. 1
 "Ah," said Burlington irritably, "you'd sing another song. if you suffered at Ball nages as we do In England.
 sOn the contrary" returned Randsville, aru lay you hundred to 6fty-chancs for your money, old boyi-that ct this very moment my loader, Lucy, is tossing brace after brace of pheasants over the demesne wallr'
 The odds were too temptingly in Gar lington's favor. He took the wager in- stsntIy. Their friends, tired from the days sport, left them; and the two stole stealthily out of the castle and, following the demesne wall closely, were not long in passing the line of the thickest forest and coming abreast of where the heavier shoot ing of the day had taken place. They soon heard voices; saw the occasional flash of lantern; and, creeping softly nearer and nearer, at last stood well out of sight behind the trunk of e. huge sycamore.
 "By Jovel" whispered Darlington with groan, you'll break me against your brace games, Rsndevillel"
 And well he might! Shufding feet, the occasional stir of cart wheels and a low but hearty 1srruping of sn unmsnsgeable don key were heard from the moorland bog just outside the wall, while a shaggy Irish head appeared and reappeared where the mur derous broken glass which crowned tho coping had bsen carefully covered with hard clay, and the kindly, compassionate and occasionally triumphant voice of the poachers' Lucy was the cheery accompani- ment to the first autumnsl distribution of game from the preserves of Ballnagee. Here's the last pair, Dennis. There's nigh forty brace, Dsunis. There'd not | Uc0u uhlI Lu0 uukQpoI kklD uIkub IL Guc uonI master hadn't already beaten the shamer
 roundly by noopl An, Dennis, my head was fairly blssln', keepin' the count, this dayi Parcel them out fair now, Dennis.
 There's brace for old limpy Curran, thin;
 one for widdy Malone, poor creature; two
 for Mickey Dunn's fourteen hungry
 mouths; one for Owen, the weaver; one for | mother Ryan, poor souli by the mill; and four brace-mind, now, Dennis, the fat
 onesl-for Father Ktlroy. sn' my oompli
 ments, instead O confessiop!-and all the
 rest for your swate, old, beggarly, spalpeer
 self. for the rent, God bless youl Be lively
 nowI-and may the top O your head never
 folly your hairl"
 "Get back to the castle; quick, CarlIng | ton! I'm going to take your advice and
 put g stop to all this poaching, right here
 Easy and quiet, now!"
 This. excitedly from Vaudeville, as Car
 lington stole away; for he had seen wha
 the poachers' Lucy, with all her cunning
 and his own companion had not seen;-
 the figure of powerfully built man
 crouching in the shadow against the wal
 and contemplating the little poachint
 scene, his eyes following every movemen
 of the chief actor in 1t, with a look of pa
 of such complete and utter hopelessness @
 he had never seen before, and which h.
 could not mistake.
 Lucy had scarcely tossed the lantern t
 old Dennis, who was mumbling sevent. : and seven blessings upon her head, whel
 young Lord Vaudeville stole lightly to he side, took her arm firmly within his ow
 as the figure against the wall spran toward him with heavy, uplifted stick. "It's all right, Brisbin. It's all rigat said Vaudeville reassuringly. "Here, tax my other arm. We three are the bef , friends st Bsllnagee-the best friends |, all the world, hope" he added, with ger shape with Dennis, now, and we can 2 l back to the castle together"
 ' There was no word spoken as they passe
 the long dark walk slowly, and for th , | whole distancs not a sound save the fu tering of the night nesting birds overhead and the whispering rustic of the futterin leaves beneath their feet.
 Just at the demesne entrance they hake by the path leading to the gamekesper cottage. Vaudeville took Lucy's trenholm T hand. placed it within the trembling han
 of the rector, and then held them bo, 2 Tomorrow shall be duke of Banche ter," he began at last kindly, but mol
 solemnly than he had ever spoken to sith' r of them before. sI never had truer sffe 7 tion for woman," this to Lucy; "or ft man," this to the young rector, ''thsn
 you two. If 6 nobleman, with those fee :- ings, could ever be happy in this world, g think his happiest moments could be pas . ed when occasionally sloughing of a nobl ,, mans cursed pretentions and restraint l. and toasting his heels in genuine good fe ], lowship at the rectory of Ballnsgee. @ I can have that privilege, your living B Brisbin, shall be perpetual one-f, s my own selfsh sake; thoueand pound :; besides the two hundred guineas VIC g from Darlington, shall come with this ra 8 cally poachers' Lucy here, and the fret 8
 of my ducal nfe-if it bs the last decel r one in it-shall bs to give this girl ava.
 tGood night"
 J. Their eyes and voices were too mis- a and clogged to send grateful answer aft u him, as they stood there in the shadov l. alone, but the duke of Bsnchester kept b t word like 8 manly lord and 8 lordly ma