Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1895-05-30


arisa To banish them Danny began to
whistle, and falling with that form Of
musical society TO sing. His selection Of
q song was not the happiest under the cir
curnstances. ODDLY enOHgn. II was the doIs-
it in Manx, but here Is n stave Of 1t in the
lusty tones Of the fine old "Lavengro:"
"oh, Myle ChAraine. where got you your goldi
Lone, lone, you have left me here;
Oh. not in the Curragh. deep under the mold
Lone, lone, and void Of cheer"
There was not much cheer that Danny
could get out Of Myle Charaine's company,
but he could not at the moment think Of
any ballad hero who wns much more
heartsome. He had a good step Of the
road to go yet. Somehow the wild legend
Of the Moddey Dhoo would creep up into
Danny's mind In the days when the old
castle was garrisoned the soldiers In tho
guardroom were curious about q strange
black dog that came every night and lay
In their midst. Its devil, F" said one.
am follow 1t and see," said another.
When the dog rose to go, the intrepid SOL
dier went out after It. His comrades tried
to prevent him. "I'll follow 1t, !" he said,
"if it leads to hell"
A minute afterward there was an un-
earthly scream; the soldier rushed back
pale as q corpse, and with great staring
eyes. He said not word and died within
the hour. The Moddey Dhoo kept torment
ing poor Danny tonight. So he set up the
song afresh, and to heighten the sportive
soul of 1t he began to run. Once having
taken to his heels, Danny ran as II the
black dog itself had been behind him. By
the time he reached the town he was fairly
spent. Myle Charnine and the Moddey
Dhoo together had been too much for
Danny. What with the combined exertion
Of legs and lungs the lad was perspiring
from head to foot.
The house of the harbor master was o
little ivy covered cottage that stood on the
east end Of the quay, near the bridge that
crossed the river. The harbor master him
self was an unmarried elderly man, who
enjoyed the curious distinction of having
always worn short petticoats- His full and
correct name seems almost to have been
lost. He was known as Tommy -Bill-beg,
q byname which had at least certain
genealogical value in showing that the har-
Dor master was Tommy the son Of Little
Bill When Danny reached the cottage, he
knocked and had no answer. Then he
lifted the latch and walked in. The house
was empty, though light was burning.
1t had two rooms and no more, One was
dark closet of sleeping crib. Tho other,
the living room, was choked with nearly
every conceivable article of furniture and
species of domestic ornament. Shells, fish
bones, bits of iron and lead ore, sticks and
pipes lay on tables, chairs, chests, settles
and corner cupboards. A three legged
stool stood before the fireplace and with
all his wealth of rickety furniture this
was probably the sole article which the
harbor master used. There was faceti-
GUS faced timepiece on the mantelpiece,
and when folks pitied the isolation of
Tommy Bill-beg, and asked him If he
never felt lonely, he always replied, mot
while hear the clock tick"
But Tommy Bill-beg had not heard the
clock tick for 20 years. He resembled
Jenny Quark in being almost stone deaf
and had further bond of union with the
gardener of Balladhoo in being musical
He played 10 instrument, however, except
his voice, which he believed to be Of the
finest quality and compass. The harbor
master was woefully wrong as to the for
mer, but right as to the latter-he had a
voice like q rasp and as loud as foghorn
Printed copies of ballads were pinned up
on various parts of the wall of his kitchen
Tommy Bill beg could not read liMB but
he would rather have died than allow that
this was so, and he never sang except from
print.
Danny Fayle knew well how often the
~ 4 o1%n
was played upon by the Peel men, and
when he found the cottage empty he sus-
pected that some wags of fisher fellows
had decoyed Tommy Bill beg away to the
| Jolly Herrings for the sport of having him
sing on this their last night ashore. Dan
ny set off for the inn, which was in Castle
street. He walked along the quay, intend
| ing to turn up passage.
The night seemed darker than ever now,
and not breath of wind was stirring.
| The harbor on Danny's left was some 20
yards across, and another 20 yards divided
the mainland from the island rock, on
which stood the ruins of the old fortress.
The tide was out, and the fishing luggers
lay at secure anchorage on the shingle and
in six inches of mud. The pier was straight
ahead, and there the light should now be
burning.
AS Danny approached the passage that
| led UP to Castle street he heard the dis
tant rumble of noisy singing. Yes, 1t came
from the Jolly Herrings beyond question,
and Tommy Bill-beg was there airing his
single vanity.
Danny was about to turn up the passage
when, in lull Of the singing, he thought
he caught the sound of voices and of the
tread Of feet. Both came from the rock
outside, and Danny could not resist the
temptation to walk on and listen.
There could be no doubt of it. Some
people were going up to the castle. What
could they want IL that desolate place at
night, and thus late2 In Danny's mind
the ancient castle had always been encir-
cled by ghostly iIRaginings Perhaps II
was fear that drew him to 1t now. Prob
ably ordinary common sense would have
suggested thai Danny should run off first
to the harbor master with the message that
he had been charged to deliver, but Danny
had neither part nor lot in thst ordinary
inheritance.
Near the bottom of the ebb tide the neck
that divided une pier from the castle coulf
be forded. Danny stole down the pier steps
Ind crossed she ford as noiselessly as h
;ould A flight of other steps hewn out o
the rock went up from the water s edge tt
tho deep portcullis Danny crept up. HI
found that the old notched and barred doc
leading into the castle stood open. Damn,
stood and listened. The footsteps that h
heard before were now far ahead Of him
It was darkest of all under these thicl