LITERATURE.

Patea Mail, Volume X, Issue 1315, 2 March 1885, Page 4

LITERATURE.

THE GREAT AGRARIAN MURBBR- ——♦- . '{Concluded.) The only consoling point they could find in the whole business was that -their, pursuer i-had not been-, as they ' had at one time feared, injured by the shot; the bullet had evidently struck the horse only—probably on one of the fore- ' legs., For a' time Vthey ’w or e in ‘fdbribt whether it he the wisest course to go iin ; : the morning do the policestation and confess all. They might,by so doing • escape any 'danger of being indicted. But, after some discussion, they agieed'that, as the chance of dis- ; cOVery was small and the ignominy ;of 1 confession great; 'the best thing they could do was to, take every possible' precaution ,tq^V"® o inquiry,. They ri: . accordingly' pujled ; the dummy-to pieces, Tiliand; cast the * straw with which it was stuffed into-a roadside ditch. While doihg so thcy notlcedy to'-'their alarm, the'hat was 1 : missing., i'Upon ednhowever, i( {jiey 's«jfiroe teas- ... sured. It was extreipety v u,nlilr,ely that ’an did felt hat, such iißjhalf.s the .farmers n-.i in the, country wore, worildibe anything :■* liked sufficient cine to putthe police on the right-scent.. Then, having finished the work 8 of dismantling the dummy, they drove round by a circuitous route, v seas to reach their;father’s house; by a different road from that leading from * Ballymul whacking". When they reached ,home, they were pleased to see that nobody was yet about, They entered r quietly, and, after putting np the "horse . and dog-cart, and hiding the , old ’’ clothes, they went to their bed-rooms .without - apparently disturbing 1 any of the house’s sleeping inmates.. Though both the boys were extrbmely tired by their night’s exertions, neither of them slept well, They could not free their minds from the fear that the morning would bring exposure of the whole absurd affair, and, though the father had always shown them great indulgence in their boyish escapades, they felt that their present behaviour had overstepped the bounds of even his patience, Besides, even should he find no fault with theta, they knew that their conduct, if discovered, must give him considerable pain, and, as they both : bore him undoubted affection, this knowledge did not contribute to their peace of mind. It was' early fnorning, and Nicholas had just at length Tnllen info a troubled sleep, when he was awakened by a rather lend knocking at the door. The first thought that came into bis head was that everything bad been found out. Springing out of bed, he asked in a stern voice what all the ■ row was about. ‘Oh! sir,’said the old housekeeper from without— * oh ! sir, the master didn’t come home last night, and there’s a policeman below enquiring about him ; I’m afraid something has happened to : him. sir,’

In a second all recollection of last night’s adventures was out of young Nick’s head. ‘ Call Harry,’ he said, ‘and tell the policeman I’ll be with him in a minute.’ Hastily throwing on some of his clothes, he hurried down to the hall where the policeman was awaiting him. It was old Sergeant Grimshaw, whom he knew well—a rugged and clearsighted old fellow from the North. Before he had well returned Nicholas’s salutation, Harry came running down in his dressing-gown from his bed-room, pale and excited. ‘Well, sergeant,’ said Nicholas, ‘ I hear you are asking about ray father; has anything happened to him V ‘ I greatly fear it, sir,’ replied Grimshaw, in his strong Ulster accent and official style; ‘lost"night sub-constables O’Mnlligan and O’Reilly, when out on night ; duty, heard several shots, but ; when they reached the place the offenders had disappeared; though it was clear that a murderous outrage had been committed, for the road was covered with blood. Sub-Inspector Hnrry just then arrived. He was riding home from his uncle’s in the Mullamore direction, where he had been dining. Hearing that the , criminals had driven off, he pursued them, bnt when he overtook them they fired on him,, and broke his horse’s leg. Afterwards sub-constable O’Mnlligan fonnd on the road a hat with your father’s initials in it and a pistol shot through it. They took the body with them, and wo haven’t yet found it,’ * And where did this take place, sergeant?’ asked Nicholas, his face pale with excitement. . * At Ballymulwhacking, sir,’ replied the sergeant. J The two brothers glanced at one another in confusion. They knew not what to say. At length Nicholas asked if the sub-inspector was hurt. ‘ No, sir,’ answered the sergeant, ‘ only a bit shaken,’ ‘ Would he recognise his assailants again ?’. ‘.No, sir, be doesn’t think he would ; the night was very dark, and he saw little, of them; bnt he noticed by the flash of their pistol that they weren’t dressed like farmers, but townspeople ; I may say, your honor,’ added the sergeant in a confidential way, and at the same time with a knowing air, ‘ I may say your honors, wo have a suspicion that they are agents sent down from Dublin to do the job.’ Nicholas reflected for a moment, and then said—- ‘ Well, sergeant, if you wait until we dress, well go with you to the subinspector.’ ‘ Well, sir,’ said the sergeant. ‘ I’m in charge of the men searching the road the murderers drove off by, for the body, and I’d rather go there ; but Mr Hurry told me to call here and request you to go to him to Ballymulwhacking as soon as yon conld.” This the young men agreed to do, and the sergeant took his departure. As soon as he was gone they retired to Harry’s bedroom, and there began to consider whether they should at once explain to the sub-inspector the true version of the Ballymulwhacking affair, or wait to see how things would turnout.

One thing seemed clear—something serious has befallen their father. Though he was accustomed ..to- take midnight, walks, he never had been.' known to remain out long alter midnight; and neither of the boys could doubt that he had been murdered. ; To allow, then the police to remain even for an hQPJ'.pn the, wrong scent, was simply to play into ,the, murderer’s hands—perhaps,, to,.,secure them their escape from justice. The boys therefore determined to ;go straight to the snb-inspector and confess all. Just as they were strirting off for this' purpose, the post-boy arrived with edihe letters. Nicholas glariced the superscriptions. One of theta'seemed strange to him. The letter it was on was from Cork, and was addressed To himself. . He tore Jt .open, , and[..the moment his eye tact the 'writing inside he almost fainted. After reading-the contents rapidly he handed it to Harry. It ran as follows: j

‘ My dear Boys,—l am a mined man. I have abused ray position to rob tay employer. It was all through stojsk speculation. I always thought my lifek would change, and so kept on nntil all hope was gone. I had not the heart to tell yon, my hoys, how I had disgraced yon. I am bound for America, you’ll never hear of me again. Thank God the pittance your mother left yon will save you from starvation. May Gbd ; protect: you,' is the one prayer of yonr broken-hearted Father.’ i

The brothers were dumbfounded. They could not for a time realise their position. When they became calmer, however, and considered the state of affairs, they found it somewhat improved. Their father’s life, at leapt, was safe, and if they only let the police persist on the scent they were following, his honor, too; might be preserved. They proceeded, therefore, to the snbinspector, and, after a long consultation with him, agreed that the perpetrators of the Ballymulwhacking outrage must be their father’s murderers, and that the proper course was to use every exertion to discover them, They were the bolder in recommending this, as they found that the sub-inspector did not for a moment suspect them. Great attempts were made to discover the miscreants, - and : large rewards were offered—the sons themselves promising one of £250 ; but it is scarcely necessary to say that the crime remained a mystery.