Poor Miss Mary breaks out at once into some kind of a song—the pitifullest music ever you listened to. Only I wanted to wait a bit, so as to come in right once for all, I’d have gone at him, hammer and tongs, that very minute. All this time Burke and Daly were goin’ in steady at the brandy, finished one bottle and tackled another. They began to get noisy and talked a lot, and sung a kind of a chorus to Miss Mary’s song.

After the song was over, Moran swore he’d have another one. She’d never sing for him any more, he said, unless she took a fancy to him, and went back to the Weddin Mountains with them.

“It ain’t a bad name for a mountain, is it, miss?” says he, grinning. Then, fixing his black snake’s eyes on her, he poured out about half a tumbler of brandy and drank it off.

“By gum!” he says,“I must have a dance; blest if I don’t! First chop music—good room this—three gals and the missus—course we must. I’m regular shook on the polka. You play us a good ‘un, Polly, or whatever your name is. Dan Moran’s goin’ to enjoy himself this night if he never sees another. Come on, Burke. Patsey, stand up, yer blamed fool. Here goes for my partner.”

“Come, Moran,” says Burke, “none of your larks; we’re very jolly, and the young ladies ain’t on for a hop; are ye, miss?” and he looked over at the youngest Miss Whitman, who stared at him for a moment, and then hid her face in her hands.

“Are you a-goin’ to play as I told yer?” says Moran. “D’ye think yer know when yer well off?”

The tone of voice he said this in and the look seemed to frighten the poor girl so that she started an old-style polka there and then, which made him bang his heels on the floor and spin round as if he’d been at a dance-house. As soon as he’d done two or three turns he walks over to the sofa and sits down close to Miss Falkland, and put his arm round her waist.

“Come, Fanny Falkland,” says he,“or whatever they call yer; you’re so dashed proud yer won’t speak to a bush cove at all. You can go home by’n by, and tell your father you had a twirl-round with Dan Moran, and helped to make the evening pass pleasant at Darjallook afore it was burned.”