Page 147 - The snake's pass

"
"
VANISHED. 135 ! —
her, is t' ask him to write her a letther, an' thin she
has him—tight."
"
" How so, Andy ?
" Well, ye see, surr, when you're writin' a letther to
a girrul, ye can't begin widout a 'My dear' or a 'My
'
darlin' —an' thin she has the grip iv the law onto ye I
An' ye do be badgered be the councillors, an' ye do be
frowned at be the judge, an' ye do be laughed at be the
people, an' ye do have to pay yer money—an' there ye
!
are
" I say, Andy," said I, " I think you must have been
in trouble yourself in that way — you seem to have it
all off pat!"
" Oh, throth, not me, yer 'an'r. Glory be to G-od
but I niver was a defindant in me life—an' more be-
token, I don't want to be—but I was wance a witness
in a case iv the kind."
"
" And what did you witness ?
"Faix, I was called to prove that I seen the gintle-
man's arrum around the girrul' s waist. The councillors
made a deal out iv that — just as if it warn't only manners
!
to hould up a girrul on a car
"What was the case, Andy? Tell me all about it."
I did not mind his waiting, as it gave me an excuse
for staying on the top of the hill. I knew I could easily
get rid of him when she came—if she came— by sending
him on a message.
" Well, this was a young woman what had an action
agin Shquire Murphy iv Ballynashoughlin himself