Page 353 - The snake's pass

THE CATASTROPHE. 341
was but one heart, and one soul, and one thought—and
all were filled with gratitude.
When once we had begun breakfast in earnest a minia-
ture babel broke out. We had each something to tell
and much to hear ; and for the latter reason we tacitly
arranged, after the first outbreak, that each should speak
in turn.
Miss Joyce told us of the terrible anxiety she had
been in ever since she had seen us depart, and how
every sound, great or small—even the gusts of wind
that howled down the chimney and made the casements
rattle—had made her heart jump into her mouth, and
brought her out to the door to see if we or any of us
were coming. Then Dick told us how, on proceeding
down the eastern side of the bog, he had diverged so
as to look in at Murdock's house to see if he were there,
but had found only old Moynahan lying on the floor
in a state of speechless drunkenness, and so wet that
the water running from his clothes had formed a pool
of water on the floor. He had evidently only lately
returned from wandering on the hill- side. Then as he
was about to go on his way he had heard, as he thought,
a noise lower down the hill, and on going towards it
had met Joyce carrying a sheep which had its leg broken,
and which he told him had been blown off a steep rock
on the south side of the hill. Then they two had kept
together after Dick had told him of our search for
Norah, until we had seen them in the coming grey of
the dawn.