Page 87 - The snake's pass

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THE SECRETS OF THE BOG. —;
that the earth could give nothing more lovely or more
grand.
Andy's voice beside me grated on me unpleasantly :
" Musha ! but it's the fine sight it is entirely ; it only
wants wan thing."
" What does it want ? " I asked, rather shortly.
" Begor, a bit of bog to put your arrum around while
ye' re lukin' at it," and he grinned at me knowingly.
He was incorrigible. I jumped down from the rock
and scrambled into the boreen. My friend Sutherland
had gone on his way to Murdock's, so calling to Andy
to wait till I returned, I followed him.
I hurried up the boreen and caught up with him,
for his progress was slow along the rough laneway. In
reality I felt that it would be far less awkward having
him with me ; but I pretended that my only care was for
his sprained ankle. Some emotions make hypocrites of
us all
With Dick on my arm limping along we passed up the
boreen, leaving Joyce's house on our left. I looked out
anxiously in case I should see Joyce—or his daughter
but there was no sign of anyone about. In a few minutes
Dick, pausing for a moment, pointed out to me the
shifting bog.
" You see," he said, "those two poles? the line between
them marks the mearing of the two lands. We have
worked along the bog down from there." He pointed
as he spoke to some considerable distance up the hill to
the north where the bog began to be dangerous, and