BALLYTOWNGAL.
Daly, among other virtues, or vices, was famed for punctuality. He
wore a large silver watch in his pocket which was as true as the
sun, or at any rate was believed by its owner to be so. From Daly's
watch on hunting mornings there was no appeal. He always reached
the appointed meet at five minutes before eleven, by his watch, and
by his watch the hounds were always moved from their haunches at
five minutes past eleven. Though the Lord Lieutenant and the Chief
Secretary and the Lord Chancellor had been there, there would have
been no deviation. The interval of ten minutes he generally spent in
whispered confabulations with the earth-warners, secrets into which
no attendant horseman ever dived; for Black Daly was a mysterious
man, who did not choose to be inquired into as to his movements. On
this occasion he said not a word to any earth-warner, though two were
in attendance; but he sat silent and more gloomy than ever on his big
black horse, waiting for the minutes to pass by till he should be
able to run his hounds through the Ballytowngal coverts, and then
hurry on to Moytubber.
Mr. Daly's mind was, in truth, fixed upon Moytubber, and what would
there be done this morning. He was a simple-minded man, who kept his
thoughts fixed for the most part on one object. He knew that it was
his privilege to draw the coverts of Moytubber, and to hunt the
country around; and he felt also, after some gallant fashion, that
it was his business to protect the rights of others in the pursuit
of their favourite amusement. No man could touch him or either of
his servants in the way of violence without committing an offence
which he would be bound to oppose by violence. He was no lawyer, and
understood not at all the statutes as fixed upon the subject. If a
man laid a hand upon him violently, and would not take his hand off
again when desired, he would be entitled to shoot that man. Such was
the law, as in his simplicity and manliness he believed it to exist.
He was a man not given to pistols; but when he heard that he was to
be stopped in his hunting on this morning, and stopped by dastardly,
pernicious curs who called themselves Landleaguers, he went into
Ballinasloe, and bought himself a pistol. Black Daly was a sad,
serious man, who could not put up with the frivolities of life; to
whom the necessity of providing for that large family of children was
very serious; but he was not of his nature a quarrelsome man. But
now he was threatened on the tenderest point; and with much simpler
thought had resolved that it would be his duty to quarrel.
But just when he had spoken the word on which Barney and the
hounds were prepared to move, Sir Nicholas trotted up to him. Sir
Nicholas and all the sporting gentlemen of County Galway were there,
whispering with each other, having collected themselves in crowds
much bigger than usual. There was much whispering, and many opinions
had been given as to the steps which it would be well that the hunt
should take if interrupted in their sport. But at last Peter Bodkin
had singled out his father, and had communicated to him the fact of
Black Daly's pistol. "He'll use it, as sure as eggs are eggs," said
Peter whispering to his father.
"Then there'll be murder," said Sir Nicholas, who though a good
hunting neighbour had never been on very friendly terms with Mr.
Daly.
"When Tom Daly says he'll do a thing, he means to do it," said Peter.
"He won't be stopped by my calling it murder." Then Sir Nicholas
had quickly discussed the matter with sundry other sportsmen of the
neighbourhood. There were Mr. Persse of Doneraile, and Mr. Blake of
Letterkenny, and Lord Ardrahan, and Sir Jasper Lynch, of Bohernane.
During the ten minutes that were allowed to them, they put their
heads together, and with much forethought made Mr. Persse their
spokesman. Lord Ardrahan and Sir Jasper might have seemed to take
upon themselves an authority which Daly would not endure. And
Blake, of Letterkenny, would have been too young to carry with him
sufficient weight. Sir Nicholas himself was a Roman Catholic, and was
Peter's father, and Peter would have been in a scrape for having told
the story of the pistol. So Mr. Persse put himself forward. "Daly,"
he said, trotting up to the master, "I'm afraid we're going to
encounter a lot of these Landleaguers at Moytubber."
"What do they want at Moytubber? Nobody is doing anything to them."
"Of course not; they are a set of miserable ruffians. I'm sorry to
say that there are a lot of my tenants among them. But it's no use
discussing that now."
"I can only go on," said Daly, "as though they were in bed." Then he
put his hand in his pocket, and felt that the pistol was there.
Mr. Persse saw what he did, and knew that his hand was on the pistol.
"We have only a minute now to decide," he said.
"To decide what?" asked Daly.
"There must be no violence on our side." Daly turned round his
face upon him, and looked at him from the bottom of those two dark
caverns. "Believe me when I say it; there must be no violence on our
side."
"If they attempt to stop my horse?"
"There must be no violence on our side to bring us, or rather you, to
further grief."
"By God! I'd shoot the man who did it," said Daly.
"No, no; let there be no shooting. Were you to do so, there can be no
doubt that you would be tried by a jury and--"
"Hanged," said Daly. "May be so; I have got to look that in the face.
It is an accursed country in which we are living."
"But you would not encounter the danger in carrying out a trifling
amusement such as this?"
Daly again turned round and looked at him. Was this work of his life,
this employment on which he was so conscientiously eager, to be
called trifling? Did they know the thoughts which it cost him, the
hard work by which it was achieved, the days and nights which were
devoted to it? Trifling amusement! To him it was the work of his
life. To those around him it was the best part of theirs.
"I will not interfere with them," Daly said.
He alluded here to the enemies of hunting generally. He had not
hunted the country so long without having had many rows with many
men. Farmers, angry with him for the moment, had endeavoured to stop
him as he rode upon their land; and they had poisoned his foxes from
revenge, or stolen them from cupidity. He had borne with such men,
expressing the severity of his judgment chiefly by the look of his
eyes; but he had never quarrelled with them violently. They had been
contemptible people whom it would be better to look at than to shoot.
But here were men coming, or were there now, prepared to fight with
him for his rights. And he would fight with them, even though hanging
should be the end of it.
"I will not interfere with them, unless they interfere with me."
"Have you a pistol with you, Daly?" said Persse.
"I have."
"Then give it me."
"Not so. If I want to use a pistol it will be better to have it in my
own pocket than in yours. If I do not want to use it I can keep it
myself, and no one will be the wiser."
"Listen to me, Daly."
"Well, Mr. Persse?"
"Do not call me 'Mr. Persse,' as though you were determined to
quarrel with me. It will be well that you should take advice in this
matter from those whom you have known all your life. There is Sir
Nicholas Bodkin--"
"He may be one of them for all that I can tell," said Daly.
"Lord Ardrahan is not one of them. And Sir Jasper Lynch, and Blake
of Letterkenny, they are all there, if you will speak to them. In
such a matter as this it is not worth your while to get into serious
trouble. To you and me hunting is a matter of much importance; but
the world at large will not regard it as one in which blood should be
shed. They will come prepared to make themselves disagreeable, but if
there be bloodshed it will simply be by your hands. And think what an
injury you would do to your side of the question, and what a benefit
to theirs!"
"How so?"
"We are regarded as the dominant party, as gentlemen who ought to do
what is right, and support the laws."
"If I am attacked may I not defend myself?"
"No; not by a pistol carried loaded into a hunting-field. You would
have all the world against you."
Then the two men rode on silently together. The hounds were drawing
the woods of Ballytowngal, but had not found, and were prepared to go
on to Moytubber. But, according to the Galway custom, Barney Smith
was waiting for orders from his master. Daly now sat stock still upon
his horse for awhile, looking at the dark fringe of trees by which
the park was surrounded. He was thinking, as well as he knew how to
think, of the position in which he was placed. To be driven to go
contrary to his fixed purpose by fear was a course intolerable to
him. But to have done that which was clearly injurious to his party
was as bad. And this Persse to whom he had shown his momentary anger
by calling him Mr., was a man whom he greatly regarded. There was
no one in the field whose word would go further with him in hunting
matters. He had clearly been rightly chosen as a deputation. But
Daly knew that as he had gone to bed the previous night, and as he
had got up in the morning, and as he had trotted along by Monivea
cross-roads, and had met Peter Bodkin, every thought of his mind
had been intent on the pistol within his pocket. To shoot a man who
should lay hold of him or his horse, or endeavour to stop his horse,
had seemed to him to be bare justice. But he had resolved that he
would first give some spoken warning to the sinner. After that, God
help the man; for he would find no help in Black Tom Daly.
But now his mind was shaken by the admonitions of Mr. Persse. He
could not say of Mr. Persse as he had said, most unjustly, of Sir
Nicholas, that he was one of them. Mr. Persse was well-known as a
Tory and a Protestant, and an indefatigable opponent of Home-Rulers.
To Sir Nicholas, in the minds of some men, there attached a slight
stain of his religion. "I will keep the pistol in my pocket," said
Tom Daly, without turning his eyes away from the belt of trees.
"Had you not better trust it with me?" said Mr. Persse.
"No, I am not such an idiot as to shoot a man when I do not intend
it."
"Seeing how moved you are, I thought that perhaps the pistol might be
safer in my hands."
"No, the pistol shall remain with me." Then he turned round to join
Barney Smith, who was waiting for him up by the gate out of the
covert. But he turned again to say a word to Mr. Persse. "Thank you,
Persse, I am obliged to you. It might be inconvenient being locked up
before the season is over." Then a weird grin covered his face; which
was the nearest approach to laughter ever seen with Black Tom Daly.
From Ballytowngal to Moytubber was about a mile and a half. Some few,
during the conversation between Mr. Persse and the master, had gone
on, so that they might be the first to see what was in store for
them. But the crowd of horsemen had remained with their eyes fixed
upon Daly. He rode up to them and passed on without speaking a word,
except that he gave the necessary orders to Barney Smith. Then two
or three clustered round Mr. Persse, asking him whispered questions.
"It'll be all right," said Persse, nodding his head; and so the
_cortege_ passed on. But not a word was spoken by Daly himself,
either then or afterwards, except a whispered order or two given to
Barney Smith. Moytubber is a gorse covert lying about three hundred
yards from the road, and through it the horsemen always passed; on
other occasions it was locked. Now the gate had been taken off its
hinges and thrown back upon the bank; and Daly, as he passed into the
field, perceived that the covert was surrounded by a crowd.