Her hair was not braided; it was tied at the neck with a piece of
whitish cloth torn from some part of her clothing, and upon her
shoulders it billowed and rolled in magnificent living abundance.
Very gently she moved to where her father lay on his back with his mouth
open and his black chin jutting at the sky. He was breathing through his
mouth, so he was not snoring any longer. She lifted the three or four
sacks which covered him, and rocked his shoulders cautiously until he
awakened.
Her father awakened exactly as she did, exactly as every open-air animal
does; his eyes flew wide, instantly and entirely wakeful, and he looked
at her with full comprehension of their adventure. He raised softly on
an elbow and glanced to where the strangers were; then nodded to his
daughter and rose noiselessly to his feet. She beckoned him and they
stepped a few paces away so that they might talk in security.
Mary was about to speak but her father prevented her:
"Listen," he whispered, "the best thing we can do is to load the things
into the cart, without making any noise, mind you! then we'll yoke the
little ass as easy as anything, and then I'll get into the cart and I'll
drive off as hard as ever I can pelt, and you can run beside the ass
with a stick in your hand and you welting the devil out of him to make
him go quick. I'm no good myself at the running, and that's why I'll get
into the cart, but you can run like a hare, and that's why you'll wallop
the beast."
"Mind now," he continued fiercely, "we don't know who them fellows are
at all, and what would the priest say if he heard we were stravaiging
the country with three big, buck angels, and they full of tricks maybe;
so go you now and be lifting in the things and I'll give you good help
myself."
"I'll do nothing of the kind," whispered Mary angrily, "and it wasn't
for that I woke you up."
"Won't you, indeed?" said her father fiercely.
"What would they be thinking of us at all if they were to rouse and see
us sneaking off in that way? I'm telling you now that I won't do it, and
that you won't do it either, and if you make a move to the cart I'll
give a shout that will waken the men."
"The devil's in you, you strap!" replied her father, grinding his teeth
at her. "What call have we to be mixing ourselves up with holy angels
that'll be killing us maybe in an hour or half an hour; and maybe
they're not angels at all but men that do be travelling the land in a
circus and they full of fun and devilment?"
"It's angels they are," replied his daughter urgently, "and if they're
not angels itself they are rich men, for there's big rings of gold on
their fingers, and every ring has a diamond in it, and they've golden
chains across their shoulders, I'm telling you, and the stuff in their
clothes is fit for the children of a king. It's rich and very rich they
are."
Mac Cann rasped his chin with his thumb.
"Do you think they are rich folk?"
"I do, indeed."
"Then," said her father in an abstracted tone, "we won't say anything
more about it."
After a moment he spoke again:
"What were you thinking about yourself?"
"I was thinking," she replied, "that when they waken up in a little
while there won't be anything at all for them to eat and they
strangers."
"Hum!" said her father.
"There's two cold potatoes in the basket," she continued, "and a small
piece of bread, and there isn't anything more than that; so let you be
looking around for something to eat the way we won't be put to shame
before the men."
"It's easy talking!" said he; "where am I to look? Do you want me to
pick red herrings out of the grass and sides of bacon off the little
bushes?"
"We passed a house last night a mile down the road," said Mary; "go you
there and get whatever you're able to get, and if you can't get anything
buy it off the people in the house. I've three shillings in my pocket
that I was saving for a particular thing, but I'll give them to you
because I wouldn't like to be shamed before the strange men."
Her father took the money:
"I wish I knew that you had it yesterday," he growled, "I wouldn't have
gone to sleep with a throat on me like a mid-summer ditch and it full of
dust and pismires."
Mary pushed him down the road.
"Be back as quick as you are able, and buy every kind of thing that you
can get for the three shillings."
She watched him stamping heavily down the road, and then she returned
again to their encampment.