“‘Quick as lightning, Jack,’ says she, ’or we’re lost—­the right ear and the left shoulder, like thought—­they’re not three lengths of the filly from us!’

“But Jack knew his business; for just as a long, grim-looking villain, with a great rusty rapier in his hand, was within a single leap of them, and quite sure of either killing or making prisoners of them both, Jack flings a little drop of green water that he got in the filly’s ear over his left shoulder, and in an instant there was a deep, dark gulf, filled with black, pitchy-looking water between them.  The lady now desired Jack to pull up the filly a bit, that they might see what would become of the dark fellow; but just as they turned round, the ould nagur set ’spurs to his horse, and, in a fit of desperation, plunged himself, horse and all, into the gulf, and was never seen or heard of more.  The rest that were with him went home, and began to quarrel about his wealth, and kept murdering and killing one another, until a single vagabond of them wasn’t left alive to enjoy it.

“When Jack saw what happened, and that the blood-thirsty ould villain got what he desarved so richly, he was as happy as a prince, and ten times happier than most of them as the world goes, and she was every bit as delighted.  ‘We have nothing more to fear,’ said the darling that put them all down so cleverly, seeing that she was but a woman; but, bedad, it’s she was the right sort of a woman—­’all our dangers are now over, at least, all yours are; regarding myself,’ says she, ’there’s a trial before me yet, and that trial, Jack, depends upon your faithfulness and constancy.’

“’On me, is it?—­Och, then, murder! isn’t it a poor case entirely, that I have no way of showing you that you may depind your life upon me, only by telling you so?’

“‘I do depend upon you,’ says she—­’and now, as you love me, do not, when the trial comes, forget her that saved you out of so many troubles, and made you such a great and wealthy man.’

“The foregoing part of this Jack could well understand, but the last part of it, making collusion to the wealth, was a little dark, as he thought, bekase, he hadn’t fingered any of it at the time:  still, he knew she was truth to the back-bone, and wouldn’t desave him.  They hadn’t travelled much farther, When Jack snaps his fingers with a ’Whoo! by the powers, there it is, my darling—­there it is, at long last!’

“‘There is what, Jack?’ said she, surprised, as well she might, at his mirth and happiness—­’There is what?’ says she.  ‘Cheer up!’ says Jack; ’there it is, my darling,—­the Shannon!—­as soon as we get to the other side of it, we’ll be in ould Ireland once more.’

“There was no end to Jack’s good humor, when he crossed the Shannon; and she was not a bit displeased to see him so happy.  They had now no enemies to fear, were in a civilized country, and among green fields and well-bred people.  In this way they travelled at their ase, till they came within a few miles of the town of Knockimdowny, near which Jack’s mother lived.