the pools; and they do no manner of harm, sir, when you are coming up to them; but when you are past, sir, they jump on your back like to apes, sir,—and who can tackle that manner of fiend?"
"Why, then, by thine own showing, Ancient," said Raleigh, "thou may'st go and see all safely enough, and then if the puck jumps on thee as thou comest back, just run in with him here, and I'll buy him of thee for a noble; or thou mayest keep him in a cage, and make money in London by showing him for a monster."
"Good heavens forefend, Captain Raleigh! but you talk rashly! But if I must. Captain Leigh—
'Where duty calls
To brazen walls,
How base the slave who flinches.'
Lads, who'll follow me?"
"Thou askest for volunteers, as if thou wert to lead a forlorn hope. Pull away at the usquebaugh, man, and swallow Dutch courage, since thine English has oozed away. Stay, I'll go myself."
"And I with you," said Raleigh. "As the queen's true knight-errant, I am bound to be behindhand in no adventure. Who knows but we may find a wicked magician, just going to cut off the head of some saffron-mantled princes?" and he dismounted.
"Oh, sirs, sirs, to endanger your precious"
"Pooh," said Raleigh. "I wear an amulet, and have a spell of art-magic at my tongue's end, whereby, Sir Ancient, neither can a ghost see me, nor I see them. Come with us, Yeo, the Desmond-slayer, and we will shame the devil, or be shamed by him."
"He may shame me, sir, but he will never frighten me," quoth Yeo; "but the bog, Captains?"
"Tut! Devonshire men, and heath-trotters born, and not know our way over a peat moor!"
And the three strode away. They splashed and scrambled for some quarter of a mile to the knoll, while the cry became louder and louder as they neared.
"That's neither ghost nor otter, sirs, but a true Irish howl, as Captain Leigh said; and I'll warrant Master Shamus knew as much long ago," said Yeo.
And in fact, they could now hear plainly the "Ochone,Ochonorie," of some wild woman; and scrambling over the boulders of the knoll, in another minute came full upon her.
She was a young girl, sluttish and unkempt, of course, but fair enough: her only covering, as usual, was the ample yellow mantle. There she sat upon a stone, tearing her black dishevelled hair, and every now and then throwing up her head, and bursting into a long mournful cry, "for all the world," as Yeo said, "like a dumb four-footed hound, and not a Christian soul."
