The Kellys and the O'Kellys

The attorney drove up to the door of Dunmore House on his car,

able share of the property; divil a less. Oh! there’s never any knowing how a man’ll cut up till he’s gone.’‘That’s true; but how could your father owe such a sum as that, and no one know it? Why, that must be four or five thousand pounds?’‘About five, I believe.’‘And you’ve put your name to them, isn’t that it?’‘Something like it. You know, he and Lord Ballindine, years ago, were fighting about the leases we held under the old Lord; and then, the old man wanted ready money, and borrowed it in Dublin; and, some years since that is, about three years ago, sooner than see any of the property sold, I took up the debt myself. You know, it was all as good as my own then; and now, confound it! I must pay the whole out of the miserable thing that’s left me under this infernal will. But it wasn’t even about that I sent for you; only, I must explain exactly how matters are, before I come to the real point.’‘But your father’s name must be joined with yours in the debt; and, if so, you can come upon the entire property for the payment. There’s no difficulty about that; your sister, of course, must pay the half.’‘It’s not so, my dear fellow. I can’t explain the thing exactly, but it’s I that owe the money, and I must pay it. But it’s no good talking of that. Well, you see, Anty that’s my sister, has this property all in her own hands. But you don’t drink your punch,’ and Barry mixed his third tumbler.‘Of course she has; and, surely she won’t refuse to pay half the claims on the estate?’‘Never mind the claims!’ answered Barry, who began to fear that he had pushed his little invention a thought too far. ‘I tell you, I must stand to them; you don’t suppose I’d ask her to pay a penny as a favour? No; I’m a little too proud for that. Besides, it’d be no use, not the least; and that’s what I’m coming to. You see, Anty’s got this money, and . You know, don’t you, Mr Daly, poor Anty’s not just like other people?’‘No,’ said Mr Daly ‘I didn’t. I can’t say I know much about Miss Lynch. I never had the pleasure of seeing her.’‘But did you never hear she wasn’t quite right?’‘Indeed, I never did, then.’‘Well that’s odd; but we never had it much talked about, poor creature. Indeed, there was no necessity for people to know much about it, for she never gave any trouble; and, to tell the truth, as long as she was kept quiet, she never gave us occasion to think much about it. But, confound them for rogues those who have got. hold of her now, have quite upset her.’‘But what is it ails your sister, Mr Lynch?’‘To have it out, at once, then she’s not right in her upper story. Mind, I don’t mean she’s a downright lunatic; but she’s cracked, poor thing, and quite unable to judge for herself, in money-matters, and such like; and, though she might have done very well, poor thing, and passed without notice, if she’d been left quiet, as was always intended, I’m afraid now, unless she’s well managed, she’d end her life in the Ballinasloe Asylum.’The attorney made no answer to this, although Barry paused, to allow him to do so. Daly was too sharp, and knew his employer’s character too well to believe all he said, and he now began to fancy that he saw what the affectionate brother was after. ‘Well, Daly,’ continued Barry, after a minute’s pause; ‘after the old man died, we went on quiet enough for some time. I was up in Dublin mostly, about that confounded loan, and poor Anty was left here by herself; and what should she do, but take up with a low huxter’s family in the town here.’‘That’s bad,’ said the attorney. ‘Was there an unmarried young man among them at all?’‘Faith there was so; as great a blackguard as there is in Connaught.’‘And Miss Lynch is going to marry him?’‘That’s just it, Daly; that’s what we must prevent. You know, for the sake of the family, I couldn’t let it go on. Then, poor creature, she’d be plundered and ill-treated she’d be a downright idiot in no time; and, you know, Daly, the property’d go to the devil; and where’d I be then?’Daly couldn’t help thinking that, in all probability, his kind host would not be long in following the property; but he did not say so. He merely asked the name of the ‘blackguard’ whom Miss Anty meant to marry?‘Wait till I tell you the whole of it. The first thing I heard was, that Anty had made a low ruffian, named Moylan, her agent.’‘I know him; she couldn’t have done much worse. Well?’‘She made him her agent without speaking to me, or telling me a word about it; and I couldn’t make out what had put it into her head, till I heard that this old rogue was a kind of cousin to some people living here, named Kelly.’‘What, the widow, that keeps the inn?’‘The very same! confound her, for an impertinent scheming old hag, as she is. Well; that’s the house that Anty was always going to; drinking tea with the daughters, and walking with the son an infernal young farmer, that lives with them, the worst of the whole set.’‘What, Martin Kelly? There’s worse fellows than him, Mr Lynch.’‘I’ll be hanged if I know them, then; but if there are, I don’t choose my poor sister only one remove from an idiot, and hardly that to be carried off from her mother’s house, and married to such a fellow as that. Why, it’s all the same infernal plot; it’s the same people that got the old man to sign the will, when he was past his senses!’‘Begad, they must have been clever to do that! How the deuce could .they have got the will drawn?’‘I tell you, they did do it!’ answered Barry, whose courage was now somewhat raised by the whiskey. ‘That’s neither here nor there, but they did it; and, when the old fool was dead, they got this Moylan made Anty’s agent: and then, the hag of a mother comes up here, before daylight, and bribes the servant, and carries her off down to her filthy den, which she calls an inn; and when I call to see my sister, I get nothing but insolence and abuse.’‘And when did this happen? When did Miss Lynch leave the house?’‘Yesterday morning, about four o’clock.’‘She went down of her own accord, though?’‘D l a bit. The old hag came up here, and filched her out of her bed.’‘But she couldn’t have taken your sister away, unless she had wished to go.’‘Of course she wished it; but a silly creature like her can’t be let to do all she wishes.. She wishes to get a husband, and doesn’t care what sort of a one she gets; but you don’t suppose an old maid forty years old, who has always been too stupid and foolish ever to be seen or spoken to, should be allowed to throw away four hundred a-year, on the first robber that tries to cheat her? You don’t mean to say there isn’t a law to prevent that?’‘I don’t know how you’ll prevent it, Mr Lynch. She’s her own mistress.’‘What the d l! Do you mean to say there’s nothing to prevent an idiot like that from marrying?’‘If she was an idiot! But I think you’ll find your sister has sense enough to marry whom she pleases.’‘I tell you she is an idiot; not raving, mind; but everybody knows she was never fit to manage anything.’‘Who’d prove it!’‘Why, I would. Divil a doubt of it! I could prove