By Beach and Bog-land Author:Jane Barlow Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE HIGH TIDE AND THE MAN- TRAPPERS All Abbey Dowling's neighbours thought she was the very foolish woman to let her good-for- nothing father-in-law establish... more » himself in her house again after his return from America, and many of them told her so frankly, but fruitlessly. This was not surprising, as everybody agreed that the Dowlings were always as headstrong as mules. Everybody agreed, too, that her poor husband's people were none of them worth much, and that this old Patrick Mulrane, though not without some companionable qualities, was worth as little as any. Drinking and raising rows had hitherto been his constant occupation, and the whole parish of Clochranbeg knew what lives he had led his son and daughter-in-law, until, upon the death of the former, off he had gone to the States, whence nothing had been heard of him for the next dozen years and more, while the young widow was struggling to keep herself and her three sons, and her invalid sister, on their stony little bit of land. " So now, when the boys aregrown big, and able to be workin', back he flourishes wid the notion he'll have them sup- portin' him in idleness, and he after lavin' all ofyous to starve, for any thanks it was to him. Raison you'll have to repint it, if you take him in. Fightin' wid the lads he'll be, and frightenin' poor Maggie there, and drinkin' their earnin's on you, besides learnin' them all manner of villiny—that's every hand's turn he'll be doin' for you, ma'am, mark my words!" Her old and respected friend, Mrs O'Hagan, tramped down a long and rough way to exhort her thus. But the words might just as well have been spoken to the sea-gulls skirling about Mrs Mulrane's door. If her neighbours' remonstrances had any effect at all, it was merely to make her the more proudly careful that they sho...« less