upon the fortunes of the race who had once abode there and of the chiefs and heroes who had made it famous. Once, however, I caught the name of Malachy, which might have been that of any peasant in the neighborhood; and again the word "Lagenian." Then the old man relapsed into silence, sighing profoundly; whilst above his head the dark leaves waved softly and the projecting branches almost touched his hat. Winifred finally broke the silence—I heard her clear, childish voice distinctly: "Ever since we went to the Waterfalls that day I have been wanting to talk to you of the Phoul-a-Phooka." [Pg 31] [Pg 31] "But I have told you. Miss Winifred," the man replied, with some impatience, "all that I know. The Phooka is a fierce beast, with fire streaming from his eyes and nostrils, coal-black and gigantic of size. That is how the legend describes him; and if any unlucky wayfarer meets him he is compelled to mount and ride. The place which I took you to see is called after him. You know how lovely it is, how wild, how solitary, and how well suited to the work I have in hand. I made discoveries there, Winifred—indeed, I did!" Here his voice dropped to a whisper, and Winifred put two or three eager questions to him. "But you didn't tell me when we were there," she said. "It was better not. We have had listeners," the man responded. "I was thinking," Winifred went on, changing the subject abruptly, "of that story of the tailor. You know, if the Phoul-a-Phooka had ridden down that precipice we saw, with him upon his back, why, the tailor couldn't have told what happened; for he would have been killed." "There's no saying, there's no saying!" replied the stranger, absently. "There are mysteries, my girl; but the legend declares that it was the garment which the tailor carried that caused the beast to throw him off." "Are legends true?" the girl asked. "Who knows?" answered the old man, with the same dreamy air. "They hold a kernel of truth, every one of them." "The lady says many things are not true," Winifred observed. "The lady! What lady?" demanded the other almost fiercely, with a light of cunning gleaming from his black eyes.
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