An hour and more passed in cheerful converse with the aged couple who owned the house, and who, with the exception of one or two servants, were its sole inhabitants.
The tales of the minstrel were called for and received with a glee which seemed to make all his listeners feel young again.

Agnes alone sate apart; her delicate frame and evident exhaustion concealing deeper sufferings from her hosts, who vied with each other in seeking to alleviate her fatigue and give bodily comfort, if they could offer no other consolation.

Leaning back in a large settle in the chimney corner, she had seemed unconscious of the cheerful sociability around her, when suddenly she arose, and advancing to Dermid, laid a trembling hand on his arm.

He looked up surprised.
"Hist!" she murmured, throwing back the hair from her damp brow.

"Hear ye no sound ?" All listened for a time in vain.
"Again," she said; "'tis nearer, more distinct.