Dannie dropped his pole,
and with a sweep, caught the twisted lines in his fingers.
"Noo, let's see ye cut my line! Babby!" he jeered.
Jimmy's fist flew straight, and the blood streamed from Dannie's
nose. Dannie dropped the lines, and straightened. "You--" he
panted. "You--" And no other words came.
If Jimmy had been possessed of any small particle of reason, he
lost it at the sight of blood on Dannie's face.
"You're a domn fish thief!" he screamed.
"Ye lie!" breathed Dannie, but his hand did not lift.
"You are a coward! You're afraid to strike like a man! Hit me! You
don't dare hit me!"
"Ye lie!" repeated Dannie.
"You're a dog!" panted Jimmy. "I've used you to wait on me all me life!"
"~That's the God's truth!" cried Dannie. But he made no movement to
strike. Jimmy leaned forward with a distorted, insane face.
"That time you sint me to Mary for you, I lied to her, and married
her meself. ~Now, will you fight like a man?"
Dannie made a spring, and Jimmy crumpled up in his grasp.
"Noo, I will choke the miserable tongue out of your heid, and twist
the heid off your body, and tear the body to mince-meat," raved
Dannie, and he promptly began the job.
With one awful effort Jimmy tore the gripping hands from his throat
a little. "Lie!" he gasped. "It's all a lie!"
"It's the truth! Before God it's the truth!" Mary Malone tried to
scream behind them. "It's the truth! It's the truth!" And her ears
told her that she was making no sound as with dry lips she mouthed it
over and over.
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