Free The Legend of the Phantom Highwayman by Tom McCaughren Page A

what’s more, he paid for it.’
    â€˜And he sings the Ballad of Hugh Rua any chance he gets,’ said Róisín.
    â€˜But if that’s what they’re doing,’ argued Tapser, ‘how do you account for what happened to me? I mean, Hugh Rua appeared when the lorry was still up at the High Road.’
    â€˜Exactly,’ said Peppi. ‘Because it had broken down, so the phantom rider appeared too soon.’
    â€˜But he helped me, not them,’ Tapser pointed out.
    â€˜We were the only ones who helped you as far as I could see,’ said Róisín.
    â€˜That’s right,’ said Rachel. ‘You must have been drunk.’
    The girls giggled, but Tapser just ignored them.
    â€˜Whatever about Hugh Rua,’ said Cowlick, ‘he didn’t imagine the lorry, and it was poteen they were smuggling.’
    â€˜Precisely,’ said Peppi. ‘So, assuming it was another delivery for Max, how is he getting the stuff out?’ He gave his horse a flick with the reins and puffed on his pipe thoughtfully, before continuing, ‘Now, I could understand if he was shipping it out. But you say he was shipping it in. That’s the part that puzzles me.’
    â€˜Us too,’ said Róisín. ‘And how did the bottle we found come to be in the sea? That’s another mystery.’
    â€˜There are a lot of mysteries in this case,’ Peppi told them. ‘And the biggest one is the source. I mean, the Widow Mulqueen makes a bottle or two. I know that. And so do half a dozen others I know of. But where’s the big still? That’s what I want to find out. Once we have that, we have the lot.’
    They all wished they could help Peppi find the big still, but they couldn’t imagine where he might even start looking.
    As Peppi’s old horse plodded slowly up the mountain road, they passed the Widow Mulqueen’s place. It was an isolated farmstead at the end of a long stony lane.
    â€˜I wouldn’t fancy living up there,’ said Tapser.
    â€˜It’s a bit out of the way all right,’ agreed Peppi.
    â€˜And there’s Max,’ said Cowlick. ‘He’s fixing the Widow’s tractor.’
    The girls stuck their heads out through the doorway to see. They could just make out Max’s white coat as he bent down at the engine. Straightening up, he wiped his hands on a rag and gave them a wave.
    â€˜But if Mrs Mulqueen is making poteen,’ said Tapser, ‘how come she hasn’t been arrested?’
    â€˜Well,’ Peppi explained, ‘it’s one thing knowing that she makes the stuff. It’s another thing catching her at it. But you never know who we might catch before we go back. Giddy-up there.’
    They all looked at each other and wondered what Peppi meant, but he told them no more.
    Further up the road, Peppi guided his horse onto a narrow track and after some time pulled in to the side. ‘Now,’ he said, leading them up to the shadow of a large boulder, ‘I want to show you something.’
    From the cover of the boulder they scanned the valley below them. There was a lake in the middle of it, and it looked as peaceful and picturesque as a postcard. ‘Look,’ pointed Peppi. ‘Down there … and there … and there.’
    They followed his directions, and to their surprise saw uniformed men, whom Peppi informed them were police and Excise officers, lying in wait not far from the lake.
    â€˜What are they watching?’ asked Tapser.
    â€˜There’s a poteen still down near the edge of the lake,’ Peppi explained.
    â€˜Do you mean we’re watching an actual raid?’ asked Róisín.
    â€˜With a bit of luck. They know the stuff’s there, and they’re hoping to catch the men who are making it.’
    Time passed, but nothing happened. The waiting officers shifted restlessly. It was obvious they had been there for some time and were feeling