midnight
The oars , mast , and spritsail of a boat were lashed to the rafters overhead ; for , strange as it may seem , there was a lake at that elevation of the mountain , and one which abounded in trout and perch , affording many a day 's sport to both Owen and his father . Such were the details which , sheltered beneath a warm roof of mountain-fern , called forth the praise we have mentioned ; and , poor as they may seem to the reader , they were many degrees in comfort beyond the majority of Irish cabins . The boys -- for so the unmarried men of whatever age are called -- having left one of the party to watch over Owen , now quitted the house , and began their return homeward . It was past midnight when the old man returned ; and although endeavouring to master any appearance of emotion before the `` strange boy , '' he could with difficulty control his feelings on beholding his son . The shirt matted with blood , contrasting with the livid colourless cheek -- the heavy irregular breathing -- the frequent startings as he slept -- were all sore trials to the old man 's nerve ; but he managed to seem calm and collected , and to treat the occurrence as an ordinary one . `` Harry Joyce and his brother Luke -- big Luke as they call him -- has sore bones to-night ; they tell me that Owen did n't lave breath in their bodies , '' said he , with a grim smile , as he took his place by the fire . `` I heerd the ribs of them smashing like an ould turf creel , '' replied the other .