Midnight
`` I 'm goin ' , '' said Frank . `` I 'm off ; but what if he does n't come ? I 'll then have my journey for nothin ' . '' `` An ' it 's good payment for any journey ever you 'll make , barrin ' it 's to the gallows , '' replied the father , nearly provoked at his reluctance in obeying him : `` wo n't you have dancin ' enough in the coorse o ' the night , for you 'll not go to the Midnight Mass , and why do n't you be off wid you at wanst ? '' Frank shrugged his shoulders two or three times , being loth to leave the music and dancing ; but on seeing his father about to address him in sharper language , he went out with a frown on his brows , and a half-smothered imprecation bursting from his lips . He had not proceeded more than a few yards from the door , when he met Rody Teague , his father 's servant , on his way to the kitchen . `` Rody , '' said he , `` is n't this a purty business ?