第64章

Yearbeforewe。Andtheoldmajorpartialtohisdropofspirits。Curioussheanonlychild，Ianonlychild。Soitreturns。Thinkyou’reescapingandrunintoyourself。Longestwayroundistheshortestwayhome。Andjustwhenheandshe。Circushorsewalkinginaring。RipvanWinkleweplayed。Rip：tearinHennyDoyle’sovercoat。Van：breadvandelivering。

Winkle：cocklesandperiwinkles。ThenIdidRipvanWinklecomingback。

Sheleanedonthesideboardwatching。Moorisheyes。TwentyyearsasleepinSleepyHollow。Allchanged。Forgotten。Theyoungareold。Hisgunrustyfromthedew。

Ba。Whatisthatflyingabout？Swallow？Batprobably。ThinksI’matree，soblind。Havebirdsnosmell？Metempsychosis。Theybelievedyoucouldbechangedintoatreefromgrief。Weepingwillow。Ba。Therehegoes。Funnylittlebeggar。Wonderwherehelives。Belfryupthere。Verylikely。Hangingbyhisheelsintheodourofsanctity。Bellscaredhimout，Isuppose。

Massseemstobeover。Couldhearthemallatit。Prayforus。Andprayforus。Andprayforus。Goodideatherepetition。Samethingwithads。

Buyfromus。Andbuyfromus。Yes，there’sthelightinthepriest’shouse。

Theirfrugalmeal。RememberaboutthemistakeinthevaluationwhenIwasinThom’s。Twentyeightitis。Twohousestheyhave。GabrielConroy’sbrotheriscurate。Ba。Again。Wonderwhytheycomeoutatnightlikemice。They’reamixedbreed。Birdsarelikehoppingmice。Whatfrightensthem，lightornoise？Bettersitstill。Allinstinctlikethebirdindrouthgotwateroutoftheendofajarbythrowinginpebbles。Likealittlemaninacloakheiswithtinyhands。Weenybones。Almostseethemshimmering，kindofablueywhite。Coloursdependonthelightyousee。Starethesunforexampleliketheeaglethenlookatashoeseeablotchblobyellowish。

Wantstostamphistrademarkoneverything。Instance，thatcatthismorningonthestaircase。Colourofbrownturf。Sayyouneverseethemwiththreecolours。Nottrue。Thathalftabbywhitetortoise-shellintheCityAnnswiththeletteremonherforehead。Bodyfiftydifferentcolours。Howthawhileagoamethyst。Glassflashing。That’showthatwisemanwhat’shisnamewiththeburningglass。Thentheheathergoesonfire。Itcan’tbetourists’matches。What？Perhapsthesticksdryrubtogetherinthewindandlight。Orbrokenbottlesinthefurzeactasaburningglassinthesun。Archimedes。Ihaveit！Mymemory’snotsobad。

Ba。Whoknowswhatthey’realwaysflyingfor。Insects？Thatbeelastweekgotintotheroomplayingwithhisshadowontheceiling。Mightbetheonebitme，comebacktosee。Birdstooneverfindoutwhattheysay。

Likeoursmalltalk。Andsayssheandsayshe。Nerve？theyhavetoflyovertheoceanandback。Lotmustbekilledinstorms，telegraphwires。

Dreadfullifesailorshavetoo。Bigbrutesofocean-goingsteamersflounderingalonginthedark，lowingoutlikeseacows。Faughaballagh。Outofthat，bloodycursetoyou。Othersinvessels，bitofahandkerchiefsail，pitchedaboutlikesnuffatawakewhenthestormywindsdoblow。

Marriedtoo。Sometimesawayforyearsattheendsoftheearthsomewhere。

Noendsreallybecauseit’sround。Wifeineveryporttheysay。ShehasagoodjobifshemindsittillJohnnycomesmarchinghomeagain。Ifeverhedoes。Smellingthetailendofports。Howcantheylikethesea？Yettheydo。Theanchor’sweighed。Offhesailswithascapularoramedalonhimforluck。Well？Andthetephilimnowhat’sthistheycallitpoorpapa’sfatherhadonhisdoortotouch。ThatbroughtusoutofthelandofEgyptandintothehouseofbondage。Somethinginallthosesuperstitionsbecausewhenyougooutneverknowwhatdangers。Hangingontoaplankorastrideofabeamforgrimlife，life-beltroundroundhim，gulpingsaltwater，andthat’sthelastofhisnibstillthesharkscatchholdofhim。Dofishevergetseasick？

Thenyouhaveabeautifulcalmwithoutacloud，smoothsea，placid，crewandcargoinsmithereens，DavyJones’locker。Moonlookingdown。Notmyfault，oldcockalorum。

AlostlongcandlewandereduptheskyfromMirusbazaarinsearchoffundsforMercer’shospitalandbroke，drooping，andshedaclusterofvioletbutonewhitestars。Theyfloated，fell：theyfaded。Thesh