第85章

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BLOOMDon’taskme。Ourmutualfaith。Pleasantsstreet。Ionlythoughtthehalfofthe……Iswearonmysacredoath……

BELLO(Peremptorily。)Answer。Repugnantwretch！Iinsistonknowing。

Tellmesomethingtoamuseme，smutorabloodygood-ghoststoryoralineofpoetry，quick，quick，quick！Where？How？Whattime？Withhowmany？I

giveyoujustthreeseconds。One！Two！Thr……！

BLOOM(Docile，gurgles。)Irererepugnosedinrerererepugnant……

BELLO(Imperiously。)Ogetout，youskunk！Holdyourtongue！

Speakwhenyou’respokento。

BLOOM(Bows。)Master！Mistress！Mantamer！

(Heliftshisarms。Hisbanglebraceletsfall。)

BELLO(Satirically。)Bydayyouwillsouseandbatoursmellingunderclothes，alsowhenweladiesareunwell，andswaboutourlatrineswithdresspinnedupandadishclouttiedtoyourtail。Won’tthatbenice？(Heplacesarubyringonherfinger。)Andtherenow！WiththisringItheeown。

Say，thankyou，mistress。

BLOOMThankyou，mistress。

BELLOYouwillmakethebeds，getmytubready，emptythepisspotsinthedifferentrooms，includingoldMrsKeogh’sthecook’s，asandyone。

Ay，andrinsethesevenofthemwell，mind，orlapituplikechampagne。

Drinkmepipinghot。Hop！youwilldanceattendanceorI’lllectureyouonyourmisdeeds，MissRuby，andspankyourbarebotrightwell，miss，withthehairbrush。You’llbetaughttheerrorofyourways。Atnightyourwellcreamedbraceletedhandswillwearfortythreebuttonglovesnewpowderedwithtalcandhavingdelicatelyscentedfingertips。Forsuchfavoursknightsofoldlaiddowntheirlives。(Hechuckles。)Myboyswillbenoendcharmedtoseeyousoladylike，thecolonel，aboveall。Whentheycomeherethenightbeforetheweddingtofondlemynewattractioningildedheels。First，I’llhaveagoatyoumyself。AmanIknowontheturfnamedCharlesAlbertaMarsh(IwasinbedwithhimjustnowandanothergentlemanoutoftheHanaperandPettyBagoffice)isonthelookoutforamaidofallworkatashortknock。Swellthebust。Smile。Droopshoulders。Whatoffers？(Hepoints。)Forthatlottrainedbyownertofetchandcarry，basketinmouth。(HebareshisarmandplungesitelbowdeepinBloom’svulva。)There’sfinedepthforyou！What，boys？Thatgiveyouahardon？(Heshoveshisarminabidder’sface。)Here，wetthedeckandwipeitround！

ABIDDERAflorin！

(Dillon’slacqueyringshishandbell。)

AVOICEOneandeightpencetoomuch。

THELACQUEYBarang！

CHARLESALBERTAMARSHMustbevirgin。Goodbreath。Clean。

BELLO(Givesarapwithhisgavel。)Twobar。Rockbottomfigureandcheapattheprice。Fourteenhandshigh。Touchandexaminehispoints。

Handlehim。Thisdownyskin，thesesoftmuscles，thistenderflesh。IfIhadonlymygoldpiercerhere！Andquiteeasytomilk。Threenewlaidgallonsaday。Apurestockgetter，duetolaywithinthehour。Hissire’smilkrecordwasathousandgallonsofwholemilkinfortyweeks。Whoa，myjewel！Begup！Whoa！(HebrandshisinitialConBloom’scroup。)

So！WarrantedCohen！Whatadvanceontwobob，gentlemen？

ADARKVISAGEDMAN(Indisguisedaccent。)Hoondertpuntsterlink。

VOICES(Subdued。)FortheCaliphHarounAlRaschid。

BELLO(Gaily。)Right。Letthemallcome。Thescanty，daringlyshortskirt，ridingupatthekneetoshowapeepofwhitepantalette，isapotentweaponandtransparentstockings，emeraldgartered，withthelongstraightseamtrailingupbeyondtheknee，appealtothebetterinstinctsoftheblasé；manabouttown。LearnthesmoothmincingwalkonfourinchLouisXVheels，theGrecianbendwithprovokingcroup，thethighsfluescent，kneesmodestlykissing。Bringallyourpoweroffascinationtobearonthem。PandertotheirGomorrahanvices。

BLOOM(Bendshisblushingfaceintohisarmpitandsimperswithforefingerinmouth。)O，Iknowwhatyou’rehintingatnow。

BELLOWhatelseareyougoodfor，animpotentthinglikeyou？(Hestoopsand，peering，pokeswithhisfanru