第113章

Nowtouchingacupofcoffee，MrBloomventuredtoplausiblysuggesttobreaktheice，itoccurstomeyououghttosamplesomethingintheshapeofsolidfood，sayarollofsomedescription。

Accordinglyhisfirstactwaswithcharacteristicsangfroidtoorderthesecommoditiesquietly。Thehoipolloiofjarviesorstevedores，orwhatevertheywere，afteracursoryexamination，turnedtheireyes，apparentlydissatisfied，away，thoughoneredbeardedbibulousindividual，aportionofwhosehairwasgreyish，asailor，probably，stillstaredforsomeappreciabletimebeforetransferringhisraptattentiontothefloor。

MrBloom，availinghimselfoftherightoffreespeech，hehavingjustabowingacquaintancewiththelanguageindisputethough，tobesure，ratherinaquandaryovervoglio，remarkedtohisproté；gé；inanaudibletoneofvoice，aproposofthebattleroyalinthestreetwhichwasstillragingfastandfurious：

Beautifullanguage。Imeanforsingingpurposes。Whydoyounotwriteyourpoetryinthatlanguage？BellaPoetria！itissomelodiousandfull。Belladonnavoglio。

Stephen，whowastryinghisdeadbesttoyawn，ifhecould，sufferingfromdeadlassitudegenerally，replied：

Tofilltheearofacowelephant。Theywerehagglingovermoney。

Isthatso？MrBloomasked。Ofcourse，hesubjoinedpensively，attheinwardreflectionoftherebeingmorelanguagestostartwiththanwereabsolutelynecessary，itmaybeonlythesouthernglamourthatsurroundsit。

Thekeeperoftheshelterinthemiddleofthistê；te-à；-tê；teputaboilingswimmingcupofachoiceconcoctionlabelledcoffeeonthetableandaratherantediluvianspecimenofabun，orsoitseemed，afterwhichhebeataretreattohiscounter。MrBloomdeterminingtohaveagoodsquarelookathimlateronsoasnottoappearto……forwhichreasonheencouragedStephentoproceedwithhiseyeswhilehedidthehonoursbysurreptitiouslypushingthecupofwhatwastemporarilysupposedtobecalledcoffeegraduallynearerhim。

Soundsareimpostures，Stephensaidafterapauseofsomelittletime。Likenames，Cicero，Podmore，Napoleon，MrGoodbody，Jesus，MrDoyle。

ShakespeareswereascommonasMurphies。What’sinaname？

Yes，tobesure，MrBloomunaffectedlyconcurred。Ofcourse。Ournamewaschangedtoo，headded，pushingthesocalledrollacross。

Theredbeardedsailor，whohadhisweathereyeonthenewcomers，boardedStephen，whomhehadsingledoutforattentioninparticular，squarelybyasking：

Andwhatmightyournamebe？

JustinthenickoftimeMrBloomtouchedhiscompanion’sbootbutStephen，apparentlydisregardingthewarmpressure，fromanunexpectedquarter，answered：

Dedalus。

Thesailorstaredathimheavilyfromapairofdrowsybaggyeyes，ratherbungedupfromexcessiveuseofboose，preferablygoodoldHollandsandwater。

YouknowSimonDedalus？heaskedatlength。

I’veheardofhim，Stephensaid。

MrBloomwasallatseaforamoment，seeingtheothersevidentlyeavesdroppingtoo。

He’sIrish，theseamanboldaffirmed，staringstillinmuchthesamewayandnodding。AllIrish。

AlltooIrish，Stephenrejoined。

AsforMrBloomhecouldneithermakeheadortailofthewholebusinessandhewasjustaskinghimselfwhatpossibleconnectionwhenthesailor，ofhisownaccord，turnedtotheotherOccupantsoftheshelterwiththeremark：Iseenhimshoottwoeggsofftwobottlesatfiftyyardsoverhisshoulder。Thelefthanddeadshot。

Thoughhewasslightlyhamperedbyanoccasionalstammerandhisgesturesbeingalsoclumsyasitwasstillhedidhisbesttoexplain。

BottleOutthere，say。Fiftyyardsmeasured。Eggsonthebottles。

Cockshisgunoverhisshoulder。Aims。

Heturnedhisbodyhalfround，shutuphisrighteyecompletely，thenhescrewedhisfeaturesupsomewaysidewaysandglaredoutintothenightwithanunprepossessingcastofcountenance。

Pom，hethenshoutedonce。

Theentireaudiencewaited，anticipatinganadditionaldetonation，therebeingstillafurtheregg。

Pom，heshoutedtwice。

Eggtwoev