After he was settled in a comfortable garden chair, Thomas Murphy hung a handkerchief with a figured purple border over his knee, clasped his hands across his chest, and began again.
“William,” he said solemnly, “while you were a-lyin’ onconscious in that hospital, I was a-thinkin’ about what you had asked me about bein’ a friend to the super.
“Every time I read that bulletin that was posted every day on that door, ‘onconscious still,’ I thought some more.
“The day that said ‘dangerous,’ I finished thinkin’.
“‘Thomas Murphy, timekeeper,’ said I sharp, ‘it’s time that you did something more than mark time; it’s time you found out whether you’re a-markin’ friends or foes.’
“When the men came in the next morning, they just filed past that bulletin. Then says I, ‘Thomas Murphy, act. The time to act has come.’
“Somethin’ in me said, ‘Suppose you should be a martyr like William.’
“‘Suppose I be a martyr,’ said I. ‘Am I a-goin’ to have William a-lyin’ dangerous, and a man like me a-sittin’ still?’”
Billy moved in his chair, and Thomas Murphy paused for breath.
“That noon,” he continued, “I told Peter Martin to blow the whistle three times. The super a-bein’ at the hospital, I gave the order myself. What do three whistles mean, William?”