“That’s only a side issue,” said the Major, speaking with a calm which was evidently forced. “My point is that we can’t, in ordinary decency, put up a statue of one man to represent another.”
“I don’t know that I altogether agree with the Major there,” said Father McCormack, “but there’s something in what he says.”
“I can’t see that there’s anything,” said Dr. O’Grady. “Deputy-Lieutenants have uniforms, haven’t they? So have Generals. Nobody can possibly know what the uniform of a Bolivian General was fifty or a hundred years ago. All we could do, even if we were having the statue entirely made to order, would be to guess at the uniform. It’s just as likely to be that of a modern Deputy-Lieutenant as anything else.”
“That’s true of course,” said Father McCormack.
“Anyway,” said Doyle, “if we’re to have a statue at all it’ll have to be this one. There’s no other for us to get, so what’s the use of talking?”
The Major shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
“There’s evidently no use my talking,” he said.
“Is it your wish then, gentlemen,” said Father McCormack, “that the offer of Mr. Aloysius Doyle to supply a statue of General John Regan be accepted by the committee?”
“It is,” said Dr. O’Grady.
“Subject to the price being satisfactory,” said Gallagher. “We haven’t heard the price yet.”