'It's nothing — nothing whatever. A flesh wound, that's all. What did you say, Syl?'
'I asked who was Maria?' the girl said and dabbed iodine into the wound so that the sweat stood out in beads on his forehead.
'Just a girl,' he snapped. He looked across at me. His black eyes gleamed in his taut face. 'What've you been telling her?'
'Nothing,' I said. 'I had to show her your letter. She wouldn't let me in.'
'Oh,' Then to the girl in a curt voice: 'That's enough of the iodine. Now bandage it. No, he can do that. Get me some dry clothes. And when you've done that we'll need some food to take with us.' As she opened the wardrobe, he said to me. 'We'll cut up by Hea Moor and Madron. You'll not be minding a night march, will you now?'
'Yes, but what's happened, Dave?' I asked.
'Nothing,' he said and held out his arm for me to bandage. With his other hand he took a gold case from his hip pocket and lit a cigarette. The lighter was gold too. A diamond ring flashed on his finger. The girl put a pile of clothes on the chair at the foot of the bed. 'Now get the food,' he said. He spoke with the cigarette clinging to his underlip. 'It's time we were going. And see if you can find another raincoat.' The girl's face was sullen and her eyes flickered up at me with fierce hatred. She wanted to be going with him. She went out and I began to bandage his arm. 'Hey, not too tight, bach,' he said. 'Yes, that's better.' He grunted as I pressed against the arm muscles to tie the bandage. 'Was it Mulligan you came over with?' he asked as he began to change his wet clothes.
'Yes,' I said. 'And the dirty bastard robbed me when he brought me ashore.'
'Did he now?'
'You don't seem very surprised,' I said.