I was looking at the burning building. “I don’t believe that dome is going to go this afternoon.”
“Neither do I, and I can’t wait for it anyhow.”
“Were you at the camp long?”
“Only a day or two. I was on other business. I’m off.”
“When are we going to see you again?”
“We’ll run across each other soon. I don’t suppose I shall be leaving Dublin again.”
I knew once 47 intended to go nothing stopped him. I gave a flourish of my hand, and he flourished his and left me.
He had not gone very long when the Auxiliaries paid us another of their intermittent visits, panic swept over us again, and we retreated to our holes to the sound of hundreds of steps pattering on the quay. These terrible men came along again, leaning over the armoured sides of the car, flashing their eyes, grinding their teeth, waving their guns and crying, “Move along there,” and then, their fury eased, they turned the car about and sped back to Butt Bridge.
The crowd had thinned a good deal since I came, and there was plenty of room to move about. This time who should I run across but Mrs. Slaney? She was standing very stiffly contemplating the burning building.
“It seems rather a pity,” I said.