The man paused and took the pipe out of his mouth. "Tare and ages!" he said, "an' you're loyal subjects of the King, in troth?"
"We would fight for him," said William.
"Hear the bhoys!" said the man. Then he called back through the doorway, "Shaughnessy," said he, "come out here quick; here are two recruities fer ye!"
Another tall man with sergeant's chevrons on his sleeves came to the doorway. The powder from his hair was still about his shoulders, and he was binding his queue with a black cord, holding the end of it in his mouth, and twisting the cord around and around until he deftly tied it with a jerk. Then he spoke over his companion's shoulders.
"Would yez enlist?" he said.
"If we were old enough," said William.
"Ah, they're brave lads," said the first speaker. "If there was more like thim I could go back to my Katherine at Bally Connor, and now we'll be kipt here until the saints only know whin, and probably will have to fight out in the howlin' wilderness."
"Come down and see us, bhoys," broke in the second speaker. Then he whispered, "Bring some of yer father's terbaccy, or a paper o' snuff. How's that, Gineral McCune?"
"Or a bottle of somethin' warmin'," suggested the other one.
The twins were too much depressed by the result of their meeting with Carter to appear amused. They simply turned and walked away, and after a stroll of an hour or so they arrived at Smith's Tavern again.