What? If ’tis a thing I ever find out you did anything with my girl I’ll kill you. I didn’t do anything. Carried her case because ’twas heavy. Don’t look at her again or you’re dead. I won’t, Gerry. I don’t want to look at her. Oh, is that a fact? Is she ugly or what? No, no, Gerry, she’s yours and she loves you. How do you know? She told me. She did? She did, honest to God. Jasus. He bangs on her door, Rose, Rose, are you there? and she comes out, Of course, I’m here, and I ride away on the messenger bicycle with the sign on the basket that says Easons wondering about the way he’s kissing her now and the terrible things he said about her in the station and  wondering  how  Peter  in  the  office  could  tell  Mr. McCaffrey  a barefaced lie about me and my eyes when all the time he and Eamon were looking at girls in their underwear and then going at themselves in the lavatory. Mr. McCaffrey is in a terrible state in the office.Where were you? Great God above in heaven, does it take you all day to cycle from the railway station? We have an emergency here and we should have Halvey but he’s gone off on his friggin’ holidays, God forgive the language, and you’ll have to cycle around as fast as you can, good thing you were a telegram boy that knows every inch of Limerick,and go to every bloody shop that’s a customer and walk right in grab whatever copies you see of  John O’London’s Weekly tear out page sixteen and if anyone bothers you  tell  them  ’tis  government  orders  and  they’re  not  to  interfere  in government business and if they lay a finger on you they’re liable to arrest, imprisonment and a large fine now go for God’s sake and bring back every page sixteen you tear out so that we can burn them here in the fire. Every shop, Mr. McCaffrey? I’ll do the big ones,you do the small ones all the way to Ballinacurra and out the Ennis Road and beyond, God help us. Go on, go. I’m jumping on the bike and Eamon runs down the steps. Hey, McCourt, wait. Listen. Don’t give him all the page sixteens when you come back. 347