Soldiers Three | Page 6

was in the Black Tyrone, an' he was drafted us from
Portsmouth; an' fwhat was his misbegotten name? Larry - Larry Tighe
ut was; an' wan of the draft said he was a gentleman ranker, an' Larry
tuk an' three parts killed him for saying so. An' he was a big man, an' a
strong man, an' a handsome man, an' that tells heavy in practice wid
some women, but, takin' thim by an' large, not wid all. Yet 'twas wid all
that Larry dealt - all - for he 'ud put the comether on any woman that
trod the green earth av God, an' he knew ut. Like Mackie that's roastin'
now, he knew ut; an' niver did he put the comether on any woman save
an' excipt for the black shame. 'Tis not me that shud be talkin', dear
knows, dear knows, but the most av my mis - misalli'nces was for pure
devilry, an' mighty sorry I have been whin harm came; an' time an'
again wid a girl, ay, an' a woman too, for the matter av that, whin I
have seen by the eyes av her that I was makin' more throuble than I
talked, I have hild off an' let be for the sake av the mother that bore me.
But Larry, I'm thinkin', he was suckled by a she- devil, for he niver let
wan go that came nigh to listen to him. 'Twas his business, as if it
might ha' bin sinthry-go. He was a good soldier too. Now there was the
Colonel's governess - an' he a privit too! - that was never known in
barricks; an' wan av the Major's maids, and she was promised to a man;
an' some more outside; an' fwhat ut was amongst us we'll never know
till Judgment Day! 'Twas the nature av the baste to put the comether on
the best av thim - not the prettiest by any manner av manes - but the
like av such woman as you cud lay your band on the Book an' swear
there was niver thought av foolishness in. An' for that very reason,
mark you, he was niver caught. He came close to ut wanst or twice, but
caught he niver was, an' that cost him more at the ind than the beginnin'.
He talked to me more than most, bekaze he tould me, barrin' the
accident av my educashin, I'd ha' been the same kind av divil he was.
'An' is ut like,' he wud say, houldin' his head high - 'is ut like that I'd
iver be thrapped? For fwhat am I when all's said an' done?' he sez. 'A
damned privit,' sez he. 'An' is ut like, think you, that thim I know wud
be connect wid a privit like me? Number tin thousand four hundred an'

sivin,' he sez, grinnin'. I knew by the turn av his spache whin he was
not takin' care to talk rough that he was a gentleman ranker.
I do not undherstan' ut at all,' I sez; 'but I know,' sez I, 'that the divil
looks out av your eyes, an' I'll have no share wid you. A little fun by
way av amusemint where 't will do no harm, Larry, is right and fair, but
I am mistook if 'tis any amusemint to you,' I sez.
"'You are much mistook,' he sez. 'An' I counsel you not to judge your
betters.'
"'My betthers!' I sez. 'God help you, Larry. There's no betther in this.
'Tis all bad, as you will find for yoursilf.'
"You're not like me,' he says, tossin' his head.
"'Praise the Saints, I am not,' I sez. 'Fwhat I have done I have done an'
been crool sorry for. Fwhin your time comes,' sez I, 'ye'll remimber
fwhat I say.'
"'An' whin that time comes,' sez he, 'I'll come to you for ghostly
consolation, Father Terence,' an' at that he wint off afther some more
divil's business - for to get expayrience, he tould me. He was wicked -
rank wicked - wicked as all Hell! I'm not construct by nature to go in
fear av any man, but, begad, I was afraid av Larry. He'd come in to
barricks wid his cap on three hairs, an' lie on his cot and stare at the
ceilin', and now an' again he'd fetch a little laugh, the like av a splash in
the bottom av a well, an' by that I knew he was schamin' new
wickedness, an' I'd be afraid. All this was long an' long ago, but ut hild
me straight - for a while.
"I tould you, did I not, Sorr, that I was caressed an' pershuaded to lave
the Tyrone on account av a throuble?"
"Something to do with a