that what you mean? And you believe God created Adam, and Adam created Shem, and Shem created Jehoshophat. You believe all that silly old fairytale about Eve and Eden and the apple. Well listen to me, chum! If you’re entitled to a silly belief like that, I’m entitled to my own silly belief – which is that the first thing your God created was a bleeding capitalist, with morality and Rolls-Royce complete. Am I right, chum?’ he says to Belcher. ‘You’re right, chum,’ says Belcher with a smile, and he got up from the table to stretch his long
legs into the fire and stroke his moustache. So, seeing that Jeremiah Donovan was going, and that there was no knowing when the argument about religion would be over, I went out with him. We strolled down to the village together, and then he stopped, blushing and mumbling, and said I should be behind, keeping guard. I didn’t like the tone he took with me, and anyway I was bored with life in the cottage, so I replied by asking what the hell we wanted to guard them for at all. He looked at me in surprise and said: ‘I thought you knew we were keeping them as hostages.’ ‘Hostages?’ I said. ‘Te enemy have prisoners belonging to us, and now they’re talking of shooting them,’ he said.
‘If they shoot our prisoners, we’ll shoot theirs.’ ‘Shoot Belcher and Hawkins?’ I said. ‘What else did you think we were keeping them for?’ he said. ‘Wasn’t it very unforeseen of you not to warn Noble and myself of that in the beginning?’ I said. ‘How was it?’ he said. ‘You might have known that much.’ ‘We could not know it, Jeremiah Donovan,’ I said. ‘How could we when they were on our hands so long?’ ‘Te enemy have our prisoners as long and longer,’ he said. ‘Tat’s not the same thing at all,’ said I.
