he had been with Gilbert Farlow at his home in Kent; and another
time had agreed to go tramping in Connacht with Marsh and Galway. Ninian
and Gilbert and Roger had spent a holiday at Ballymartin.... Ninian took
a whole week to realise that he was in Ulster and not in Scotland, and
Gilbert begged hard for the production of a typical Irishman who would
say "God bless your honour!" and "Bedad!" and "Bejabers!" and pretended
not to believe that there were not any "typical Irishmen" ... and went
away, vowing that they would compel Mr. Quinn to invite them to stay
with him in the next vac. It was then that Ninian decided that he would
like to be a shipbuilder. Mr. Quinn had taken them to Belfast to see the
launch of a new liner, and Tom Arthurs had invited them all to join the
luncheon party when the launch was over. The Vicereine had come from
Dublin to cut the ribbon which would release the great ship and send it
moving like a swan down the greasy slips into the river; and Tom Arthurs
had conducted her through the Yard, telling her of the purpose of this
machine and that engine until the poor lady began to be dubious of her
capacity to launch the liner. There were other guides, explaining, as
Tom Arthurs explained, the functions of the Yard to the visitors, but
Ninian had contrived to attach himself to Tom Arthurs and he listened to
him as he talked, as simply as was possible, of the way in which great
ships are built. Thereafter, Ninian had tongue for none but Tom Arthurs,
and he told him, when the party was over and the guests were leaving the
Yard, that he would like to work in the Island. Tom had doubted whether
Cambridge was the proper preparation for shipbuilding.... "I was out of
my apprenticeship when I was your age," he said ... but he said that
Ninian could think about it more seriously and then come to him when his
time at Cambridge was up.

"I'm thinking seriously of it now," said Ninian.

"All right, my boy!" Tom Arthurs answered, laughing, and slapped him on
the back. "We'll see what we can do for you!"

And Ninian, flushing like a girl, went away full of happiness, and soon
afterwards began to imitate Tom Arthurs' Ulster speech in the hope that
people would think he was related to the shipbuilder or, at all events,
a countryman of his.

It was odd, indeed, that Henry had not seen Mary in that time, but it
was still more odd that he had not seen Sheila. Matt Hamilton had died
soon after Henry had entered Tr