ll.... The Orangemen, sick of England,
were marching to the support of the Sinn Feiners, under the leadership
of Mr. Joseph Devlin! Ireland was entirely surrounded by German
submarines in order to prevent British transports from landing
troops....

6

There was looting in Sackville Street. Henry had made his way towards
the General Post Office, for he had heard that John Marsh was there, and
while he stood about, hoping that he might see him, the looting began.
Half-starved people swarmed up from the slums, like locusts, and seized
all they could find. They destroyed things in sheer wantonness....

"Well, if a city is content to keep such slums as Dublin has, it must
put up with the consequences!" Henry thought. And while he watched, he
saw John Marsh going to a shop which was being looted. He hauled a
hulking lad out of the broken window and flung him back into the crowd.

"Damn you," he shouted, "are you trying to disgrace your country?" He
pointed his rifle at the crowd. "I'll shoot the first one of you that
touches a thing!"

But it was impossible for them to control the looters, and while John
guarded one shop, the crowd passed on to another.

"John!" said Henry, going up to him and touching his arm.

He started and turned round. His face was drawn and haggard and very
pale.

"Henry!" he said, smiling. "I wondered who it was. I wish you'd gone
away when I asked you to go. It wasn't because I wanted to get rid of
you, Henry. I wanted you to be out of this ... so that you could go and
get married in peace!"

"You can't win, John. You know you can't win!..."

"I know we can't win a military success! ..." He drew his hand across
his eyes. "My God, I'm tired, Henry!" he said. "I'm worn out. I haven't
slept since Saturday night...."

"John!"

"Yes, Henry, what is it?"

"Come away with me. You know you can't win ... you can't possibly win.
Well go over to England together...."

"I'm fighting England, Henry, not visiting it!"

"You can hide there for a while ... until you can get away to France or
America!"

"Go away and leave them now, Henry?"

"Yes. The longer you hold out, the worse it'll be for everybody. The
people are against you ... I've heard things to-day that I never
expected to hear in Dublin...."

"I know they're against us. We thought there would be more on our side,
but that's all the more reason why we should fight. The people are
getting too English in their ways, Henry ... they t