'My mind's goin',' said Mulvaney, the unabashed. 'Ye were there. Fwhat
I was thinkin' of! 'Twas another man, av coorse. Will, you'll remember
thin, Jack, how we an' the Tyrone met wid a bang at the bottom an' got
jammed past all movin' among the Paythans.'
'Ow! It _was_ a tight 'ole. I was squeezed till I thought I'd bloomin'
well bust,' said Ortheris, rubbing his stomach meditatively.
''Twas no place for a little man, but _wan_ little man'--Mulvaney put
his hand on Ortheris's shoulder--'saved the life av me. There we shtuck,
for divil a bit did the Paythans flinch, an' divil a bit dare we; our
business bein' to clear 'em out. An' the most exthryordinar' thing av
all was that we an' they just rushed into each other's arrums, an'
there was no firing for a long time. Nothin' but knife an' bay'nit
when we cud get our hands free: an' that was not often. We was breast-on
to thim, an' the Tyrone was yelpin' behind av us in a way I didn't see
the lean av at first. But I knew later, an' so did the Paythans.
'"Knee to knee!" sings out Crook, wid a laugh whin the rush av our
comin' into the gut shtopped, an' he was huggin' a hairy great Paythan,
neither bein' able to do anything to the other, tho' both was wishful.
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