47 shrugged his shoulders. “Most of these chaps are doomed by the Castle people to a double life. By day they pass as peaceable citizens. At night they disappear into the Castle, rig themselves out in military clothes, and turn out again to raid and arrest. By Gad! they work for their living all right! There’s a legend that Sinn Fein agents watch the Castle gates all day to get descriptions of all who go regularly in and out. There are spies inside the Castle too, and officials in high places in whom the Sinn Fein rot has set as a fungus attacks a tree.” “You’re fed up,” I said. “A bit. I’m a bit fed up. It’s a nervy game. We’re getting in a lot of stuff; but we’re up against a pretty big thing. Half the nation are ready to help the Sinn Fein intelligence. The joke is the women one meets never cease singing the praises of their own intelligence people, and in the same breath they damn us for spies.” “What’s the opposite show like?” “They’re not better than us--I don’t think they’re as good; but they have the pull of working in their own country and having the backing of three parts of the nation. They all look the same; but most of our fellows are another caste.” “You’d think your chaps would get no information. People would know them and tell them nothing.” “It’s not easy to get hold of good stuff; but man suffers from the inability to keep his secrets. People with a little bit of news burst to tell it, and sometimes the least thing is worth a lot. It may be the link that was wanted to complete the chain.” 47 broke a leafless twig off a bush and began bending it in his fingers. “Agent 1 reports that at 10.25 he found a dead man at such and such a spot, and a hatless man with a smoking gun running away. Agent 2 reports at 10.30, five minutes away from Agent 1, he saw a hatless man, panting hard, jump on a tram going to the station. Like Agent 1, who found the body, he was not able to get a description of him. “Agent 3 reports that as he left the station by the 10.50 train, a hatless man jumped into his compartment. He was able to get a full description of this man, which was, etc., etc. The man got out at such and such a station. “In a certain room in Dublin Castle a man sits putting together the reports, which come in helter-skelter. He finds these three make up an interesting story. Records are looked up, the description tallies with a certain man, in whom Dublin Castle has been mildly interested for some time. Inquiries are made where the gentleman in question left the train; the gentleman in question is secured, and he finds himself asked a number of questions that--but there’s no need to go on with the story.” 47 shrugged his shoulders. “What’s the time?” he said next, and looked at his watch. “You’re not going yet,” I said. “I haven’t seen you for a month. The tram fare here and back is sixpence. I want my money’s worth. What’s your wife doing nowadays? Tell her we sent all sorts of good wishes.”