“The only thing I didn’t know,” said Sam, “was O’Meara’s house. I’d never heard of his having a house in that part of the country. However, he said he’d only taken it lately, and that when I got over the border into Armagh there’d be a man waiting to show me where to go. He told me the road I was to take and I knew every turn of the way, so I felt pretty sure of getting there. It was about two in the morning when we got alongside the pier. The four motors were there all right, but there wasn’t a soul about except the men in charge of them. We got out the guns. They were done up in small bundles and the cartridges in handy little cases; but it took us till half-past four o’clock to get them ashore. By that time there were a few people knocking about; but they didn’t seem to want to interfere with us. In fact, some of them came and helped us to pack the stuff into the cars. They were perfectly friendly.” “That doesn’t surprise me in the least,” I said “The people up there are nearly all Protestants. Most of them were probably Volunteers themselves. I daresay it wasn’t the first cargo they’d helped to land.” “It was the first cargo they ever helped to land for the National Volunteers,” said Sam with a grin. “The National Volunteers!” I admit that Sam startled me. I do not suppose that he has any political convictions. At the age of twenty a man has a few prejudices but no convictions. If he is a young fellow who goes in for being intellectual they are prejudices against the party his father belonged to. If--and this is Sam’s case--he is a healthy-minded young man, who enjoys sport, he takes over his father’s opinions as they stand, and regards everybody who does not accept them as an irredeemable blackguard. The Dean is a very strong loyalist. He is the chaplain of an Orange Lodge, and has told me more than once that he hopes to march to battle at the head of his regiment of Volunteers. “Smuggling arms for the Nationalists!” I said. “That’s what I did,” said Sam, grinning broadly. “But I thought all the time that I was working for the other side. I didn’t know the Nationalists went in for guns; thought they only talked. In fact, to tell you the truth, I forgot all about them. Otherwise I wouldn’t have done it At least I mightn’t. But I had a great time.” “Of course,” I said, “I don’t mind. So far as I am concerned personally I’d rather neither side had any guns. But if your father finds out, Sam, there’ll be a frightful row. He’ll disown you.” “The governor knows all about it,” said Sam, “and he doesn’t mind one bit. Just wait till you hear the end of the story. You’ll be as surprised as I was.” “I certainly shall,” I said, “if the story ends in your father’s approving of your smuggling guns for rebels. He’d call them rebels, you know.”