_Mrs. Delane:_ It is an order to the Sergeant bidding him immediately to seize all suspicious meat in your house. There is an officer coming down. There are complaints from the Shannon Fort Barracks. _Mr. Quirke:_ I’ll engage it was that pork. _Mrs. Delane:_ What ailed it for them to find fault? _Mr. Quirke:_ People are so hard to please nowadays, and I recommended them to salt it. _Mrs. Delane:_ They had a right to have minded your advice. _Mr. Quirke:_ There was nothing on that pig at all but that it went mad on poor O’Grady that owned it. _Mrs. Delane:_ So I heard, and went killing all before it. _Mr. Quirke:_ Sure it’s only in the brain madness can be. I heard the doctor saying that. _Mrs. Delane:_ He should know. _Mr. Quirke:_ I give you my word I cut the head off it. I went to the loss of it, throwing it to the eels in the river. If they had salted the meat, as I advised them, what harm would it have done to any person on earth? _Mrs. Delane:_ I hope no harm will come on poor Mrs. Quirke and the family. _Mr. Quirke:_ Maybe it wasn’t that but some other thing—— _Mrs. Delane:_ Here is Fardy. I must send the message to the Sergeant. Well, Mr. Quirke, I’m glad I had the time to give you a warning. _Mr. Quirke:_ I’m obliged to you, indeed. You were always very neighbourly, Mrs. Delane. Don’t be too quick now sending the message. There is just one article I would like to put away out of the house before the Sergeant will come. (_Enter Fardy._) _Mrs. Delane:_ Here now, Fardy—that’s not the way you’re going to the barracks. Anyone would think you were scaring birds yet. Put on your uniform. (_Fardy goes into office._) You have this message to bring to the Sergeant of Police. Get your cap now, it’s under the counter. (_Fardy reappears, and she gives him telegram._) _Fardy:_ I’ll bring it to the station. It’s there he was going. _Mrs. Delane:_ You will not, but to the barracks. It can wait for him there. (_Fardy goes off. Mr. Quirke has appeared at door._) _Mr. Quirke:_ It was indeed a very neighbourly act, Mrs. Delane, and I’m obliged to you. There is just _one_ article to put out of the way. The Sergeant may look about him then and welcome. It’s well I cleared the premises on yesterday. A consignment to Birmingham I sent. The Lord be praised isn’t England a terrible country with all it consumes? _Mrs. Delane:_ Indeed you always treat the neighbours very decent, Mr. Quirke, not asking them to buy from you. _Mr. Quirke:_ Just one article. (_Turns to rack._) That sheep I brought in last night. It was for a charity indeed I bought it from the widow woman at Kiltartan Cross. Where would the poor make a profit out of their dead meat without me? Where now is it? Well, now, I could have swore that that sheep was hanging there on the rack when I went in—— _Mrs. Delane:_ You must have put it in some other place.