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“You don’t like either side, then?”

“Like thim? Now what I’m telling you is true. It was half-twelve the other night, and I was coming home——”

“After curfew?”

“It was. They let jarveys through. It was half-twelve and I was coming home, when up runs a man with a gun and on to my car. ‘Drive, jarvey,’ he sez, ‘back along the road you’ve come.’ So I whips me horse and away we go. We had gone a goodish bit when we sees the light of an armoured car. Out skips the man. ‘Your life if ye split,’ he sez, and disappears in the dark.

“The car spotted me at once. ‘What are ye doing at this time iv night?’ sez the officer. ‘I’m going back to me stables,’ sez I. ‘Where are your stables?’ sez he. ‘Leeson Lane,’ sez I. ‘Then it do be away from your stables you are going,’ sez he. ‘Get out iv that car, jarvey,’ and all the guns in the armoured car poked round at me.

“Sure it was two lorry loads iv military by this time. ‘Take him home,’ sez one, ‘and let him go. He’s only a poor old jarvey.’ ‘Poor old jarvey be damned,’ sez the other, ‘it’s Mike Collins himself maybe.’ ‘Have ye seen Mike Collins, jarvey?’ sez the other. ‘How should I be after knowing him?’ sez I. ‘Who was the fare you put down?’ ‘There was no fare,’ I sez. ‘I took a party home and was going back to stables and I fell asleep. The old mare must have turned herself round.’