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“He ended by announcing the Irish could breed horses, grow flowers, and conspire, and that was the sum total of their qualifications.”

47 came to the end of his oration. He had told everything in a level voice, rubbing his chin on the top of his stick all the time.

“That’s amusing,” I owned. “You must keep me posted.”

“You’ll be wise not to see too much of us, though we’d both like to have a talk with friends. They may start shadowing me at any time, and it won’t be worth your while to be seen in bad company. I’ll tell you where I hang out; but don’t turn up often. We’ll run across each other now and then like this.”

“I don’t want a bullet into me on your account,” I assured him. “Besides, I want to see as much of the other side as I can. Remember, I’m going to keep strictly neutral. Do you hear?”

He grunted something, and did not seem much interested. Then he said—

“What are you doing now?”

“Looking for a flat, I suppose,” I answered.

“This is a good part of the town. The flats are very dirty, but you may find something. We were tied to a top floor.”