t alone. But
when his temper is up, the devil himself is a gentleman
to him.

LOGAN
I'll have another glass of whiskey.
[_Exit the publican. While he is away, Logan looks at
the torn part of his coat, and a stranger enters._

BARNARD FALVEY (_saunters into the back kitchen, picks a
piece of wet paper off the floor, and tries to light it at the
fire for the purpose of lighting his pipe, and after several
unsuccessful attempts, he turns to Logan_)
Good mornin', and God bless you, stranger.

LOGAN
Good mornin', kindly.

FALVEY
It looks as though we were goin' to have a spell of
fine weather.

LOGAN
Judgin' by the way the wind is, it would seem so.

FALVEY
'Tis splendid weather for walkin' or tillin' the land.

LOGAN
'Tis good weather for anythin'.

FALVEY
All the same, 'tis a long stretch of a road from here
to Ballinore. How far is it, I wonder?

LOGAN
Twenty miles at least.

FALVEY
Every step of it, and a long road for a man with the
rheumatics and bronchitis too.

LOGAN
And what brought you from Ballinore?

FALVEY
And what would bring any poor man from his native
town but lookin' for work. And that's a hard thing
to be doin' when a man hasn't a friend to help him
towards a job.

LOGAN
A man can always make friends if he wants to.

FALVEY
'Tis no easy thing for a man who hasn't a sleutherin'
tongue and the takin' way with him to make friends,
stranger.

LOGAN
'Tis easy enough to make fine weather friends. But
I suppose a friend isn't worth a damn unless he can
help a man when he's in trouble.

FALVEY
To have a lot of money is the easiest way of makin'
friends. But when a man hasn't either money or the
sleutherin' tongue, he can't expect to have any more
of the world's goods than myself.

LOGAN
And have you no friends at all among all the millions
of people on the face of the earth?

FALVEY
The devil a one ever bothers their head about me but
myself. And what I can do for myself is hardly worth
doin' for any one.

LOGAN
After all, when a man has his health and enough to
eat, he should be contented.

FALVEY
But how could you expect the likes of me to be contented
when I didn't break my fast this blessed day
yet, and all I have in the world is the bit of tobacco
you see in my old pipe, and unless you're not as dacent
as you look, 'tis hungry maybe I'll be until I find a
turnip field before the fall of night.

LOGAN
Would you drink a pint of porter and eat a penny bun?