1955-07-30 — Page 7

THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 1955.

WELL, NOT THAT I KNOW OF Dollar-a-year men

by Robert MacDermot

Robert MacDermot weaves a story round an' incident that could have happened when he was a boy; but he might have made

it up. What do you think...

Did it Happen?

WAS 11 years old when I saw my first dead man, and he had died by violence.

was lying at the foot of my

the bilm well down in front, e al had a bandkerchief tied und the lower part of his face.

poke abruptly.

** YAR any arms in the

favourite copper berch, and tousp?" his blue eyes, fringed by

dark lashes, were guzing "Indes 3 peq" said my greed- straight

ap through the father, u can ce for your

1. And he raised the isop branches. His hat lay beside and out, the walls which his head and, though it was were hung will, mneskets and an unusually fine frish sum-abiz

wearing mer's day, he was the heavy belted mackintosh that was almost uniform for young men of his type,

I made speak

the

16

very

And

worrying two

One thoughts come with him. was the realisation that scomer or later I should have to report finding him.

Anyway, the sanctuary only 50 yards from the Rectory, bitch Dinah, and my spaniel

now

henvily occupied with pupples, was bound to find him one day and announce the fact to everyone. Nor was there the Blightert

of my being chance able to drug him away any where cle. The fact that I hadn't reported the body right away didn't matter, for no one was to know which way I had. gone down to the river, but it was clear to me now that report it miest.

[1

theght WOR The other subtier

and not to ԵՐ WORLEY

1 was spoken of to R#) 2010. simply this

wen't at alt ver- Unin that hadn't shut the mon myself.

How in relies of mil

Lat debt coukl aries m Waterh

con for a real needs u eer- talu ELETS ..f background

explanation He laughed

Th

Luftened Tak mona, at the laugh t

"Ah, Mentre

up my mind ta him severely i ju although rather a shy child,

I was furious. al this in Delo 11 well known vasion of my private sune, must have en wen jaket tuary. He had certainly on we da là an the lang dekaan right to be

Ph

5241

never

My art, het of my grand- father' children

mother the smatige t

with two Pod:f,62 bethe in between- Lad

but had haya

Lane To look after Caller and to organise thre a benevolently despor

But even at

her then nearly 40 she was fir firm waathartive to men, and I as a lot of one reiturly cynical immusement from watchlug her Plugte-s with thern.

2 BRY Kratic-

1 can hardly hl!**P!¥ you," father's wood- and so near sald my grandletter gentle. the Rectory, bao,

Round hole

But then I noticed

L

of K

Drawing by Buckwell

A man in the inevitable mackintosh pushed past... he spoke abruptly.

and forget-

are suspect

From JAMES COOPER

Now York. In Iowa

Napotlight turns on

U.S.

omelat In

БОСТ

TOW the investigating men ioned he had

Russia tame collective farms the which were "not so good." big-business, men who help to run. the Administra- tion..

}

Cane, the surprising reply 40m the Rusalans' leader, Vladimir Matskevich, First

It is an American tradition Deputy Minister of Agriculture: that such men with the know, "You don't have to say 'Not so Boca.' Some of our collective how should go to Washington

to help the Government at a jarns are lousy."

reward of only a dollar a year. BRYANT DOWLES resigns as

They are known' as W.O.C.'s

president of the National

for the Advance-

Ι

(without compensation), and Association their job is to advise on palides ment of White People, and contrzeto-for the good of He BBYS: "I nm resigning the country.

because of lack of interest. don't feel ilke helping people But now the question is being who won't help themselves," asked: Are they all really work-

DY

ing for the good of the country By eliminating 49 of the 4,700 or do they influence contracts forms, questionnaires and towards

the firms they repre- reports which the U.S. Govern sent?

So many suspicions have men: requires from business been aroused that the Justice firms, the commission at ex- an President Hoover reports it has

Department hos started

Inquiry.

•

T last the Americans Bro A doing something about the bane of my life over here-the soggy teabag they swish about in warm water, purporting to brew ten.

saved the Government $5,000,- 000 in car and has saved, business twice that amount.

HOSE, charcoal-grey sutia, for three years the mark of the junior executive, are appearlog. Tidlors report men are re'urning to the old medium grey but with a difference,

dw-

covered the body. After looking came there, and the only thing set-up. ro 1 merely answered: for himself, with apologies for they knew for certain was that "Not that I know of."

A new tearst has a clip in the But perhaps I was just being lid to held the bag. That means entering the sanctuary, he took he'd been killed by a Service

The difference is that a mix- me down in the trap to the RIC automatic, of which there were stupidly grown-up

ere of docron and weal is now a mile away and we

iiterally hundreds loose in the ing what boys know about the you do not have to 11th it out barracks

and what secrels when the tea is brewed, facts of Wie,

twice as popular as any other were back with Sergeant Mugee country. And if my family ever they can keep

ROUSHI resigns her fabric. That is because dacron and

of armed con- couple

had any uncomfortable thoughts

Salvation Army commisiloa keeps the crease in the trousers stables within half an hour. about the shot the day before,

because the has fallen in love nuch longer. they certainly never mentioned

with a ranker. them.

Д

kind

ta "I see that our of the boys we've when

TCA MUC- 17:3 wouldn't Want

shut th 19

ม

'"z, 11090 levalve.

the straging

his

lothe

left foot was twisted under

little round hole in his fores head and the fact that

be after

An admirer

Her current

adiator WCA

A

who had am" sond my grand- picturesque chartcter

been a regular soldier and who Was Row Hn the secret service or

The Sergeant was very in trying to shield me from the uglier details

and made his

I hardly gave the business usual jokes about wanting another thought until & few see my driving-licence: I smiled days ago, more than 30 years

contemp- politely, but thought

later, when my 14-year-old son how stupid tuously

grown-ups suddenly sald, "Daddy, have you

ever shot a man?" were in not realising the amount 12 know of nearly that boys

and whot vitol about life, secrets they could keep.

The

him in a Way That must The mint cased his hand in a surething cruatly hush-hush. who have been very painful 19 al. living personi. I put down

radost and went out

Talend back to my ram and

In the menlight 1 winters

Fre 10 02 20 figures stud sunbling cars the gravel

Be ine aer, dvelion of the bie

ut

At any 32, he hud a fund of hair-chising stories about being shot

ambush

when caching ersund the country in h enormous ear It Was பு Tupasante, I

member, ย mek

W

my fishing-ro and net. Jokert caut Jusly ut of the ** had been on my way to our Ittle river to try for a few trout and squatted inside

him as I debated what to hel I had been brought ap

do next.

This was

the time

Army citeles y father und of mother were still in India, where i was burn--and 1 disapproved strongly of the men's unmilitary I overeals BRA General - in pearance.

เ

"The Troubles” in Ireland, and there was no lack dead young men lying

lonely places.

Even at my age

I knew quite a

lot of stories; in- deed, living where and when we did. I could hardly avoided them.

Up

have

I had thought the whole thing

thrilling and romantic,

any normal boy would. but

now, with the stark elings of one of the stories besitle me, I was not so sure.

4

Dermat

chairman of TV's Tall Story Club Rubert Mat

beard tales This pitchell far and wide. story is the first of its own 10 Lic

MarBeted.

was born in Poona, India, and from prep school in Ireland came over to Stowe and Balliol. He was sent down for preferring the stage to the laboratory,

ko

He is 45 and. wiib actress wife Diana Margan, 1 responsible for some of the wiitlent revue sketches of the last two decades.

and

I've

DEVLI SUP*7) or heard of since, LA POveral accasions he'd 2130 drive t Or steer

Anyway.

1

The three of us-m aunt,

himself, and 1-would sit in the vas ficnt seat while i grasped the steering-wheel und Rept my frot well down on the accelera- He munioulated the clutch ver and, more often, nd gear-kver the

How hend-brake. avoided a succession of ghastly Lechfents

I don't know to this old cay, but the police, all friends

of mine, used to wave chicerfully as I love past, corner. ing like a demon.

we

Unele Noi, as he asked me to call him though he was no rela- tion, once came down tɔ my pre- putury school, further south,

bunch of his disreput with John's

They re in St. Wood with their son Derry.

we thinking of this incident while 1 squatted belde the dead

11

My grandfather's parish man. it had passed off aJ lay in શ particularly father intriguing ke, but no- bily mentioned the next rning. My aunt did ark me

troubled part of the country

in County Derry (no Irish- whether I hid slept well, and man ever calls it "London- koked at me with approval when derry" except in official cald with my most dead-pan documents)

what expression that I had blown out cluse to

ny candle about nine. later became the border of the Irish Free Stale.

#

und

ble 21-Army pais. He gave me L pund note, D NOX of chocolater, and ten illicit cigarettes, and then look the hcudmester the local pub whence he (the hand, I mean) returned paralytic 1wo hours later.

نا

Craziness

I've had to spend a mument on Uncke Noel's character in order to explain the general I do craziness This That, at least, was true.

which could lead to my grand my supposing for one secand

net know whether

էր

meant that the people were father ever said anything to the that I had killed a man. The a nearly equal mixture of palice. I suspect not, and think point was that we'd been aut Loyalist Protestants and now that that was probably on driving the day before and, on Nationalist Catholics, and y account. He was quite with returning safely to the Rectory

fear for himself, but even It wi there had been several he had recognised

my bunt and Uncle Noel had the man gane into the drawing-room gunfights between rival fac and he very likely had, in spile while I was left to put the hood tions in our little village of of the handkerchief-there was up. When I'd done so, I

noticed Errigal.

nothing to be gained by report- comething sticking ol the ing him, and possibly a good pocket in the offside door. IL deal to lose,

was a large Service automatlë. Sitting in the driving seat, I auned it out of the window and made a cileking noise with my tongue as I lightly squeezed the trigger.

The police barracks was permanently barricaded and defended und no sensible person went out after durk unless he had to. But my grandfather, who came of quickly

Six fish

So that was why, with the

Out

learned lesson that it The dreadful bang which

an old Southern Protestant was better a know nothing of followed nearly made my heart family, was free of the what went on in those days, I stop beating. Quivering with fanaticism of the more ex- decided to tell no one about the

body. treme Ulster Orungamen

fright, I stuffed the thing back luto the pocket and leapt put of the car,

and got 011 well with 1 Jeft it there and went on all the villagers of what- down through the wood to the

Everyone was furious, of liver. I peered around cautiously. course; ever religious convictions.

my grandfather and as I emerged on to the water- meadow, but there was no living Uncle Noel livid with me, and

aunt with mo my

and with thing in night except for two of Uncie Noel for leaving such our own goals.

dangerous thing about where stupid and Inquisitive little

An incident

On one occasion, this re- In the distance were the bare boys could find it. But 1 badn't putation of his gaved us blue slope of the Sperrin

knew enough from what might well have Mountains where many of the done any harm, I assured them

passionately; 1 gunmen took refuge when "on about Arearms to have thot been an ugly incident. There the run." but all round nie was was a tremendous banging the relling Earry plain with the straight up into the air. on the front door one sudden little worded hilja pop- 1 was lying, though; I had night about eleven. o'clock, ping up from it like hiccups. The aimed deliberately and a voice shouting "Open was overcast again, and it bushes at the bole of my copper

was lovely thing weather. beech. up! Open up!"

I'm afraid I gave litt's thought.

I scuttled out of bed and on to the dead man during the next to the dirk lending overlooking two hours, for the Agivey, with

through the

So there we were. For all now, and for all the poitee

the hall. Peoring over the its overhanging trees and snaggy subsequently discovered, the man benialera, I saw my grandfather, rocks, needed zome concenträ-, might have been standing there come out of his study, carrying

But when I'd landed six the previous afternoon when I'd

tion

of lamb, and cross to the front fome latest birthday or done my Wild West 'set.

When he opened it and home--my

It was never locked, incidentally gent, a watch sent all the way

- man pushed, past him who, frem India, was still very much

was woaring

When I got back from fishing;

the Inovitable in use in a very un-Irish manner I told my grandfather, quite mackintosh and soft bat with -he same back into my mind. casually, of having jurt úlas

He is only half Irish, was born and brought up in London, and bna never been to Ireland didn't holiday. I

on police never found out except the man was or how he think he'd understand the whole

WORLD COPYRIGHT BESERVED

DID IT REALLY HAPPEN?

YES

NO

Put your tick in the space above and keep this post by you santi! Monday when the answer will be given...with another story in this sëcias by

Xan Flolding

Did yesterday's story-Ring for Har Fingers, by Lewis Goldingpetually happen. The antwer is : YES,

NELL

The Army rules that offers must marry officers, whereas in New York next week Lieutenant Noll, aged 30, mavrics Bandsman Russell Sinnock, a 33-year-old Englishman from Wembley.

MY WORD, the Russians

A have mellowed. Latest evidence of

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#

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