The Railway Viaduct by Edward Marston

Author:Edward Marston [Edward Marston]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
ISBN: 9780749008918
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 2010-03-24T16:00:00+00:00

Brendan Mulryne might have been working on the railway for a month rather than simply a day. He related so easily to the people around him that he gained an immediate popularity. Part of a crowd of navvies who descended on one of the inns in a nearby village, he proved to his new friends that he could drink hard, talk their language and tell hilarious anecdotes about some of the escapades in which he had been involved. Since there were others there who hailed from Dublin, he was also able to indulge in some maudlin reminiscences of the city. The night wore on.

To earn some easy money, he issued a challenge. He said that he would pay a franc to anyone who could make him double up with a single punch to his stomach. Those who failed would pay Mulryne the same amount. Liam Kilfoyle was the first to try. Slapping a franc down on the bar counter, he took off his coat and bunched his right hand. Everyone watched to cheer him on and to see how he fared. Mulryne grinned broadly and tightened his stomach muscles. When he delivered his punch, Kilfoyle felt as if he had just hit solid rock. His knuckles were sore for the rest of the night.

Several people tried to wipe the grin from Mulryne’s face but none could even make him gasp for breath. In no time at all, he had earned the equivalent of a week’s wage and he showed his benevolence by treating everyone to a drink. By the time they rolled out of the inn, Mulryne was more popular than ever. He led the others in a discordant rendition of some Irish ballads. When they neared the camp, the men dispersed to their respective dwellings. Mulryne was left alone with Kilfoyle and Pierce Shannon.

‘When you won all that money,’ said Shannon, ‘why did you throw it all away on a round of drinks?’

Mulryne shrugged. ‘I was among friends.’

‘I’d have held on to it myself.’

‘Then you don’t have my outlook on life, Pierce.’

‘And what’s that?’

‘Easy come, easy go.’

‘Does it work the same for women?’ asked Kilfoyle.

‘Yes,’ said Mulryne, chortling happily. ‘Take ’em and leave ’em, that’s what I believe, Liam. Love a woman hard but always remember the queue of other lucky ladies that are waiting for you with their tongues hanging out.’

‘What about French women?’

‘What about them?’

‘Do you like them?’

‘I like anything pretty that wears a skirt.’

‘They can’t compare with an Irish colleen.’

‘Women are women to me.’

They walked on until they came to the two parallel tracks that had already been laid. Empty wagons stood ready to be filled on the following day. Kilfoyle saw a chance to win a wager.

‘How strong are you, Brendan?’ he said.

‘Why – do you want to take another swing at me?’

‘No, I was wondering if you could lift that.’ He pointed to one of the wagons. ‘Only a few inches off the rails. Could you?’

‘Depends on what you’re offering,’ said Mulryne.

‘A day’s wages.’

‘They’ll be mine to keep, if I win.

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