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thought they were talking their way out of it?’
    Fatigue comes into Bert’s voice again. ‘They’re not even trying to talk their way out of it. The papers just say they are. We’ll be at war before the year is finished. And if we are, then that means most of the world will be.’
    â€˜Why?’ Johnny asks, dismayed at the idea.
    â€˜One word. Progress.’ Bert makes it sound like a sad word.
    â€˜I don’t understand.’
    â€˜The world is in the process of changing from the old to the new. Ifyou sent a letter to London thirty years ago it would have taken sixteen weeks to get there. Now it takes only six. Everything works at such a faster speed now. Your children will think our pace of life is slow. But to us it is very fast. To our parents it would be an unbelievable miracle.’
    Johnny notices that the road up ahead begins to climb. He feels the horses pick up speed as they sense the incline. He leans forward in the saddle. So does Bert. Johnny hasn’t thought about war much before. It is something the old men in the public bars of hotels talk about but only when they have run out of other things to say. Old men like to sink their teeth into something that they feel unhappy or uncomfortable about. What they say isn’t to be taken seriously. It is just the ramblings of spent brains. This is the first time he has heard someone of his own age talk about it with such conviction and surety. As if it is going to happen, no matter what.
    Bert continues, ‘There will be a war to speed up this progress. To shake the tree and clear the dead wood out. To get rid of the old and give the new growth plenty of room.’ He pauses and turns in the saddle to look for a moment at the road behind. ‘To live accustomed to such speed has some advantages but it also brings some bad things with it.’
    â€˜Like what?’
    â€˜We can now find out what is happening in London in six weeks. We respond straightaway. They receive our response in six weeks. That’s only twelve weeks. It used to be eight months before they could receive any reaction from us. By then tempers could have cooled, fights could have been fought. The chances were it would be all over. Now we can be involved almost immediately.’
    â€˜Is that a bad thing?’
    â€˜Sometimes it is. The leaders we have are suited to this country, suited to being far away from anywhere else. But now they can throw their hats into the ring and say things that they have no idea about. It could be dangerous to give them so much power.’
    Johnny pulls tobacco out of his pocket. The horse knows that he has dropped the reins and that they rest on her neck but she doesn’t change her pace. Johnny begins to roll up a cigarette and passes the packet over to Bert who also lets go of his reins. His horse doesn’t react either. Bert lights his cigarette, draws deeply on it and then resumes talking. Johnny is happy to listen.
    â€˜One thing that has to be considered about the men in this country is that most of us are descendants of English convicts and have a very healthy disrespect for English ways—all that pomp, the aristocracy, the class system. Without a doubt, Johnny, when the war comes the leaders of our little country will hand over control of our army to the British generals. Apparently most of them come from the upper classes and there is some serious concern that they might not be smart enough. I reckon that our army may end up having to fend for itself or else it may be sacrificed.’
    â€˜Bert, how do you know all of this?’
    â€˜Look at what Calway has written about the English. Look at Ballymoney. They’re not hotheads, angry at everything. Calway’s a professor. Ballymoney’s a bishop. It’s all there if you look. The Irish talk about it. I read lots. And I have learned to read between the lines. That’s where the truth lies.’
    He stretches in his saddle