I am sure they will, if they have got together.'" "It is too long a story to tell, here," Ryan said.

"It is full of hairbreadth escapes, dangers by sea and land, and ends up with a naval battle." The officers laughed.
"Well, will you come to our quarters ?" one of them said.

"We have got some decent wine, and some really good cigars which came up from Lisbon last week, and there are lots of our fellows who will be glad to see you." They accordingly adjourned to a large building where the officers of the regiment were quartered and, in the apartment that had been turned into a mess room, they found a dozen officers, all of whom were known both to Terence and Ryan.

After many questions were asked and answered on both sides, Ryan was requested to tell the story of their adventures after being taken prisoners.

He told it in an exaggerated style that elicited roars of laughter, making the most of what he called The Battle of the Shirt Sleeves with the guerillas; exaggerating the dangers of his escape, and the horrors of their imprisonment, for a week, among the sails and nets.
"O'Connor," he said, "has hardly got back his sense of smell yet.
The stink of tar, mixed with fishy odours, will be vivid in my remembrance for the rest of my life." When he had at last finished, one of them said: "And now, how much of all this is true, Ryan ?" "Every fact is just as I have told it," he replied gravely.