A dozen screamed at a time, and so rapidly that I could
not understand all that they were saying, yet I was able to make out
that they were taking advantage of the absence of their husbands to
give me the full volume of their contempt. Some little boys who were
listening threw themselves down, writhing with laughter among the
seaweed, and the young girls grew red with embarrassment and stared
down into the surf.
For a moment I was in confusion. I tried to speak to them, but I
could not make myself heard, so I sat down on the slip and drew out
my wallet of photographs. In an instant I had the whole band
clambering round me, in their ordinary mood.
When the curaghs came back - one of them towing a large kitchen table
that stood itself up on the waves and then turned somersaults in an
extraordinary manner - word went round that the ceannuighe (pedlar)
was arriving.
He opened his wares on the slip as soon as he landed, and sold a
quantity of cheap knives and jewellery to the girls and the younger
women. He spoke no Irish, and the bargaining gave immense amusement
to the crowd that collected round him.
