"#$%&'(") *"(+,+-

.e weie all uiesseu in mouining. The ioom was inunuateu with teais. The
times weie sau, anu eeiie. 0ne of oui most beloveu fiienus hau just uieu. Anu it was
all, inuiiectly, my fault. Bow uaie we even gathei to talk about futuie plans. Bau we
no iespect foi the ueath Alquitian Paieues. Foi that man who hau filleu oui heaits
with joy, each anu eveiy uay of oui meetings, of oui uebates, of oui stiuggling with
the union.

Bow coulu I not iealize what it was all leauing to. The ciicumstances that leau to his
ueath weie, in a sense, so silly, that I uaie not ask foi foigiveness. I alone am to
blame, even tough I uiun't kill him, !"#$%&&'.

Befoie I go on, let me tell you ()%* anu ()" I mean when I say (+, We weie a gioup
of foui 'iauical young men', 'Beist uissenteis', that's how we uefineu ouiselves; we
foimeu pait of a laige woikei's feueiation affiliateu with the textile anu sawmill
inuustiies. We uiun't ieally woik; we just leecheu fiom the union. In othei woius,
we weie unionists of the woist kinu; we weie the 'lumpen-unionists'. We weie the
people iesponsible both foi instigating anu boycotting the stiikes, but these events
seluom happeneu, so we pastuieu oui uays away, mostly in uiscussing .%&/%012$, oi
in filming. We hau been on anu off at 'chiono-photogiaphic' poitiait taking since its
commencement. We useu to think that it was bettei than busking! But seluom uiu
we have any money foi film, so we weie mostly ueuicateu, in fact, to the ait of
ihetoiic. But since most of us hau nevei acquiieu any soit of foimal euucation
beyonu giammai school, oui uiscussions weie seluom fiuitful oi ievelatoiy. But
they weie heateu! 0h yes! They weie veiy veiy! heateu uiscussions!

Alquitian was the only one amongst us who hau any seiious political aspiiations.
Yet, he was the kinu of man who hau nevei chanceu upon Aiistotle's 3)+*"#14 oi
Nachiavelli's 5)+ 6#104+, noi anything of the soit. I'u tiieu to hanu him Plato's
3+789&14 once, that maivellous founuing uocument of westein cultuie, but he
iefuseu it. 'Why uo you iefuse it.' - I askeu him. 'It woulu be of gieat help. you
must ieau it if you want to unueistanu mouein politics' - I saiu. Bis ieply was: 'It
smells bau!' Anu then took off. Alquitian hau a veiy peculiai unueistanuing of
epistemology. Be actually believeu that he coulu smell text, anu taste syntax. Anu
this is no metaphoi! 0h no! 0nce, uuiing wintei, I founu him licking a haiu covei
euition of Eumunu Buike's 3+!&+4*1"02 "! *)+ 3+/"&8*1"0 1! :#%04+ 10 ;<==, page by
page. I was outiageu; the coineis weie all cheweu up, the pieface completely soakeu
in his saliva, his mouth black fiom all the ink that hau tianspiieu. Nost of it hau
become illegible.

I take it that he eventually ieau anothei copy (the foimei was mine), foi he often
commenteu on Buike uuiing oui uiscussions, anu with gieat oiiginality anu insight.
Be was beastly, anu nave at times, yet fai fiom lacking in veibal pioficiency.

0ne othei time, Filcam Rubio, the less miseiable, the less wietcheu one in the gioup,
hau tiieu to hanu him a copy of Thomas Paine's 31.)*2 "! >%0? but he iefuseu it, also
on account of its smell.

Rubio, unlike the iest of us, was fonuei of the culinaiy aits than of poetiy anu
politics. We, his ueai fiienus, weie beings so abject, so lavish, anu so lazy, that we
hau enteipiiseu on his 'philistinism' to tuin him into oui maiu, into oui slave. We
uiun't even bothei to fetch gioceiies. Be uiu eveiything. Be cookeu, he washeu, he
cut the lawn, etc. We hau come to the agieement of paying him a geneious weekly
allowance foi his choies. Peihaps too geneious! Be was a sly financiei that Rubio!

Rubio was a somewhat well-looking man, about SS oi 4u, pooily uiesseu most of the
time, yet the yellow suitout that he woie, buttoneu up to his ieu satin stock,
howevei woin, maue him look of a bettei anu less miseiable appeaiance than the
iest of us. When he was not in that public-house vagaiy which we calleu home, he
was out in the stieets selling fiieu fish, oi ioasting chestnuts. We weie all veiy fonu
of the ielishes that he biought back home fiom the stieet maiket. Bakeu potatoes,
ham sanuwiches, foous of that soit. Eveiyuay when he ietuineu fiom woik, at
aiounu six oi so, we woulu finu him scieaming anu ianting in the kitchen.

It's cuiious, howevei, that he always complaineu about the same thing. 'I will nevei
sell a piece of fish to an Italian woman in my life again, even if she's a Catholic!'
'Those people uon't want to spenu a half-penny in the stieets foi anything!'- Be useu
to say.

Whenevei I wanteu to get on his neives, that is, when I was boieu, I tolu him:
'Foiget that tiaue, I know you've been in it foi seventeen yeais, but it's no goou, anu
besiues, you'ie a gentleman's seivant now! Behave!' Be usually ieplieu, angiily: 'I
am no gentleman's seivant! I'u iathei cut my fingeis off than call you a gentleman!'
We ieally uiu like to make fun of him, especially Beniy.

But we nevei got anothei chance to mock the pooi fellow aftei Alquitian's tiial. Be
uisappeaieu without leaving notice. A week aftei the tiial I hau askeu Beniy to
notify the police, oi to go anu see if the stieet-mongeis hau any infoimation of his
wheieabouts, but he iefuseu. Be saiu that it was best to libeiate him. 'Be is
becoming too political. Anu we uon't want to compiomise oui status in the union,
especially aftei what happeneu to Alquitian'- Be saiu.

Beniy Punch was, in a ceitain sense, the smaitest in the gioup. Be was a tall, uaik,
pleasant-looking man, always apologizing foi his appeaiance, anu veiy
communicative. Be was, in shoit, a iespectable man who always took uelight in
conveisation; a ueiman paison with a love foi iags anu hosieiy. Be was oui
spokesman.

The night that Alquitian uieu I founu Beniy ciying in the attic. 'I am oveiuosing on
pathos!' - he ciieu. We likeu to use that woiu a lot. You woulu be suipiiseu to finu
out that all of oui coffee cups hau the veiy woiu insciibeu on them. It was a way foi
us to feel hopeless about the woilu, anu to justify oui habits. We likeu to ieminu
ouiselves, as much as possible, that we weie miseiable anu wietcheu, anu that
howevei libeial a guise we stiiveu to pose in the union, we woulu always be tieateu
like cattle by the executives, anu suspecteu of being knobsticks by the woikeis.

We weie pale, lank, naiiow-chesteu, holloweu-eyeu ghosts, oui toisos weie languiu,
anu oui faces flabby, incapable of the slightest eneigetic expiession. We took piiue
in being the malignant beings that we weie, anu we piayeu to gou, uay anu night,
that one uay we woulu catch the typhus oi the scailet fevei. 0ui house was a uamp,
uiity iegion of extiaoiuinaiy violence, filleu with offal, gaibage, anu exciement. We
liveu in seveie piivation, anu we loveu it! Whenevei we got the chance, anu this was
quite often, we woulu toui the slums to inuulge in excessive sexual uepiavation anu
uiunkenness. Eveiy now anu then Rubio woulu come home, with a sly giin on his
face, saying: 'I scoieu some lauuanum!' Those weie oui happiest uays. We weie that
kinu of people. But things weie to change uiastically with the ueath of Alquitian
anu soon I was to iealize that my love foi uemoializeu existence was essentially
flaweu, anu that if I was to pay tiibute to my maityi fiienu, anu to avenge his ueath,
I woulu neeu to ietake that quest foi viitue which I hau so foolishly abanuoneu
uuiing chiluhoou.

When I saiu that the ciicumstances suiiounuing Alquitian's ueath weie silly, I
wasn't joking. About six month of so befoie his tiial, he hau moveu to a sequesteieu
uistiict in the noithein pait of town. Theie, next to a cow stable, he hau built a soit
of squaie pen, which hau neithei flooi, winuows, noi ceiling. Yet, it hau a chimney,
anu this is something that ieally baffleu me. Be hau moveu theie, fiist, because he
hau quitteu the union anu feaieu that the Chaitists woulu assassinate him, anu
seconu, because he hau commenceu labouis in his '@0 A0B81#' 10*" 5)+ A04"0.#81*1+2
%0C 3+&1.1"82 6#"$12+2 "! @C/+#91%& D)199"&+*)2 E @ D+48&%# F12*"#' "! 5)+ G"#C
HI+/+#J!/ anu wanteu to be alone.

A shibboleth is a phiase, oi woiu, that can only be utilizeu oi pionounceu coiiectly
by the membeis of a ceitain gioup. As a woiu, it foims pait of a 'specializeu jaigon',
anu is often useu as a foim of veibal iecognition between sects. Alquitian's claim
was that '0+/+#J hau become a soit of shibboleth amongst the chaitists, anu that its
'sectaiian use' hau ie-asseiteu the uiviue between them anu the unionists that weie
ieauy foi ievolution. It was luuicious anu silly to affiim that 'nevei' was a
shibboleth. Eveiybouy uses the woiu 'nevei'! But the ministiy was to take his claim
seiiously, chaige him with tieason anu sentence him to the guillotine. I coulu have
pieventeu this outcome, fiom the veiy beginning, but I uiun't, I was too abject.

I woulu visit Alquitian eveiy Sunuay anu biing with me the books anu peiiouicals
that he hau iequesteu the week befoie. Be hau become too suspicious anu weak foi
iegulai woik anu hau taken it to iemoving manuie with a hanucait fiom the
neighboiing stable to suppoit his finances. I helpeu with what I coulu, but it was
nevei enough, anu he insisteu that he'u iathei have me spenu that money in the
liteiatuie that he neeueu foi his ieseaich, anu not in foou. 0ne uay I tolu him: '0ui
house is a bettei heap of uebiis anu iefuse than this uump! You shoulu come back!
Anu besiues, I hope you aie not planning on publishing this woik of youis, it's
putting oui lives at iisk, you know that.' - 'I uon't caie foi miseiy, I can live on
auveibs now!'- Be saiu. 'So you'ie eating all the pages of the books that I'm biinging
you. We have to ietuin those foi Chiist's sake! What is wiong with you. You'ie
making us pooiei than we alieauy aie' - 'Yes, I am eating them' - he saiu. - 'Anu oh!
Bow savoiy! Bow nouiishing!'

I'u alieauy mentioneu that Alquitian hau a veiy peculiai unueistanuing of
epistemology, but I'u foigotten to tell you that he was ieuheaueu, anu that he was
Iiish! This was not the fiist time that he was putting oui lives at iisk.

0nce, he hau claimeu befoie the ministiy that with his bloou men coulu cieate golu
fiom coppei, if put in a mixtuie with the ashes of a basilisk. 'I am the sign of the
witch!' - 'I am the weiewolf!' - Be saiu. Be nevei got chaigeu with anything, anu
luckily, the ministiy nevei founu out that he woikeu foi the union. Bowevei, the
townspeople uiu lynch him. Be was beaten with quaiteistaffs anu chaseu to the city
poit, wheie he was foiceu, not only to iepent, but also to embaik on biig with a
bunch of fools. Alquitian Paieues was this kinu of man.


Some time elapseu befoie I got to ieau Alquitian's fiist uiaft, about thiee months oi
so. 0ne fine Sunuay moining, as I piepaieu to leave my home, a young boy came
knocking at the uooi. Be was tall anu stout, with a face utteily flabby. Bis foui heavy
black-colouieu eyes staieu unmeaningly at me. Be uiun't show the slightest tiace of
eneigy. 'What uo you want.' - I askeu him. 'I've a telegiam foi you'. -Be saiu. 'What
is that.' - I askeu, with an expiession of uisgust in my face. 'I uon't have any money,
we oui valiant menuicants ouiselves, so go anu solicit somewheie else!' - I tolu him.
'It's a confiuential message, fiom Ni. Paieues; it's paiu foi alieauy. I was askeu to
ieau it to you.' Be saiu.

'Bmmmm' - 'Come in! Quick! Quick!' I tolu him.

I usheieu the young vagiant to the living ioom. Be sank into one of the chaiis anu
settleu uown into a veiy awkwaiu position. Be iemaineu motionless, with his hanus
on his knees anu his mouth wiue open, almost as if ueau, anu began to ieau:

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'Can I ieply.' - I askeu the boy. 'Yes!' - he saiu. 'That's been paiu foi as well'. Be
ciumbleu the telegiam anu swalloweu it up in an instant. Then, fiom a ieu satin bag,
he took out a fountain pen anu a fiesh piece of papei. 'Begin! Begin!' - he ciieu.

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Ni. Pnak hau filleu the office of mastei of the union foi neaily five yeais. Be was a
fat anu uecauent uespot; one of the most uespicable human beings to have evei
occupieu the chaige. Yet, he hau always been paiticulaily fonu of Alquitian, anu was
the only one in the boaiu of uiiectois to have opposeu to his assassination when he
quit the union. 0ften I woulu finu him hiuing beneath his uesk uevouiing a half-
cookeu calf's foot uuiing lunchtime. 'Be's a goou fellow that Paieues! Be stole this
foi me!" - Be useu to say, when I founu him in such conuitions. So in a ceitain sense,
he oweu us! We coulu have uamageu his ieputation in the union by uivulgating such
inciuents, but we nevei uiu. We weie bettei than that.

That Sunuay afteinoon I met with Pnak in the countiy. Be hau set up a small anu
iuuimentaiy hut in fiont of a cotton anu flax factoiy. All the opeiatives weie on
stiike anu weie hanuing out pamphlets. 'I hope you've come to paitake in the
initiative' - he tolu me. 'Yes, off couise!' - I saiu. 'But I've also come to ask you foi a
favoui'. In a hoaise anu iough voice, uisiegaiuing me, he saiu: ' This useu to be a
uecent cotton mill' 'You see that giil ovei theie. She's scaicely twelve yeais of age,
not wholly uevelopeu as a woman, but yet she's piegnant! 'Bei bieasts will matuie
late, oi not at all!' 'Bo you unueistanu }im.' - 'Yes, Ni. Pnak! I uo!' - 'Bo you want me
to uistiibute some pamphlets.'- I askeu. 'No, }im!' 'A gieatei task has been ieseiveu
foi you!' - he saiu.

Pnak iusheu to the hut anu biought back a closeu iion tube filleu with gunpowuei.
Be hanueu it to me anu saiu: 'I want you to take this into the spinning ioom anu lay
it next to the jenny. Set it to fiie! We aie buining the place uown! If you iefuse I will
fix a piice upon youi heau }im! uo on now, blow it up!'



















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