MAIRE enters. She is bareheaded and wet from the rain; her hair in disarray. She attempts to appear normal hut she is in acute distress, on the verge of being distraught. She is carrying the milk-can.]
MAIRE Honest to God, I must be going off my head. I'm half-way here and I
think to myself, 'Isn't this can very light?' and I look into it and isn't it empty. OWEN It doesn't matter. MAIRE How will you manage for tonight? OWEN We have enough. MAIRE Are you sure? OWEN Plenty, thanks. MAIRE It'll take me no time at all to go back up for some.
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25 10 / NATION AND LANGUAGE
OWE N Honestly, Maire. MAIRE Sure it's better you have it than that black calf that's . . . that . . . [She
looks around.] Have you heard anything? OWEN Nothing. MAIRE What does Lancey say? OWEN I haven't seen him since this morning. MAIRE What does he think? OWEN We really didn't talk. He was here for only a few seconds. MAIRE He left me home, Owen. And the last thing he said to me?he tried
to speak in Irish?he said, 'I'll see you yesterday'?he meant to say 'I'll see you tomorrow.' And I laughed that much he pretended to get cross and he said 'Maypoll! Maypoll!' because I said that word wrong. And off he went, laughing?laughing, Owen! Do you think he's alright? What do you think?
OWEN I'm sure he'll turn up, Maire.
MAIRE He comes from a tiny wee place called Winfarthing. [SJie suddenly drops on her hands and knees on the floor?where OWEN had his map a few minutes ago?and with her finger traces out an outline map.]
Come here till you see. Look. There's Winfarthing. And there's two other wee villages right beside it; one of them's called Barton Bendish?it's there; and the other's called Saxingham Nethergate?it's about there. And there's Little Walsingham?that's his mother's townland. Aren't they odd names? Sure they make no sense to me at all. And Winfarthing's near a big town called Norwich. And Norwich is in a county called Norfolk. And Norfolk is in the east of England. He drew a map for me on the wet strand and wrote the names on it. I have it all in my head now: Winfarthing?Barton Bendish? Saxingham Nethergate?Little Walsingham?Norwich?Norfolk. Strange sounds, aren't they? But nice sounds; like Jimmy Jack reciting his Homer.
[She gets to her feet and looks around; she is almost serene now. To SARAH.]
You were looking lovely last night, Sarah. Is that the dress you got from Boston? Green suits you.
[To OWEN.] Something very bad's happened to him, Owen. I know. He wouldn't go away without telling me. Where is he, Owen? You're his friend?where is he? [Again she looks around the room; then sits on a stool.]
I didn't get a chance to do my geography last night. The master'll be angry with me. [She rises again.] I think I'll go home now. The wee ones have to be washed and put to bed and that black calf has to be fed . . . My hands are that rough; they're still blistered from the hay. I'm ashamed of them. I hope to God there's no hay to be saved in Brooklyn. [She stops at the door.] Did you hear? Nellie Ruadh's baby died in the middle of the night. I must go up to the wake. It didn't last long, did it?
[MAIRE leaves. Silence. Then.]
OWEN I don't think there'll be any class. Maybe you should . . .
[OWEN begins picking up his texts, DOALTY goes to him.]
DOALTY Is he long gone??Manus. OWEN Half an hour. DOALTY Stupid bloody fool. OWEN I told him that. DOALTY D O they know he's gone? OWEN Who?
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FRIEL: TRANSLATIONS, ACT 3 / 25 11
DOALTY The army. OWEN Not yet.
DOALTY They'll be after him like bloody beagles. Bloody, bloody fool, limping along the coast. They'll overtake him before night for Christ's sake.
[DOALTY returns to the window, LANCEY enters?now the commanding officer.}
OWEN Any news? Any word?
[LANCEY moves into the centre of the room, looking around as he does.]
LANCEY I understood there was a class. Where are the others? OWEN There was to be a class but my father . . . LANCEY This will suffice. I will address them and it will be their responsibility
to pass on what I have to say to every family in this section.
[LANCEY indicates to OWEN to translate, OWEN hesitates, trying to assess the change in LANCEY'S manner and attiude.]
I'm in a hurry, O'Donnell. OWEN The captain has an announcement to make. LANCEY Lieutenant Yolland is missing. We are searching for him. If we
don't find him, or if we receive no information as to where he is to be found, I will pursue the following course of action. [He indicates to OWEN to translate.]
OWEN They are searching for George. If they don't find him? LANCEY Commencing twenty-four hours from now we will shoot all livestock in Ballybeg.
[OWEN stares at LANCEY.]
At once. OWEN Beginning this time tomorrow they'll kill every animal in Baile Beag? unless they're told where George is.
LANCEY If that doesn't bear results, commencing forty-eight hours from now we will embark on a series of evictions and levelling of every abode in the following selected areas?
