'I'm sorry, I just can't stand that kind of posturing,' said Alun.
'Whereas other kinds you've no rooted objection to,' said Peter. 'Anyway, thanks for destroying our pub for us.'
'I'll have a word with Tare tomorrow,' said Garth. 'We're off,' said Arnold Spurling with decision, and he and Tony Bainbridge left at once and were not soon to be found in those parts again. At the same time a great general roar of laughter sounded from the bar and Charlie saw Doris the barmaid at the hatch peering at them through her upswept glasses.
'It's shocking that an educated man should descend to downright verbal brawling,' said Malcolm. 'I said I was sorry.'
'Oh, that's all right then,' said Peter.
'Tell you what,' said Garth: 'it's early yet to pack it in and we could all do with a drink and what shall I say, a pause for consideration. Why not come up to my place? It's only just round the corner. Angharad's away seeing her mother,' he added. 'Ninety-one, she is.'
There was a pause there and then, for consideration of Angharad, perhaps, or her mother. Eventually Alun said with a touch of defiance, 'Yes. Why not? I certainly fancy a drop. Thank you, Garth.'
'What about you, Peter?' asked Charlie. 'Unless you feel you..!
'No. Let's go along. Why not indeed.'
'I ought to be getting back,' said Malcolm.
'Oh for heaven's sake,' said Garth. 'Never even seen the inside of the Pumphrey domain, have you?'
'Go on, move, you old pests,' bawled Tarc's voice from up the passage, booming and resounding in a frightening way. 'Outside, the pack of you, you're making me nervous.'
Without a rearward glance they hurried out into the rainy, windy gloom where what light there was came mostly from shops and houses and re1lections in the roadway. Charlie had a close impression of heavy bodies piling into cars, the lights of the cars coming on suddenly, loud grunts and door-slamming and the whinnying of starters. Now was a time for the years to roll back. But no, they stayed where they were. Beside him, Peter gave a whistling sigh arid pushed the car into gear.
'You all right, Charlie?'
'Full of fun.'
'Well bugger me.'
'Absolutely. '
They said no more for the moment. Charlie's mind drifted off to one side. The ancient sanctuary of the Old Gods, he thought. No: when. the primeval fastness of the Ancients is, is menaced by unknown powers, its guardian, the giant Tarc (bass) comes before them with a moving plea for counsel _('Ach, was muss ich?')__. In response, the most illustrious of the Ancients, Alun (baritone), haughtily rebukes Tarc for his presumption _('Vergessen nun Sie')__. A stormy exchange between the two, which the fool Garth ( counter-tenor) tries vainly to quieten, introduces an elegiac portrayal of desolation and defeat. In a climactic... In a ritualistic monologue of great power and beauty _('Heraus Sie alles sofortig')__, Tare invokes his immemorial right to banish the Ancients from their refuge, ordains and salutes their passing one by one and compels the removal of their age-old trophies. The Act closes with an Ancients' chorus of...
'Wake up. We're there. I think.'
The Pumphrey house, which Charlie could not remember ever having seen before, was unlit within. There were slippery wet leaves on the flags of the garden' path and he nearly stumbled over the trailing stem of a rose- bush or something similar. The two clambered up half a dozen rounded stone steps to a Victorian Perpendicular porch with stained glass to be faintly seen. Charlie stamped his feet rhythmically on the tiled floor.
'Is this right?' he asked. 'If it is, where's Garth?'
'I think he took a lift with Malcolm. Even he isn't going to walk it in this, I mean Garth.' - 'Oh well, there we are then. Be here till midnight. Well no, er, eh? Unless Garth doesn't know the way either. Brilliant of you knowing. I suppose this _is__ right, is it? It certainly feels right, it's giving me the shivers before I've even crossed the bloody threshold. Like a house of the dead.'
Peter pulled his raincoat more closely round him. 'Here they are. And Alun. Do you think he's mad, by the way?'
'No, just fed up because... I'll talk to you later.' '
At once upon entering, Garth turned on the lights, first startlingly overhead in the porch, then two in the hall. Both of these seemed of low wattage, not doing much to cheer up the heavy parental or even grandparental furniture or help to identify the wide-mounted engravings that covered large parts of the walls. Charlie noticed a cylindrical stand full of superannuated umbrellas and walking-sticks. When everyone was indoors Garth switched off the porch light, switched on a staircase light to indicate the lavatory on the landing, switched it off again and led them into a room at the back of the house.
It was cold in here, in a settled way that suggested it had not been warm for some time. Garth activated a small mobile electric fire, from which a smell of scorching dust soon began to issue and loud clangs were heard from time to time as the metal warmed up. Some large armchairs and a sofa were theoretically available, but none looked very inviting. The party clustered round the sideboard of some unpolished black wood on whose top a number of bottles and glasses were arranged.
This display had attracted Charlie's attention on entering and almost immediately thereafter his disquiet as well: all the liquor-bottles, which included, he saw, ones containing port and sherry as well as gin, Scotch, brandy and vodka, had optic measures like those used in pubs fitted to their necks. Then he brightened up again at the thought that Angharad would not have been the first or the last wife to try to limit her husband's drinking, heavy- handed as this particular scheme might appear. No cash-register was on view and' when his turn came Garth served him a double whisky and passed on without delay.· Water came out of a half-empty plastic bottle beaded on the inside with air-bubbles of unknown antiquity.
'Welcome to my humble abode,' said Garth as soon as they all had drinks. When nobody said what a nice
