Corporal And this Sir. He’s half-cut Sir.

Chichester Nothing but the real thing. Irish booze and iron curtain gun.

Maitland Stand him up.

Chichester is hauled to his feet. He and Maitland stare at each other.

Oh no.

Chichester Keep your mouth shut.

Maitland What the hell are you doing here –

Chichester Shut up!

A silence.

Maitland All right, Corporal. I’ll talk to this johnny.

Corporal Yes Sir. You two!

The Corporal leads the Fourth and Fifth Soldiers away.

Chichester Don’t let them chuck the sheaves about. I harvested this field with my own bare hands.

Maitland stares at Chichester, then turns to the Corporal.

Maitland Corporal. Do it neatly.

Corporal Neatly. Yes Sir.

Fourth Soldier What’s all that about?

Corporal We don’t see, we don’t hear.

Fifth Soldier Sometimes I think we’re just in Ireland to dig toilets.

Corporal Enough. (To all the Soldiers:) Come on lads! The Pope is hiding somewhere in this field. Give his holiness a big surprise.

Maitland Sorry if they pushed you about.

Chichester Don’t worry old man. I have had special training to deal with pain. Pain is not the problem.

Maitland You do owe me an explanation. Am I going to get it?

Chichester Bobby, Bobby Maitland. What a prick you are, Bobby.

How are all the other chums in my old Regiment?

Maitland Oh the Regiment’s in good fettle.

Chichester ‘Good fettle.’ Ha! With their tanks on the Rhine. Short of brains and spare parts –

Maitland I am trying to keep my temper!

Chichester I am trying to keep my life!

three months I’ve been setting up an operation here.

Building respect. There’s an old woman up in the farmhouse – don’t bother her.

Maitland All right all right –

Chichester I work the farm for her. Her sons are in the Kilburn High Road – or the Costa del Sol.

Maitland How do you, of all people, pass yourself off as Irish?

Chichester Oh I sing a few rebel songs in the local pub.

Maitland Tom, are you following orders? Or are you off on some madcap scheme of your own?

A silence.

Tom –

Chichester I am doing my bit to win the war in Ireland. Now you and the Queen’s baboons in Army boots are putting my operation here in jeopardy, so piss off.

Maitland I have to ask you again. Are you following orders?

Chichester A kind of order.

Maitland What does that mean?

Chichester A sense – of the order – of things.

Maitland What are you talking about?

Chichester It’s a Celtic idea. Pagan.

Maitland Not gone native, have you?

Chichester Ha!

It’s Celts we’re fighting in Ireland. We won’t get anywhere ’til we know what that means.

Look at this field. It’s like one on my mother’s farm, not far from Colchester. The Roman city of Camulodunum.

One Spring, ploughing, we found a God. That big. Celtic, pagan. And Camulodunum could be the site for Arthur’s last battle. AD515.

King Arthur! Celtic warlord. Who fought twelve great battles against the Saxons. That is, us.