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The boys are alone for a while until an older man appears in the distance, walking toward them while leaning on a stick. He gradually approaches and passes the boys, but then backtracks and joins them. The old man begins to talk, reminiscing about his boyhood and talking about books, such as the poetry of Thomas Moore and the works of Sir Walter Scott and Lord Lytton. The narrator lies and claims to have read all of them which pleases the old man who calls him a “bookworm.” The old man then claims that Mahony is different, less intellectual than himself or the narrator because he merely “goes in for the games.” The conversation then turns to “sweethearts” as the man asks the boys if they have many girlfriends, a question that surprises the narrator. Mahony brags that he has three sweethearts and the narrator admits that he does not have any, which surprises the old man. As their conversation continues, the narrator notes the peculiar appearance and behavior of the old man, most notably his yellow- and gap-toothed smile, how he twitches occasionally, and, most of all, his monotonous repetition of phrases.
The old man leaves for a moment. Disturbed by what the old man might be doing, the narrator suggests that he and Mahony assume the code names of Smith and Murphy if the old man asks for their names. The old man returns and Mahony runs off to chase a stray cat, abandoning the narrator and leaving him to listen to the Old Man’s peculiar monologues alone. The man remarks that Mahony seems like the kind of boy that gets whipped at school, and from there launches into a diatribe about disciplining boys who misbehave, insisting that any boy who talks to a girl should be whipped, and that he himself would enjoy executing the punishment. The narrator is unsettled by the interaction and is confused by the old man’s contradictory opinions. At a pause in the man’s speech, the narrator rises and announces that he must depart. He calls for Mahony, using the name Murphy, who runs across the field toward him in response. The narrator is embarrassed, both by the false bravery that is obvious in his voice and that Mahony ran towards him as if he needed help, and he notes that he has always “despised [Mahony] a little.”
