`` mrs. higgins is about to have a coughing fit , '' he 'd say , and then a woman in the street would cough and hack until she was red in the face , or `` presently , a fisherman will lament the difficulty of plying his trade during wartime , '' and then a man leaning on a cart filled with nets would turn to another man and say , `` there 's so many damned u-boats in the water now it ai n't even safe for a bloke to go tickle his own lines ! ''