"as the baffling yarn sailed in circles"

(319.16-321.20)  The two other tailor-patrons both gulp down their drinks in the same manner as the first did.  The Norwegian Captain is now "plumbing his liners," indicating that the captain is getting ready to leave again and that HCE is getting ready to go out and urinate again.  One of the tailor-patrons asks "where's Horace's courtin troopsers?," indicating that the captain and/or his new suit aren't on the scene and that HCE has left.  One of the tailor-patrons says that he "put hem behind the oasthouse," meaning that he's played a practical joke on the captain/HCE by hiding his clothes.  What's more, the clothes have been thrown into a fire.  Everyone in the crowd laughs, except for the Ship's Husband, who feels like he's been metaphorically thrown into that fire as punishment for the role he's played in this whole affair.

Things get really confusing on page 320, so here's my best guess as to what's going on:  One tailor has completed a suit (in the latest fashion) for the captain.  He joins in on cursing the captain.  At some point in this rant, the curses sound like they're being uttered by the captain about the tailor, so I'm thinking this paragraph starts out with the tailor complaining about the captain, then shifts to the captain complaining about the tailor.  The only really clear thing here is that the patrons are getting pretty drunk.

Eventually, it's time for "the second tryon."  This is both the second time the captain has tried on a new suit and the second round or chorus of the repeated tale.  The captain takes the bundle of new clothes over his shoulder and leaves town again in the morning.  Once again the Ship's Husband yells after the captain, shouting, "Stuff, Taaffe, stuff!  . . . Come back to May Aileen."  This echoes what he yelled the first time the captain ran off ("Stolp, tief, stolp, come bag to Moy Eireann!").  Once again, the captain gets away.

A pause now momentarily halts the telling of the tale, and two of the soldier-patrons (here, "the reminding pair of snipers") in the pub take advantage of that pause to drink more and to take shots at HCE's reputation.  HCE returns to the pub, welcoming in customers and serving more drinks.  HCE's return also heralds the return of the Norwegian Captain to Ireland.  The scene is thus set for a third round of the tale.