"I"m havin" a time iv it with Terence," said Mr. Hennessy, despondently.
"What"s th" la-ad been doin"?" asked Mr. Dooley.
"It ain"t so much what he"s doin"," Mr. Hennessy explained, "as what he ain"t doin." He ain"t stayin" home iv nights, an" he ain"t wurrukin"; but he does be out on th" corner with th" Cromleys an" th" rest, dancin"
jig steps an" whistlin" th" "Rogue"s March" whin a polisman goes by.
Sure, I can do nawthin" with him, f"r he"s that kind an" good at home that he"d melt th" heart iv a man iv stone. But it"s gray me life is, thinkin" iv what"s to become iv him whin he gets to be a man grown.
Ye"re lucky, Martin, that ye"re childless."
"Sure, I cudden"t be anny other way, an" hold me good name," said Mr.
Dooley. "An", whin I look about me sometimes, it"s glad I am. They"se been times, perhaps--But lave that go. Is there somethin" in th" air or is it in oursilves that makes th" childher nowadays turn out to curse th" lives iv thim that give thim life? It may be in th" thrainin". Whin I was a kid, they were brought up to love, honor, an" respect th" ol"
folks, that their days might be long in th" land. Amen. If they didn"t, th" best they cud do was to say nawthin" about it. "Twas th" back iv th"
hand an" th" sowl iv th" fut to th" la-ad that put his spoon first into th" stirabout. Between th" whalin"s we got at school h"isted on th" back iv th" big boy that was bein" thrainned to be a Christyan brother an"
th" thumpin"s we got at home, we was kept sore an" sthraight fr"m wan year"s end to another. "Twas no mild doses they give us, ayether. I mind wanst, whin I was near as big as I am now, I handed back some onkind re-emarks to me poor father that"s dead. May he rest in peace, per Dominum! He must iv been a small man, an" bent with wurruk an" worry.
But did he take me jaw? He did not. He hauled off, an" give me a r-right hook where th" bad wurruds come fr"m. I put up a pretty fight, f"r me years; but th" man doesn"t live that can lick his own father. He rowled me acrost an oat-field, an" I give up. I didn"t love him anny too well f"r that lickin", but I respected him; an", if he"d come into this place to-night,--an" he"d be near a hundherd: he was born in th" year "98, an"
pikes was hid in his cradle,--if he come in here to-night an" pulled me ear, I"d fear to go again him. I wud so.
""Tis th" other way about now. Did ye iver know a man be th" name iv Ahearn? Ye did not? Well, maybe he was befure yer time. He was a cobbler be thrade; but he picked up money be livin" off iv leather findings an"
wooden pegs, an" bought pieces iv th" prairie, an" starved an" bought more, an" starved an" starved till his heart was shrivelled up like a washerwoman"s hand. But he made money. An" th" more he made, th" more he wanted, an", wantin" nawthin" more, it come to him fr"m the divvle, who kept th" curse f"r his own time. This man Ahearn, whin he had acres an"
acres on Halsted Sthreet, an" tinants be th" scoor that prayed at nights f"r him that he might live long an" taste sorrow, he marrid a girl. Her name was Ryan, a little, scared, foolish woman; an" she died whin a boy was bor-rn. Ahearn give her a solemn rayqueem high ma.s.s an" a monument at Calv"ry that ye can see fr"m th" fun"ral thrain. An" he come fr"m th"
fun"ral with th" first smile on his face that anny man iver see there, an" th" baby in his ar-rms.
"I"ll not say Ahearn was a changed man. Th" love iv money was knitted into his heart; an", afther th" la-ad come, th" way he ground th" people that lived in his house was death an" destruction. "I must provide f"r me own," he said. But thim that was kind to th" kid cud break th" crust, an" all th" r-rough, hard-wurrkin" tenants paid f"r th" favors he give to th" ol" frauds an" beguilin" women that petted Dan"l O"Connell Ahearn. Nawthin" was too good f"r th" kid. He had nurses an" servants to wait on him. He had clothes that"d stock this ba-ar f"r a year. Whin he was old enough, he was sint to Saint Ignatyous. An" th" ol" man"d take him walkin" on a Sundah, an" pint out th" rows an" rows iv houses, with th" childher in front gazin" in awe at th" great man an" their fathers glowerin" fr"m the windows, an" say, "Thim will all be yours whin ye grow up, Dan"l O"Connell, avick."
"Well, it didn"t take an eye iv a witch to see that Dan"l O"Connell was a bor-rn idjet. They was no rale harm in th" poor la-ad, on"y he was lazy an" foolish an" sort iv tired like. To make a long story short, Hinnissy, his father thried ivrything f"r him, an" got nawthin." He didn"t dhrink much, he cared little f"r women, he liked to play ca-ards, but not f"r money. He did nawthin" that was bad; an" yet he was no good at all, at all,--just a slow, tired, aisy-goin", shamblin" la-ad,--th"
sort that"d wrench th" heart iv a father like Ahearn. I dinnaw what he did fin"lly, but wan night he come into my place an" said he"d been turned out be his father an" wanted a place f"r to sleep. "Ye"ll sleep at home," says I. "Ye"er father sh"d take shame to himsilf,--him a rich man." An" I put on me coat, an" wint over to Ahearn"s. I was a power in th" wa-ard in thim days, an" feared no man alive. Th" ol" la-ad met us at th" dure. Whin I started to speak, he blazed up. "Misther Dooley,"
says he, "my sorrows are me own. I"ll keep thim here. As f"r ye," he says, an" tur-rned like a tiger on th" boy an" sthruck him with his ol"
leathery hand. Th" boy stood f"r a minyit, an" thin walked out, me with him. I niver see him since. We left Ahearn standin" there, as we used to say iv th" fox in th" ol" counthry, cornered between th" river an" th"
wall."
"Ye"re lucky to be alone," said Mr. Hennessy as he left.
"I think so," said Mr. Dooley. But there was no content upon his face as he watched a lounging oaf of a boy catch up with Mr. Hennessy, exchange a curtly affectionate greeting, and walk over to where Mrs. Hennessy could be seen reading the "Key of Heaven" beside the parlor stove.
ON CRIMINALS.
"Lord bless my sowl," said Mr. Dooley, "childher is a gr-reat risponsibility,--agr-reat risponsibility. Whin I think iv it, I praise th" saints I niver was married, though I had opporchunities enough whin I was a young man; an" even now I have to wear me hat low whin I go down be Cologne Sthreet on account iv th" Widow Grogan. Jawn, that woman"ll take me dead or alive. I wake up in a col" chill in th" middle iv th"
night, dhreamin" iv her havin" me in her clutches.
"But that"s not here or there, avick. I was r-readin" in th" pa-apers iv a lad be th" name iv Scanlan bein" sint down th" short r-road f"r near a lifetime; an" I minded th" first time I iver see him,--a bit iv a curly-haired boy that played tag around me place, an" "d sing "Blest Saint Joseph" with a smile on his face like an angel"s. Who"ll tell what makes wan man a thief an" another man a saint? I dinnaw. This here boy"s father wur-rked fr"m morn till night in th" mills, was at early ma.s.s Sundah mornin" befure th" alkalis lit th" candles, an" niver knowed a month whin he failed his jooty. An" his mother was a sweet-faced little woman, though fr"m th" County Kerry, that nursed th" sick an" waked th"
dead, an" niver had a hard thought in her simple mind f"r anny iv Gawd"s creatures. Poor sowl, she"s dead now. May she rest in peace!
"He didn"t git th" shtreak fr"m his father or fr"m his mother. His brothers an" sisters was as fine a lot as iver lived. But this la-ad Petey Scanlan growed up fr"m bein" a curly-haired angel f"r to be th"
toughest villyun in th" r-road. What was it at all, at all? Sometimes I think they"se poison in th" life iv a big city. Th" flowers won"t grow here no more thin they wud in a tannery, an" th" bur-rds have no song; an" th" childher iv dacint men an" women come up hard in th" mouth an"
with their hands raised again their kind.
"Th" la-ad was th" scoorge iv th" polis. He was as quick as a cat an" as fierce as a tiger, an" I well raymimber him havin" laid out big Kelly that used to thravel this post,--"Whistlin" Kelly that kep" us awake with imitations iv a mockin" bur-rd,--I well raymimber him scuttlin" up th" alley with a score iv polismin laborin" afther him, thryin" f"r a shot at him as he wint around th" bar-rns or undher th" thrucks. He slep" in th" coal-sheds afther that until th" poor ol" man cud square it with th" loot. But, whin he come out, ye cud see how his face had hardened an" his ways changed. He was as silent as an animal, with a sideways manner that watched ivrything. Right here in this place I seen him stand f"r a quarther iv an" hour, not seemin" to hear a dhrunk man abusin" him, an" thin lep out like a snake. We had to pry him loose.
"Th" ol" folks done th" best they cud with him. They hauled him out iv station an" jail an" bridewell. Wanst in a long while they"d dhrag him off to church with his head down: that was always afther he"d been sloughed up f"r wan thing or another. Between times th" polis give him his own side iv th" sthreet, an" on"y took him whin his back was tur-rned. Thin he"d go in the wagon with a mountain iv thim on top iv him, sway in" an" swearin" an" sthrikin" each other in their hurry to put him to sleep with their clubs.
"I mind well th" time he was first took to be settled f"r good. I heerd a noise in th" ya-ard, an" thin he come through th" place with his face dead gray an" his lips just a turn grayer. "Where ar-re ye goin", Petey?" says I. "I was jus" takin" a short cut home," he says. In three minyits th" r-road was full iv polismin. They"d been a robbery down in Halsted Sthreet. A man that had a grocery sth.o.r.e was stuck up, an" whin he fought was clubbed near to death; an" they"d r-run Scanlan through th" alleys to his father"s house. That was as far as they"d go. They was enough iv thim to"ve kicked down th" little cottage with their heavy boots, but they knew he was standin" behind th" dure with th" big gun in his hand; an", though they was manny a good lad there, they was none that cared f"r that short odds.
"They talked an" palavered outside, an" telephoned th" chief iv polis, an" more pathrol wagons come up. Some was f"r settin" fire to th"
buildin", but no wan moved ahead. Thin th" fr-ront dure opened, an" who shud come out but th" little mother. She was thin an" pale, an" she had her ap.r.o.n in her hands, pluckin" at it. "Gintlemin," she says, "what is it ye want iv me?" she says. "Liftinant Ca.s.sidy," she says, "tis sthrange f"r ye that I"ve knowed so long to make scandal iv me before me neighbors," she says. "Mrs. Scanlan," says he, "we want th" boy. I"m sorry, ma"am, but he"s mixed up in a bad sc.r.a.pe, an" we must have him,"
he says. She made a curtsy to thim, an" wint indures. "Twas less than a minyit before she come out, clingin" to th" la-ad"s ar-rm. "He"ll go,"
she says. "Thanks be, though he"s wild, they"se no crime on his head. Is there, dear?" "No," says he, like th" game kid he is. Wan iv th"
polismin stharted to take hold iv him, but th" la-ad pushed him back; an" he wint to th" wagon on his mother"s ar-rm."
"And was he really innocent?" Mr. McKenna asked.
"No," said Mr. Dooley. "But she niver knowed it. Th" ol" man come home an" found her: she was settin" in a big chair with her ap.r.o.n in her hands an th" picture iv th" la-ad in her lap."
ON A PLOT.
"Well," said Mr. Dooley, "th" European situation is becomin" a little gay."
"It "tis so," said Mr. Hennessy. "If I was conthrollin" anny iv the gr-reat powers, I"d go down to th" Phosphorus an" take th" sultan be th"
back iv th" neck an" give him wan, two, three. "Tis a shame f"r him to be desthroyin" white people without anny man layin" hands on him. Th"
man"s no frind iv mine. He ought to be impeached an" thrun out."
"Divvle take th" sultan," said Mr. Dooley. "It"s little I care f"r him or th" likes iv him or th" Ar-menyans or th" Phosphorus. I was runnin"
over in me mind about th" poor lads they have sloughed up beyant f"r attimptin" to blow up Queen Victorya an" th cza-ar iv Rooshia. Glory be, but they"se nawthin" in the wide wurruld as aisy to undherstand as a rivoluchonary plot be our own people. You"ll see a lad iv th" right sort that"d niver open his head fr"m wan end iv th" year to th"other; but, whin he"s picked out to go on a mission to London, he niver laves off talkin" till they put him aboord th" steamer. Here was Tynan. They say he had a hand in sindin" Lord Cavendish down th" toboggan, though I"d not thrust his own tellin" as far as th" len"th iv me ar-rm. Now he figured out that th" thrue way to free Ireland was to go over an" blow th" windows in Winzer Palace, an" incidentally to hist th" queen an" th"
Rooshian cza-ar without th" aid iv th" elevator. What this here Tynan had again th" Rooshian cza-ar I niver heerd. But "twas something awful, ye may be sure.
"Well, th" first thing th" la-ads done was to go to Madison Square Garden an" hold a secret meetin", in which thim that was to hand th"
package to th" queen and thim that was to toss a piece iv gas pipe to his cza-ars was told off. Thin a comity was sint around to th" newspaper offices to tell thim th" expedition was about to start. Th"
conspirators, heavily disgeesed, was attinded to th" boat be a long procission. First come Tynan ridin" on a wagon-load iv nithroglycerine; thin th" other conspirators, with gas-pipe bombs an" picks an" chuvvels f"r tunnellin" undher Winzer Castle; thin th" Ah-o-haitches; thin th"
raypoorthers; thin a brigade iv Scotland Ya-ard spies in th" ga-arb iv polismin. An" so off they wint on their secret mission, with th" band playin" "Th" Wearin" iv th" Green," an Tynan standin" on th" quarther deck, smilin" an" bowin" an" wavin" a bag iv jint powdher over his head.
"No sooner had th" conspirators landed thin th" British gover"mint begun to grow suspicious iv thim. Tynan was shadowed be detictives in citizens" clothes; an", whin he was seen out in his backyard practisin"
blowin" up a bar"l that he"d dhressed in a shawl an" a little lace cap, th" suspicions growed. Ivrywhere that Tynan wint he was purshooed be th"
minions iv tyranny. Whin he visited th" house nex" dure to th" queen"s, an" unloaded a dhray full iv explosives an" chuvvels, the fact was rayported to th" polis, who become exthremely vigilant. Th" detictives followed him to Scotland Yard, where he wint to inform th" captain iv th" conspiracy, an" overheard much damming ividence iv th" plot until they become more an" more suspicious that something was on, although what was th" intintions iv th" conspirators it was hard to make out fr"m their peculiar actions. Whin Tynan gathered his followers in Hyde Park, an" notified thim iv the positions they was to take and disthributed th"
dinnymite among thim, th" detictives become decidedly suspicious. Their suspicions was again aroused whin Tynan asked permission iv th" common council to build a bay window up close to th" queen"s bedroom. But th"
time to act had not come, an" they continted thimselves with thrackin"
him through th" sthreets an" takin" notes iv such suspicious remarks as "Anny wan that wants mementoes iv th" queen has on"y to be around this neighborhood nex" week with a shovel an" a basket," an" "Onless ye want ye"er clothes to be spoiled be th" czar, ye"d best carry umbrellas." On th" followin" day Tynan took th" step that was needed f"r to con-vince th" gover"mint that he had designs on the monarchs. He wint to France.
It"s always been obsarved that, whin a dinnymiter had to blow up annything in London, he laves th" counthry. Th" polis, now thoroughly aroused, acted with commindable promptness. They arristed Tynan in Booloon f"r th" murdher iv Cavendish.
"Thus," said Mr. Dooley, sadly, "thus is th" vengeance f"r which our beloved counthry has awaited so long delayed be th" hand iv onscrupulious tyranny. Sthrive as our heroes may, no secrecy is secure against th" corruption iv British goold. Oh, Ireland, is this to be thy fate forever? Ar-re ye niver to escape th" vigilance iv th" polis, thim cold-eyed sleuths that seem to read th" very thoughts iv ye"er pathriot sons?"
"There must have been a spy in th" ranks," said Mr. Hennessy.
"Sure thing," said Mr. Dooley, winking at Mr. McKenna. "Sure thing, Hinnissy. Ayether that or th" accomplished detictives at Scotland Yards keep a close watch iv the newspapers. Or it may be--who knows?--that Tynan was indiscreet. He may have dhropped a hint of his intintions."