The 
 
 Ragged Edge 
 
 John T. Mclntyre
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 r
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE
 
 The Ragged Edge 
 
 A Tale of Ward Life & "Politics 
 
 John T. M^Intyre 
 
 First Novel 
 
 V 
 
 Series 
 
 New York 
 
 MfClure, Phillips & Co. 
 Mcmii
 
 Copyright, 1901, by 
 McCLURE, PHILLIPS fcf CO 
 
 Published, September, 1902, R
 
 ?5 
 
 -*>^' 
 \j <j < 
 
 Mntn. 
 
 To 
 
 Wayne, Andy, George & Lew 
 
 1260081
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE
 
 Chapter I 
 
 " Arrah, me jewel, sure, Larry's the boy!" 
 
 OLD SONG. 
 
 f TT ^"EARY horses dragged ponderous trucks 
 
 t/1/ homeward; the drivers drooped upon their 
 
 high seats and thought of cans of beer; a 
 
 red sun threw shafts of light along the cross-town 
 
 streets and between the rows of black warehouses. 
 
 The porters had all gone for the night from Mason 
 & Sons, and young Mason stood upon the office step, 
 about to lock the door, when Kerrigan jumped from 
 a passing car and hailed him. 
 
 " I just happened to notice you as I was going by," 
 Kerrigan said ; " and that reminded me that I wanted 
 to speak to you." 
 
 " Come in and sit down," said Mason, leading the 
 way into the office. 
 
 " I drew up a will the other day in which you were 
 
 3
 
 4 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 named as executor," said Kerrigan, mounting a stool 
 at the bookkeeper's desk. 
 
 Mason looked at him questioningly. 
 
 " It's old Miss Cassidy who kept house for your 
 father, years ago. She said that she had not spoken 
 to you about the matter, but that she felt sure that 
 you would consent to act." 
 
 " She's a queer old soul," smiled Mason. 
 
 " No queerer than the will she had me make for 
 her. Quite a tidy sum of money, too." 
 
 " She was very saving ; and then father thought 
 well of her and advised her about small investments 
 which were successful. But what induced her to 
 make a will ? Is she ill ? " 
 
 " She says she is getting old, and thought that the 
 matter should be settled. By the way, Mason, there 
 are rumours going about the City Hall that must in 
 terest a reformer like you," and Kerrigan smiled at his 
 friend. " The Motor Traction Company is endeavour 
 ing to secure possession of Center and Line streets." 
 
 " Do they contemplate purchasing the rights of the 
 new company ? " 
 
 " Not while there's a chance to steal them ; and from
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 5 
 
 what I've heard during the last few days that has been 
 their object since the time the injunction was granted 
 against the rival concern." 
 
 The young attorney planted his back against the 
 desk and braced himself with his elbows. " Let me 
 give you a sketch of the thing," said he. " The City 
 Railway Company was duly chartered, secured the 
 franchise from councils for these two streets and spent 
 thousands of good dollars in putting down road-bed, 
 rails and all that sort of thing. At this stage the Motor 
 Company suddenly discovered that Center and Line 
 streets were arteries that would tap the thickly popu 
 lated sections, and that the new company would re 
 duce their earnings. 
 
 " Under cover of a protest from citizens living 
 along the line of the new road, an injunction was 
 gotten out staying all work; the matter was carried 
 into the courts, where it has been hanging fire ever 
 since." 
 
 " But," put in Mason, " a decision was rendered in 
 favour of the City Company less than a week ago." 
 
 " I know that ; and in that decision the new move 
 of the Motor people had its birth. The long delay, the
 
 6 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 cost of fighting the case and all that, pretty well 
 drained the resources of the City people, who were 
 none too rich to begin with. And a time limit was 
 put upon the building of the line at the time the fran 
 chise was granted. The time specified will shortly 
 expire and the road is but half built. The Motor 
 Company intends to put unlimited money into the 
 next local election in order to elect a majority in both 
 branches of councils favourable to revoking the fran 
 chise on the ground of failure to live up to their 
 contract." 
 
 " Why, this is infamous ! " exclaimed Mason. 
 " How could the road be built in the time specified 
 when the courts prevented their working upon it ? " 
 
 Kerrigan shrugged his shoulders. " The Motor 
 Company want that franchise and it is not at all par 
 ticular about how it is gotten." 
 
 The two young men rose and made their way to 
 the sidewalk. 
 
 " I understand," said Mason, as he sprang the catch 
 of the office door, " when the new company was or 
 ganized, that the stock was mostly taken up in small
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 7 
 
 lots by small store-keepers and people with accounts 
 in saving banks." 
 
 " That's true," answered Kerrigan ; " and that's 
 what makes the company easy game." 
 
 A heavy team swung up to the curb and a square- 
 jawed young fellow climbed down from his seat. A 
 battered, drink-sodden man tremulously clutched him 
 by the arm and began mumbling incoherently. The 
 teamster slipped him a nickel and gave him a helpful 
 shove down the street; then he approached and said 
 to Mason: 
 
 " There's a lot o' stuff up at Shed B for youse 
 people. Shannon wants t' know when ye want it 
 hauled." 
 
 " Ah, yes," replied Mason. " We received the no 
 tice late this afternoon. Tell Shannon to have it here 
 the first thing in the morning." 
 
 " Good enough ! " The driver was about to turn 
 away when Kerrigan exclaimed: 
 
 "Hello, Larry! What's doing?" 
 
 "Hello, Johnnie," greeted the other. "I didn't 
 know youse."
 
 8 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Who's your friend ? " questioned Kerrigan, nod 
 ding toward the receding form of the tramp. 
 
 " Oh, just a guy what braced me for a nickel so's 
 he could hang up his hat on the inside of a wall. He 
 said it's been so long since he covered his stilts wit' 
 a sheet that he forgets what it feels like." 
 
 "What did you say?" 
 
 " I told him that I was workin' this side o' the 
 street meself. Say, it's a big t'ing when a guy kin dig 
 down in his pants an' produce a roll that would stop 
 a window; but the minute I run up against a bundle 
 o' rags me vest buttons is in danger. Say, Johnnie, 
 was youse ever strapped ? " 
 
 Kerrigan confessed that he had been. 
 
 " I guess every geezer along the line has done the 
 stunt at some stage o' the game. Why, I've been so 
 tight on the hooks that I couldn't tell the difference 
 between a coon blowin' a cake walk an' a gutter band 
 handin' out the ' Dead March in Saul ' ; an' if Queen 
 Anne cottages was sellin' for a quarter a bunch I 
 couldn't buy in a cellar window. I tell youse what it 
 is, Kerrigan, when a guy's room rent's six weeks on 
 the wrong side o' the ledger an' his meal ticket wont
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 9 
 
 Stan' for another hole in it, it's time for him to start 
 somethin' doin', an' try an' git his eyes on a graft 
 what's got ' In God we trust ' chalked on its back. 
 Ain't that right?" 
 
 " A man entirely without money," said Mason, " is 
 certainly an object for sympathy." 
 
 Larry gestured his contempt. 
 
 " I'd like to deal in that," said he. " If I could sell 
 it at two bits a crate I'd make money till youse 
 couldn't rest. The lobsters what runs the beanery's 
 got sympathy to give away; but youse couldn't coax 
 a beef stew out o' the kitchen if ye had a smile like 
 Maude Adams. And the gent that runs the hock 
 shop keeps it in stock too, but the same guy wouldn't 
 lend youse a half a plunk on a pair o' bags wit' a 
 hole in 'em if ye was spittin' blood. 
 
 " Sympathy," continued the square-jawed young 
 man, " is the cheapest graft that ever looked over the 
 hill ; it's got every other con game skinned to death 
 and a guy in a tight pull takes chances o' breakin' 
 his neck over it every time he opens his mouth. But, 
 say, on the level, when a man's single, an' on'y got 
 one end to watch he kin pipe up a breeze if he ain't
 
 io THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 dead leary on action; but when he's got a full han 
 o' kids like me friend Chip Nolan, an' has to ket 
 leather on their tootseys an' their first teeth bus 
 three times a day, he's got to keep his t'ink-tar 
 stirrin' to beat the band, or he'll look like a last year 
 poster on a broken-down fence." 
 
 He climbed up to his high seat and gathered up tl 
 reins. 
 
 " Don't t'ink from this song an' dance," said h 
 " that I've ever stood in line wit' a yellow ticket ai 
 a tin can. But, say, as Chip Nolan 'ed say : ' Yer c 
 the turf, mate, but youse ain't under it yet.' See 
 Git 'ep, Pete!"
 
 Chapter II 
 
 " Ding, dong, ding-el, ding-el, dong, 
 Listen to the echo in the dell, 
 Hurry, little children, Sunday morn, 
 There goes the old Church bell." 
 
 HARRIGAN. 
 
 /T was Sunday morning. The iron heart of the 
 bell that hung in the tower of St. Michael's 
 beat against its brazen ribs, and the clangour 
 went rioting over the housetops. Streams of people, 
 dressed in their Sunday best, picked their way 
 across the railroad toward the sound; heavy faces 
 peered through bedroom windows and sleep-dry lips 
 murmured curses at the noise ; a shifting engine panted 
 heavily as it dragged a milk train over the rails, and 
 spat cinders into the face of day. 
 
 In the kitchen of a squat, shabby building fronting 
 on the railroad, a lean, yellow-faced old woman sat 
 beside the range, nursing her knees and drawing at 
 
 ii
 
 12 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 a black clay pipe. Another, almost her counterpart, 
 was sweeping the floor with the worn stump of a 
 broom. 
 
 " God be good till uz, Ellen ! " suddenly exclaimed 
 the first. " What are yez about? " 
 
 " What talk have ye, Bridget? " 
 
 " Sure ye wur as near as a hair till swapin' the bit 
 av dust out av the dure ! " 
 
 " Divil a fear av me. Is it swape the luck from the 
 house I'd be doin'?" 
 
 Ellen scraped up the sweepings. " There do be 
 bad luck enough about the place," she continued, as 
 she slid the dust into the fire and watched it burn, 
 the flame lighting up her old, faded face, her dirty 
 white cap, her bony, large-veined hands. " Malachi 
 tells me that the biz'ness do be poorly." 
 
 " Little wonder," declared Bridget, knocking the 
 ashes from her pipe and laying it carefully on the top 
 of a tin at the back of the stove. " I know'd what 
 'ud come av havin' the son av a Know-nothin' glos- 
 terin' about the place! Sure the curse av God ij on 
 the loike!" 
 
 " True for yez," assented her sister. " Owld Lar-
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 13 
 
 kin wur the spit av the owld felly himself; he wur 
 a Derry man an' as black a Presbyterian as iver cried 
 "Ton 1 wid the Pope!'" 
 
 Ellen took up the hot pipe and charged it from the 
 tin, shaking her head ominously. 
 
 " Ah, the Orange thafe ! " piped the other. " Well 
 do I raymember him, years ago, at the riots at the 
 Nanny-Goat Market, that stood beyant there where 
 the railroad is. Sure it wur him that put the divil in 
 their heads till burn down St. Michael's; an' wid me 
 own two eyes I see him shoutin' an' laffin' as the cross 
 tumbled intill the street ! " 
 
 Ellen made a hurried sign of the cross and muttered 
 some words in Gaelic. 
 
 " An' they say," whispered she, awed, " that he 
 barked loike a dog iver after ! " 
 
 " Sorra the lie's in it, avic. Owld Mrs. Flannagan, 
 that lived nixt dure till him, towld me, wid her own 
 two lips, that it wur so. Bud he always said it wur 
 asthma he wur after havinY' 
 
 " Oh, the robber ! It wur himself that cud twist 
 t'ings till serve his turn. More like it wur the divil in 
 him, cry in' till be let out."
 
 H THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 "An' d' yez raymember at the toime av the riots, 
 Ellen, whin he stood be the fince, overight our back 
 yard, wid Foley's musket, waitin' for any av uz till 
 pop out our heads ? " 
 
 Ellen, through some mischance, had swallowed 
 some of the rank pipe smoke, and she gasped and 
 strangled, with waving hands and protruding eyes. 
 
 " Well do I, asthore," she panted between her fits of 
 coughing. "Oh, the Crom'ell!" 
 
 " Bridget," cried a voice from the storeroom in front, 
 " have ye not me bit av breakfast ready ? It's late for 
 Mass I'll be iv yez don't stir yezself, woman." 
 
 Malachi O'Hara stood in his shop among his stock 
 in trade. About him were heaped the rakings of low 
 auction rooms and pawnbrokers' sales; stacks of half- 
 worn clothing lay upon the counter; the shelves were 
 loaded with crockery, oil lamps, plaster of paris 
 images, table cutlery, clocks, fly-specked pictures and 
 a heterogeneous mass of battered, greasy and utterly 
 useless articles for which it would be impossible to 
 find names. In the window hung a banjo with two 
 broken strings; a family Bible, its pages held open 
 by a set of steel " knuckle dusters " lay just below,
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 15 
 
 and it was garnished on all sides with old-fashioned 
 silver watches, seal rings, black jacks and so on down 
 the list of articles that clutter such establishments. 
 
 O'Hara, a pot-bellied man, bald, broad-faced and 
 with hard little eyes, walked back to the kitchen. 
 
 " We wur talkin' av owld Jimmie Larkin," said 
 Bridget putting the crockery upon the table. " Look 
 till the sup av coffee, Ellen," she whispered, hurriedly, 
 " d'ye not see that it's b'ilin' over ! " 
 
 O'Hara glowered at them, angrily. 
 
 " An' it's only startin' yez are ! " he cried. " D'ye 
 si* here like a pair av owld cacklin' hens, an' the bell 
 just rung for Mass ! " 
 
 The bell had just ceased and people were still hurry 
 ing on; the red sun peeped at them from behind the 
 church tower ; the hands of the big clock reproachfully 
 pointed out the fact that they were late. Bridget 
 glanced through the side window. 
 
 " There goes Clancy's wife in her new silk," said 
 she. " It's proud enough she's gettin' till be, since 
 her husband opened the grocery." 
 
 " May the divil fly away wid Clancy's wife an' her 
 silks as well! Faix an' there do be other things that
 
 16 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 Clancy could do wid his money ! " O'Hara was in a 
 stormy mood. 
 
 " Sit down till yez bit av breakfast," soothed Ellen. 
 " Clancy do be doin' well an' will pay the money he 
 borried av ye, Malachi. It's drink yez coffee black 
 yez'll have till," she added, " for young "McGonagle 
 have not come wid the milk yet." 
 
 He sat down with a crabbed laugh. 
 
 " McGonagle is it ! " exclaimed he. " Faith an' 
 there's another wan. The toime is drawin' on, so it 
 is, but divil the dollar richer is he. It's wait for me 
 bit av money he'll be wantin' me till, but scure till 
 the day will I. I'll sell him out, the spalpeen ! He do 
 not trate me wid rayspect." 
 
 A rattling of wheels ceased at the door, and it 
 shook under a thundering hand. 
 
 " Spake av the divil ! " remarked Ellen. She took a 
 pitcher from the table and opened the door. " A pint," 
 she said. 
 
 The youth" with the milk-pail dexterously dipped 
 out the required quantity. 
 
 " Heard the news? " inquired he.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 17 
 
 " We've heerd nothin'," returned Ellen, " barrin' 
 that Hogan as he passed on his bate this mornin', 
 towld uz that his b'y Tom wur near kilt las' noight 
 at yez bla'gard club." 
 
 "Ah, Hogan's daffy! I meant did ye hear about 
 old man Murphy a-dyin' ? " 
 
 "What!" exclaimed O'Hara, his mouth full, "is 
 owld Larry cold, thin ? " 
 
 " Not yet ; but he'll die before the day's over." And 
 with this the milkman threw himself and can into the 
 wagon at the curb, and rolled down the street. Ellen 
 closed the door and put the pitcher upon the table. 
 
 " So he'll be goin' at las'," said she. 
 
 " Small wonder," put in the sister ; " sure he's been 
 poorly this long time." 
 
 " The owld man made a tidy bit av money in his 
 day," said the brother, admiringly. " Bud," with a 
 sigh, " it's lavin' it all he'll be." 
 
 " An' tell me, Malachi," said Bridget, " d' yez think 
 the gran'son'll git any av it? " 
 
 O'Hara spilled some of the milk into his coffee. 
 
 " Divil a cint," answered he, positively. " Sure, the
 
 1 8 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 owld man have niver noticed him since the day he 
 wur born. An' small blame till him," rapping upon 
 the table with his spoon, " for what call had his son 
 till take up wid a Jewess ? " 
 
 " But," reasoned Ellen, " now that he do be dyin' 
 he might call him in an' " 
 
 " Sorra the fear av that ! Faix an' whin Mike lay 
 dead at O'Connor's, the undertaker, he wint naythur 
 nixt nor near him. Some say Kelly wur the cause 
 av that, but owld Larry had timper enough av his own, 
 God knows." 
 
 "An' do ye t'ink he'll lave the property till the 
 Church?" 
 
 "Ayther that or till Mary Carroll. Kelly t'inks 
 there do be a chance for his boy, Martin; but Mar 
 tin's a hard drinker an' the owld man niver liked a 
 bone in his body." 
 
 The gong over the store door rattled sharply. A 
 plump little woman with a rosy, chubby face had 
 entered; she wore a bright scarlet shawl shot with 
 green and saffron, and upon her head was perched a 
 tiny black bonnet with blue strings. 
 
 " Good mornin' all," greeted this lady with a sweep-
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 19 
 
 ing flourish of a big brass-clasped prayer book. " An' 
 Bridget, acushla, have ye heard about poor owld 
 Larry Murphy ? " 
 
 " God luk down on uz, I have," answered Bridget, 
 wagging her head from side to side. " Ah bud death's 
 a sad t'ing, Mrs. McGonagle." 
 
 " True for ye, asthore, true for ye ! " And Mrs. 
 McGonagle wagged her head also. " But," she con 
 tinued, " what will become av the houses in the alley, 
 an' the power av money they say he have in bank ? " 
 
 " We wur this minit spakin' av that same," said 
 Ellen ; " an' Malachi t'inks the gran'son'll git sorra 
 the cint av it." 
 
 " God be good till uz, Malachi ! An' d'ye t'ink so ? " 
 
 Mrs. McGonagle caught her breath and stared at 
 O'Hara in horror. " Till t'ink," she added, in an 
 awed tone, " av him holdin' the grudge an' him 
 a-dyin'." 
 
 O'Hara had finished his breakfast and was putting 
 on his coat. 
 
 " I can see nothin' ilce for it," remarked he, sagely. 
 
 " Young Larry is a study, sober, hard workin' boy ! " 
 exclaimed Mrs. McGonagle, " an' its a sin an' a shame
 
 20 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 for him till be treated so. He have lodged in me third 
 story for a long time, now, an' I have the first time 
 till see him wid a sup av drink in him ; an' I'd say that 
 iv it wur me last breath, so I wud ! " 
 
 The gong rattled; the door slammed; and a girl, 
 flushed and breathless, darted through the store and 
 into the kitchen. 
 
 " Aunt Ellen," cried she, " give me the candles we 
 had from last Candlemas Day; an' I want the ivory 
 crucifix, too, for they've sent for Father Dawson." 
 
 Ellen began a hurried rummaging for the articles 
 named ; the girl caught sight of Mrs. McGonagle and 
 grasped her by the arm. 
 
 "Oh," she exclaimed, "is it you, Mrs. McGonagle? 
 I'm glad you're here ; I was just a-goin' to run around 
 to your house." 
 
 "For why?" 
 
 " Here ! " cried Ellen pushing a parcel into the girl's 
 hand. " Here's what yez want ; away wid ye, now, 
 an' don't be stan'in'." 
 
 " You'll hurry home, won't you, Mrs. McGonagle," 
 the girl was now at the door, her hand on the latch,
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 21 
 
 " an' tell Larry Murphy his gran'father wants to see 
 him before he dies." 
 
 And with that the side door closed behind her and 
 she went by the window like a flash. 
 
 " Be the powers av Moll Kelly ! " exclaimed O'Hara, 
 his broad face blank with wonder, " but that bates 
 the Owld Nick." 
 
 He stood staring at his sisters, who had their 
 withered hands in the air in gestures of amazement. 
 Mrs. McGonagle's face shone with glee and she cackled 
 rapturously. 
 
 " I must hurry home," said she, " an' waken Larry." 
 
 "Is he still in bed?" cried Ellen. 
 
 " Do he not go till Mass ? " cried Bridget. 
 
 " Why, not very often," admitted Mrs. McGonagle, 
 reluctantly. " He an' Jimmie Larkin slapes till a'most 
 dinner toime ivery Sunday. But Larry's a daysint 
 b'y for all that. Good day till yez." And with that 
 the good little woman bolted into the street and went 
 sailing toward McGarragles' Alley, her bright shawl 
 fluttering in the breeze. 
 
 The two old crones clawed mystic signs in the air
 
 22 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 & 
 over the spot where their visitor had lately stood and 
 
 began muttering in Gaelic. O'Hara was brushing his 
 Sunday high hat with the sleeve of his coat and paused 
 as he caught the words. 
 
 " What humbuggin' are yez at now ? " demanded he. 
 
 " Would yez be after lettin' the curse stay in the 
 house ? " cried Bridget. 
 
 " Sure, she hav the evil eye ! " asserted Ellen. 
 
 O'Hara regarded them fixedly for a moment; then 
 with a snort he put on his hat, took his black-thorn 
 stick from behind the door, and started off for church.
 
 Chapter III 
 
 "My grandfather, he, at the age of eighty-three, 
 One day in May was taken ill and died, 
 And after he was dead, the will, of course, was read, 
 By a lawyer, as we all stood by his side." 
 
 POPULAR SONG. 
 
 JT ARRY MURPHY awoke and sat up in bed; 
 
 I the sun was streaming- in through the one 
 small window of Mrs. McGonagle's third 
 story room, and the peal of the bell sounded 
 solemnly in his ears. Through the window could be 
 seen the church tower, pointing like a gigantic finger 
 heavenward ; the hands of the clock were slowly lifting 
 as though to screen its face from the glare of the 
 sun. Larry stretched himself lazily. 
 
 " Solemn High Mass," yawned he. 
 
 A second young man lay upon a cot opposite, 
 propped up with a pillow and reading a pink sporting 
 paper. He glanced up. 
 
 23
 
 24 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " That's the one," remarked he, " that the property 
 holders come together at, ain't it? Ye kin see every 
 plug hat in the parish on Second Street at half past 
 ten on Sunday morning; but I'll bet five cases to one 
 that the collection ain't no heavier than it is at the 
 one what the dump-cart drivers goes to." 
 
 Young Murphy grinned. " Ye'd better not say too 
 much about that when yer on the street," advised he. 
 " Some o' the Turks around here's dead sore on youse 
 since youse led the march at the ' Son's o' Berry's 
 Ball,' an' they'll cop youse a sly one when yer not 
 next." 
 
 " Don't lose any sleep over that," said the other. 
 " Somebody'll get hurt if they run up against me, and 
 that's no dream. I don't have to ask no gang o' 
 Mocaraws if I kin go to a ball ; ain't that right ? " 
 
 Murphy nodded the subject aside. 
 
 " Anything new ? " he inquired, looking at the paper 
 which his friend had thrown upon the bare floor. 
 
 " Nothin' much, 'cept that Jack Slattery got the life 
 lammed out o' him in his twenty round job with Mc- 
 Cook's ' Pidgeon ' There's a good t'ing gone wrong ! 
 I know the time when Slattery went right down the
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 25 
 
 line and give 'em all a go; but drink got the best o' 
 him, and now he's willin' to take dimes for a hard 
 job agin a big man, where he used to stan' pat for 
 dollars to put out a dub." 
 
 " Rum's a tough game to go up against," commented 
 Larry. " Say," after a pause, " how's yer trip South 
 comin' up?" 
 
 " Big. Me manager's got me go's at New Orleans, 
 Galveston an' half a dozen other burgs ; an' if I holds 
 up me end, he'll stack me against the champion fer as 
 many plunks as youse kin hold in yer hat. That'll 
 be a great graft; eh, Larry? I'll be a main squeeze 
 meself then, and sportin' guys '11 come out from under 
 their hats as soon as they gits their eyes on me ! " 
 And Jimmie Larkin twisted himself around on his 
 elbow and waved one thick, hairy arm delightedly. 
 
 " But, talkin' about fight," resumed he, " puts me 
 in mind o' the mix up at the club last night. Mart 
 Kelly didn't do a t'ing but open up Hogan wit' a 
 jack." 
 
 Murphy sneered. " Kelly's gittin' to be a reg'lar 
 slugger," said he. "What was the matter?" 
 
 " Oh, he was a-shootin' off his mouth like he always
 
 26 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 does. He said his old man was the best councilman 
 the ward ever had; Hogan was about half drunk, and 
 he said he was a stiff, and had trun down the party. 
 Then they clinched and Kelly started to hammer him." 
 
 All was now quiet in the street except foi the rattle 
 of an occasional wagon, and the faint wheeze of a 
 broken accordion being played down the alley. A 
 barb of yellow sunlight shot through the window and 
 fell upon a bright lithograph of the Virgin which was 
 tacked upon the wall near Larry's bed. He had bought 
 this years before and he had always kept it because 
 he thought it looked like his dead mother. Across 
 the room was a large photograph of Larkin in ring 
 costume, as he had appeared just previous to his 
 desperate battle with the champion of the sixth ward ; 
 and under this again was pasted a policy slip with 
 three numbers underscored, commemorative of the 
 day that same gentleman had struck the " Hard 
 Luck Row," at Levitsky's policy shop, and gotten his 
 name down upon the books of the tenth police dis 
 trict as a " drunk and disorderly." 
 
 " I wonder," said Larry, his eyes dwelling soberly
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 27 
 
 upon the Jewish face of the Virgin, " how the old 
 one is ? " 
 
 " I saw Rosie O'Hara stan'in' in the door last night," 
 returned Jimmie, " an' she said that he was as good 
 as gone." 
 
 "I'm sorry," said Larry. Then catching the look 
 which Larkin threw him, he added : " He never done 
 nothin' to me, sure; but when I was a kid an' me 
 father was a-Hvin', he told me never to knock," 
 
 The plaster ceiling was seamed with cracks, dis 
 colored by the soaking through of rain, Larkin, lying 
 on his back, thoughtfully followed the longest of these 
 with his eye ; and when he had reached its termination, 
 he said; 
 
 " If youse was in with yer gran'dad just now, 
 Larry, ye'd come in for some o' the gilt." 
 
 Murphy turned about with a jerk that threatened 
 to end the cot's unity. 
 
 " I don't want his coin ; I wouldn't make a play for 
 it if I was flat on me uppers ! I said that I was sorry 
 for trie old man, not that I would scoop his money after 
 he was planted ! "
 
 18 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Keep yer shirt on," said Larkin ; " I was on'y 
 sayin', ye know." 
 
 Mrs. McGonagle's son, Goose, was seated upon an 
 empty cracker box in front of Clancy's grocery; his 
 wagon was drawn up at the curb, and a small Italian 
 was shining his russet leather shoes. His mother came 
 up, panting and wheezing from her haste. 
 
 " Run intill the house ! " she exclaimed breathlessly. 
 
 " All right ; I'm gittin' me leathers shined," said her 
 son. 
 
 " Faith yez shine kin wait, an' somethin' ilce can't." 
 Mrs. McGonagle dropped upon a salt-fish barrel, re 
 gardless, in her excitement, of what effect the brine 
 would have upon her church-going skirt. " Run " she 
 continued, " an' tell Larry Murphy that his poor owld 
 gran'father's at death's door an' wants till spake till 
 him." 
 
 Goose stared at her incredulously. 
 
 " G'way," said he. 
 
 " Don't sit there starin' at me, all as wan as a 
 County Down peat cutter, but go at wanst ! Divil an 
 other step cud I stir iv the gates av Heaven wur 
 stan'in' open till me ! "
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 49 
 
 Within a minute after hearing the above tidings 
 McGonagle came charging up the crooked steps lead 
 ing to their lodger's room, like a drove of mavericks. 
 
 " Git into yer rags, Murphy," cried he, " yer 
 wanted." 
 
 " Is it about Kelly an' Hogan? " asked Larry. " I 
 ain't no witness. I didn't see the scrap." 
 
 " No, it's yer gran'father ; he's a cashin' in, an' wants 
 to see youse. Me mother jist told me." 
 
 Larry was out on the floor like a shot, pulling on 
 his clothes and talking incoherently. 
 
 " I kin hear the song they'll sing," said he. " They'll 
 pull me into rags; ain't that right, Larkin? Where's 
 me collar buttons ? " 
 
 " Look in yer other shirt," Jimmie was also up, and 
 dressing rapidly. Murphy found the missing articles 
 and resumed : 
 
 " They'll say I wus on'y waitin' fer a chance to get 
 next to the gilt." The thought seemed to anger him 
 and he glared at his friends. " But it ain't so," he 
 cried, "so help me God, it ain't! I don't want the 
 coin ; I've got a job, ain't I ? And I've went up against 
 it this far, alone, an' I kin go the rest o' the distance,
 
 30 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 too." He turned to the others, an appeal in his voice. 
 " Did I ever make a play ? Speak out, did I ? " 
 
 " Sure not," said McGonagle. 
 
 " Yer raw there, Murphy," said Larkin. " If youse 
 hadn't been afeared o' what people'd say the old man'd 
 shook yer hand long ago." 
 
 Larry drew in the slack of his suspenders and closed 
 the catch with a snap. He looked at Larkin in sur 
 prise; this was a thought that had never struck him. 
 
 " D' ye t'ink so? " was all he said. 
 
 " I cert'ny do. I often seen youse brush elbows with 
 him on the street, and him turn and look after ye. 
 He'd a-spoke to ye if youse had give him on'y half a 
 chance, see ? " 
 
 " Didn't he have a chance when I was a kid ? Didn't 
 he have a chance when me father died and the neigh 
 bours in the alley had to take up a collection to bury 
 him? Did he do anyt'ing for me then? Not on yer 
 life, he didn't! He let 'em put me in a Home." 
 
 " But, say, that wuz a dead long time ago, ain't that 
 right? If youse put a stick o' wood in the stove it'll 
 burn hard at first, won't it but it'll burn out at last, 
 eh? The old one was leary on yer father then; but,
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 31 
 
 say, take it from me, the blaze went down long ago, 
 and it's bin a kid game ever since; neither one o' 
 youse'd speak first." 
 
 Larry buttoned up his square-cut sack coat and 
 looked at his tie in the little glass near the stairway. 
 
 " That might be all right," said he; " but look at the 
 time he " here he stopped short and then added: 
 " I don't want to knock. I promised that I wouldn't 
 and it's too late to begin now."
 
 Chapter IV 
 
 " When yer flat on yer back, wit' a doctor as referee 
 an' a train'd nurse holdin' the towel, why it's up t' 
 youse, Cull, it's up t' youse!" 
 
 CHIP NOLAN'S REMARKS. 
 
 jj RED-FACED, bare-armed woman opened a 
 
 / j door in Murphy's court and threw a pan of 
 
 garbage into the gutter. Her next door 
 
 neighbour was walking up and down the narrow 
 
 strip of sidewalk, hushing the cry of a weazened 
 
 baby. 
 
 " Is Jamsie not well, Mrs. Burns ? " inquired the red- 
 faced woman. 
 
 " Sorry the bit, Mrs. Nolan ; he's as cross as two 
 sticks. It's walk up an' down the floor wid him I've 
 been doin' all the God's blessed night. Scure till the 
 wink av slape I've had since I opened me two eyes at 
 half after foive yisterday mornin'." 
 
 " Poor sowl ! Yez shud ^it him a rubber ring till 
 32
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 33 
 
 cut his teeth on; it's an illigant t'ing for childer', I'm 
 towld." 
 
 Contractor McGlory's stables and cart sheds stood 
 on the opposite side of the court. A young man sat 
 on a feed-box in the doorway polishing a set of 
 light harness; a group of dirty children were playing 
 under an up-tilted cart, and a brace of starving curs 
 fought savagely up the alley over a mouldy bone. Mrs. 
 Nolan called to the young man: 
 
 " An' sure, is it out drivin' yez'ed be goin' so arly 
 on Sunday mornin', Jerry?" 
 
 " On'y a little spin," said the youth. " I want to 
 try out a new skate what the old gent bought at the 
 bazar." He rubbed away in industrious silence for a 
 moment and then, nodding toward a clean-looking 
 brick house at the end of the court, inquired : 
 
 " Did youse see Johnnie Kerrigan go in ? " 
 
 " Is it young Kerrigan go intill Murphy's ! " Mrs. 
 Nolan seemed dumbfounded. 
 
 " Not the saloon-keeper's son that do be at the 
 'torneyin' ! " cried Mrs. Burns. 
 
 " That's the guy," said Jerry. " He went in a cuple 
 o' minutes ago."
 
 34 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 Mrs. Nolan looked at her neighbour, and the latter 
 lady returned the look with interest. 
 
 " I declare till God ! " said the former, " Iv that don't 
 bate all I iver heerd since the day I wur born. Sure 
 an' his father an' owld Larry have been bitter at wan 
 another for years." 
 
 " It's forgivin' his enemies he'll be doin' now that 
 the breath do be lavin' him," said Mrs. Burns. " Divil 
 the fear av him forgivin' me the bit av rint I owes 
 him, though," she added bitterly. 
 
 " There's worse than old Murphy," said Jerry. 
 "Kelly's got his net out after the court, an' if he 
 lands it, it won't be long before youse find it out, 
 either." 
 
 But Mrs. Burns could only think of the crusty old 
 harpy who went from door to door down the court on 
 the first day of the month, the skinny old claw that 
 reached out so graspingly for the rent, the leathery 
 old face frowning blackly upon delay, of the bitter 
 tongue that spat venom into the faces of all not ready 
 to pay. And for the life of her, the good woman 
 could think of none worse than old Larry Murphy to 
 deal with.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 35 
 
 " Faix an' he'd take the bit av bread out av the 
 children's mouths," declared she. 
 
 A flock of grimy sparrows suddenly lit upon the 
 roof of the stable, chattering, fluttering and fighting 
 madly; one of the quarrelling dogs had been defeated 
 and licked his wounds and howled dolefully ; a drunken 
 man, passing the end of the court, pitched into the 
 gutter and lay there. 
 
 " Mother av Heaven ! " exclaimed Mrs. Nolan with 
 a suddenness that caused her neighbour to jump. She 
 was pointing toward the house spoken of as Murphy's. 
 "Look there!" 
 
 Young Larry Murphy was standing 1 upon the white 
 stone step; he had just pulled the door bell softly; 
 and catching the astonished stare of the two women, he 
 swore at them under his breath. 
 
 "They're next already," he muttered. "They'll 
 chew me up, an' spit me out, an' laugh about it ! Why 
 don't the fagots stay in the house ! " 
 
 The door opened and he went in, leaving them star 
 ing at the house over which death was hovering. 
 
 Clean and fresh-looking the house stood among its 
 squalid surroundings of dirty stables, frowsy, ill-
 
 36 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 smelling drains and pestilential manure pits. Its stone 
 steps were spotless, the brass bell knob was as bright 
 as burnished gold, the pretty curtains at the windows 
 like snow. And this was the home of the landlord 
 of the court the clean, bright, comfortable home he 
 had dreamed of years before, when he stepped from 
 the emigrant ship to begin life in a new land. 
 
 He was dying now, and the money for which he had 
 slaved and demeaned himself the money which he 
 had hoarded and loved was about to pass from him. 
 Once more he was going to begin in a new land, and 
 a land where hard craft was as nothing beside clean 
 hands. Not that old Larry had ever exacted more 
 than his due; but he had stood flat-footed for that, 
 in spite of prayers and tears; and the reckoning was 
 now at hand. 
 
 The door Had been opened for young Larry by a 
 stout, heavy-browed man, dressed in decent black ; and 
 as he stood aside for the youth to pass him in the 
 narrow entry, he showed his discoloured teeth in a 
 sneer. 
 
 " So ye have hurried here at wanst, eh ? " said he.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 37 
 
 " Divil the foot have yez iver put in the house afore, 
 Larry?" 
 
 " It's manners to wait till yer asked," returned Larry 
 gruffly. 
 
 The stout man closed the door. The house was 
 soundless, and there was a heavy smell of sickness; 
 the door of the sitting room stood partly open, and 
 Larry caught the rustle of skirts. 
 
 " I knowed yez'ed come," continued the man who 
 had admitted him. " Ah, but it's the sharp wan yez 
 are, Larry." 
 
 The youth turned and grasped the door knob. " I 
 knowed how it'd be," snarled he, looking savagely 
 over his shoulder at the stout man. " I'll lick youse 
 for this, Kelly!" 
 
 He jerked open the door and was about to depart 
 when a woman's voice called : 
 
 " Mr. Murphy ! " A girl had come into the entry 
 from the sitting room ; she was tall and slim ; a bright 
 spot burned in each cheek and she coughed slightly as 
 the draft from the open door struck her. She held out 
 her hand.
 
 38 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 il I'm glad that you've come," said she. " Your 
 grandfather has been asking for you again. Were you 
 going away ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Larry. He closed the door and took 
 the proffered hand, ashamed of the anger which Kelly 
 had awakened. She looked into his face with quiet, 
 candid eyes* 
 
 " That was wrong," she said. " He is very low ; 
 will you come up ? " 
 
 He silently followed her up stairs. Kelly entered 
 the sitting room and stood by the window; his heavy 
 brows were bent and his lips were muttering. The 
 people were streaming back from the church, across 
 the railroad ; the sooty shifting engine was still making 
 up its train, panting and whistling like some asthmatic 
 animal; a priestly-looking young man paused at the 
 door of the house and looked up at the number. 
 
 " Father DawsOn," muttered Kelly hurrying to open 
 the door. " He tuk his toime comirt', faith." 
 
 The sick man, parchment-faced and wasted by dis 
 ease, lay upon his bed; his lips were moving, and his 
 gaunt hands clutched the ivory crucifix. The wax
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 39 
 
 candles burned upon a table; beside them stood a 
 glass bowl of water blessed at Easter time; a bisque 
 image of the Virgin stood upon a shelf, and Rosie 
 O'Hara knelt before it, her head bent, her eyes fixed 
 upon the floor. Young Kerrigan sat beside the bed, 
 reading a newly written paper; the sun slanted in 
 between the partly closed blinds and lay like a bar 
 of gold upon the floor. 
 
 "You have stated your wishes very clearly, Mr. 
 Murphy," said the attorney, " and I see nothing that 
 should be changed." 
 
 The old man opened his eyes and tried to sit up. 
 " Mary ! " said he. " Where's Mary? " 
 
 " Here, Uncle Larry." The girl knelt beside him 
 and smoothed his pillow. " You must lie still," said 
 she, gently. 
 
 " Ye will be a witness till me mark," said he, faintly, 
 "an' so must Rosie. Is she here?" 
 
 " Yes Uncle, she's here." 
 
 " The sight do be lavin' me. An' the b'y ? Did he 
 say he'd come, Mary ? " 
 
 " He's here, Uncle Larry." She took the young
 
 40 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 man's hand and placed it within that of his grand 
 father : and once more the old man strove to lift him 
 self, peering at the other with dim eyes. 
 
 " An' this is Mike's son ? " he muttered. 
 
 "Yes, sir." Larry would have liked to have said 
 " Grandfather," but somehow it stuck in his throat. 
 He looked upon the old man with awed, wondering 
 eyes ; it was the first person he had ever seen upon the 
 threshold of death; and the drawn face, wet with the 
 death damp, sent a chill through him. 
 
 " I didn't do right by yez father, Larry," said the 
 sick man, " I t'ought a curse lay upon him for marryin' 
 yez mother ! " 
 
 Larry stepped back from the bedside, and Mary 
 Carroll's quiet eyes alone kept back the angry words 
 that leaped to his lips in his mother's defence. His 
 mother that oriental-eyed mother bring a curse 
 upon anyone! The words still sounded in his ears as 
 he looked down at the shrunken form, pity contending 
 with anger in his heart. 
 
 His mother had died a Christian ; she had deserted, 
 in fear and trembling, the faith of her fathers; she 
 had knelt before the altar raised to the Nazarene Car-
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 41 
 
 penter, and strove with all the power of her tortured 
 soul to believe that He was the same God who had 
 spoken to the Law-Giver of her tribe upon the heights 
 of Sinai. And she had done all this through love for 
 his father, the father whom this hard old man had dis 
 owned. 
 
 " I wud niver knowed better iv it hadn't a-been for 
 Mary; she made me see it; it wur her that towld me 
 av the black wrong I done yez, both. I'll make up for 
 it, Larry, I'll make it up, never fear ! " The old man 
 paused for a moment, his face twitching. " D'ye 
 t'ink it's too late?" he added eagerly. 
 
 " It's never too late." And thinking to soothe the 
 fears that gripped at the darkening brain, Larry added. 
 " It wasn't much, ye know." 
 
 " But it wur, lad, it wur. Ye don't know the gredge 
 I wanst held in me heart agin yez both. Didn't I walk 
 the flure, when he lay dead beyant there at O'Connor's, 
 half mad wid the thinkin'? I t 'ought till give him a 
 daysint berryin* an' bring yezself home here; but the 
 divil got the better av me, lad, so he did! Yez 
 don't know the black bitterness I've held against yez; 
 yez don't "know!"
 
 42 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 The agitation seemed to exhaust him ; he sank back, 
 a thin streak of blood showing on his purple lips. 
 
 " Don't excite yourself, Uncle Larry," said Mary. 
 " That is all past and gone now ; Larry has forgiven 
 you, and his father has, too," 
 
 A smile of hope flickered over the face of the sick 
 man, and the girl kissed the withered cheek. The 
 youth with the screed leaned forward. 
 
 " Hadn't he better attend to this," whispered he ; 
 " he may die at any moment, now. This meeting, or 
 rather the prospect of it, was all that kept him up." 
 
 The old man caught the words. 
 
 " Is that young Kerrigan ? " breathed he ; " yez are 
 . right, Johnnie; soign me name, lad, an' I'll make me 
 mark." 
 
 The name was attached to the paper, the mark was 
 made and the two girls witnessed it. Kerrigan folded 
 the paper and put it into his pocket; the old man lay 
 back upon his pillow and seemed scarce to breathe ; his 
 chest was sunken, his eyes stared vacantly. A dog 
 yelped dolefully below in the court ; from the railroad 
 came the hiss of escaping steam and the grind .of 
 wheels. Kelly opened the door softly, and said :
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 43 
 
 " Father Dawson's comin' up." He returned into 
 the passage and looked over the stair rail. " This way, 
 Father," said he. 
 
 The pure-faced young priest came into the room. 
 Mary's lips trembled and her voice broke slightly as 
 she greeted him. 
 
 " Bear up," said he gently ; " death is the common 
 lot ; and then he is very old." He bent over the bed ; 
 the bar of light had shifted and old Larry's hair 
 shone like silver under its warm touch. " He should 
 have the last rites of the Church," said the priest. 
 Then turning to Kelly and Larry he added : " I will 
 ask you to leave the room for a few moments, please. 
 You may stay," to Kerrigan, who had moved toward 
 the door with the others. " I may need you." 
 
 The two men stood in the passage for a time in 
 silence ; Rosie could be heard sobbing heavily, and the 
 priest's voice murmured holy words. At length Kelly 
 spoke : 
 
 " What wur Kerrigan called in for? " asked he. 
 
 " I didn't know he was called in," answered Larry. 
 
 Kelly regarded him for a moment, disbelief written 
 upon his face. Then he resumed, anxiously:
 
 44 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Did the owld man put his mark till anything? " 
 
 "Yes!" 
 
 " Ah ! " and Kelly bent his heavy brows. " Wur 
 there anything mention av Martin an' meself ? " 
 
 " I didn't hear nobody mentioned." 
 
 " Humph ! " Kelly bit the nail of his thumb viciously 
 and spat over the stair rail. Then, after a pause, 
 longer than the first, he said : " How is the toide ? " 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " Tim Burns says it's on the stan'," said Kelly. " An' 
 whin it goes down, he'll go out wid it." 
 
 They waited in silence after this; Rosie's sobs had 
 ceased, the clergyman was reciting the litany for the 
 dying, and the others were giving the responses. And 
 then their voices were hushed ; there was a stir in the 
 room ; the door opened and Mary came out. 
 
 " Mr. Murphy," said she, " will you hurry over to 
 O'Connor's and tell him to come, at once? "
 
 Chapter V 
 
 " He'd strop up his razor, graceful an' nice, 
 An' then from your face he'd carve off a slice. 
 Your life from the gallows! Ye couldn't be vexed, 
 When Tecumsha O'Riley's calling out ' next! " 
 
 COMIC SONG. 
 
 r^CHWARTZ'S barber shop stood almost within 
 \ the shadow of the church tower. The gas 
 light streamed through his plate window and 
 across the sidewalk ; a row of customers lined up 
 along the wall, waiting their turn in the chair; the 
 fat proprietor stropped a razor and conversed with a 
 short man who stood at the stove rubbing a freshly 
 reaped chin. A large aired man, with a dyed mous 
 tache, was pulling a pair of kid gloves over hands 
 too large for them. He wore a light overcoat, a silk 
 hat, a flower in his buttonhole and seemed to sweat 
 importance. This was Squire Moran, thrice elected 
 to the minor judiciary and a power in the ward. 
 
 45
 
 46 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Ach ! " exclaimed Schwartz, " dot vas too pad, 
 Misder Puras." 
 
 " It's gittin' a bit wurried I am," said the little man ; 
 " for what kin a body be doin' wit'out a bit av 
 wurk." 
 
 " Sure I t'ought, Squire," said Clancy, the grocer, 
 who lay back in the barber's chair, tucked about with 
 towels, " that yez wur goin' till give Tim a job in 
 the water daypartment." 
 
 " There's many a slip, Clancy," quoth his honour, 
 struggling with the gloves. " I'm not the only duck 
 in the pond, ye know; and it's Tim's own fault that 
 he ain't in the department long ago." 
 
 " How's that ? " queried the grocer. 
 
 " McQuirk's against him," answered Moran. 
 
 Mr. Burns looked downhearted; the others nodded 
 sagaciously as though the reason given was all suf 
 ficient. 
 
 " I almost got down on my knees to him," went on 
 the magistrate, "but he said no; so what can I do?" 
 
 "What's he sore on Tim for?" asked Goose Mc- 
 Gonagle who, in a bright scarlet tie, sat near the 
 wastistand.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 47 
 
 " I wouldn't vote for O'Connor," Burns hastened to 
 say. " Sure Gartenheim did me a favour wanst ; an' 
 wud yez have me go back on a friend ? " 
 
 A murmur went around the room. 
 
 " But O'Connor was the reg'lar nominee, argued 
 Moran, " an' if it hadn't been for the push that turned 
 in for Gartenheim, O'Connor 'ud be holdin' down the 
 office instead of Kelly. McQuirk's dead leary on split 
 tickets unless he gives the order an' he told ye at 
 the time that he'd remember ye for it." 
 
 " He had little till do," mumbled Clancy. 
 
 Moran laughed. " What the boss don't know about 
 practical politics ain't worth knowin'," said he. " An' 
 it's the little things what holds the party in line. So 
 stick to McQuirk an' McQuirk '11 stick to you." He 
 had succeeded with his gloves by this time and was 
 about to depart. " If I can do anything for you, Tim," 
 he added, " I'll do it. But when Mac says no, why 
 he generally means it. Good night, everybody." 
 
 " Niver talk till me av politicians," said Clancy ; " be 
 dad they're all tarred wid wan stick. An' divil a better 
 are they across the say ; sure, I wur radin' in the Irish 
 World that Redmond do be at his tricks wanst more."
 
 48 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " D'yez say so," exclaimed Burns ; " ah, but the owld 
 dart is in a bad way betune thim all." 
 
 " Redmond do be after firin' off some illigant 
 spaches," put in Malachi O'Hara, from behind a news 
 paper, " an' he's an able lad, so he is. Didn't he take 
 up for Parnell whin " 
 
 " Parnell ! " Clancy snorted his disgust so violently 
 as to endanger his safety from the barber's razor. 
 " Don't talk till me av that felly." 
 
 " Yez wur a Parnell man yezself wanst, Clancy," 
 said Burns, with an elaborate wink at the others. 
 " Sure, I see the chromo av him that came with the 
 Freeman's Journal nailed up on yez wall overight the 
 kitchen dure." 
 
 " An' divil a long it stayed out av trie stove after 
 he wur found out," said the grocer stoutly. 
 
 " Filled up, Schwartz ? " cried Jerry McGlory, pok 
 ing his head in at the doorway. 
 
 " Gome in, Mr. McGlory ; dere's nod many aheat of 
 you." 
 
 Jerry entered, greeted his acquaintances, and hung 
 up his coat. 
 
 "Coin' to the wake?" asked he of O'Hara.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 49 
 
 " 'Twuld be but daysint fer me till pay my rayspects 
 till the family. Are yez goin' yezself ? " 
 
 " Sure ! There'll be a mob there, though." Then 
 turning to the youth in the scarlet tie he inquired: 
 "Well, what d'ye know, McGonagle?" 
 
 Mr. McGonagle had just finished a graphic descrip 
 tion, for the benefit of his right-hand neighbour, of the 
 last performance of a " brass back " cock, the vic 
 torious veteran of a score of mains, and answered 
 affably : 
 
 " Nothin' much. On'y the selectman's the sorest 
 mug ye ever put yer lamps on. If ye'd touch him wit' 
 a wet finger, he'd sizzle." 
 
 " Arrah, yer right, Goose," confirmed Burns. " I 
 stopped intill his place for a sup av drink as I wur 
 comin' by, an' from the talk av him yez 'd t'ink young 
 Murphy had put his hand intill his money drawer." 
 
 " Divil mend him ! " said Clancy. 
 
 " I heard," said McGlory, " that Mary Carroll wasn't 
 left a cent." 
 
 "D'ye tell me so?" O'Hara was greatly interested. 
 
 " Glory be ! " ejaculated Burns ; " an' the nace so 
 good till him."
 
 50 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Sure, Mary wurn't his nace," said Clancy. 
 
 " Wur she not ! Faix an' that's news till me, so 
 it is." 
 
 " I heard me father say," said Jerry, " that Mary's 
 grandfather put up the coin to bring old man Murphy 
 over here, and start him in the tea biz. That was a 
 good many moons ago; and when her folks lost all 
 their gilt and she was left alone, old Larry sent to 
 Dublin for her, and he's took care o' her ever since." 
 
 " Begorra, the owld fox had a heart in his body for 
 all ! Bud scure till the wan av me iver give him credit 
 for it. God save uz," resumed Mr. Burns, after a 
 pause, " what a power av money he made at the tay 
 peddlin'." 
 
 " He uster be a great old geezer, didn't he ? " re 
 marked McGonagle. " I kin remember him as plain 
 as day in his old plug hat, an' he wuz hot after the 
 needful, too." 
 
 " There do be a good profit in tay," put in the grocer, 
 who was now sitting up, having his hair brushed; 
 " but how he iver made all av the property he's left, be 
 peddlin' it from dure till dure, gits the better av me." 
 
 " He had a head for commerce, sure," put in O'Hara.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 51 
 
 " It wur himself that cud lay out a dollar till advan 
 tage ; an' divil the bate av him did iver I see for buyin' 
 chape an' sellin' dear." 
 
 " He was a winner if he cud beat youse at that game, 
 O'Hara," laughed McGlory. 
 
 " Nexd ! " cried Schwartz, as Clancy got out of his 
 chair. Malachi took the vacated place, a frown wrink 
 ling his brow. The grocer, thinking of the hard 
 bargain which O'Hara had driven when he had gone to 
 him for money, some time before, winked at Jerry, 
 delighting in the cut; and Schwartz, as he drew some 
 hot water from the copper tank upon the stove into 
 O'Hara's shaving mug, grinned widely. 
 
 " Dod vas a good von, Cherry," muttered he. " You 
 hid him hardt, ain't id ? " 
 
 Burns, who was gazing through the window, sud 
 denly uttered an exclamation, rushed into the street 
 and buttonholed a young man who was passing. 
 
 "Is that not Dick Nolan, Jerry? " asked Clancy tie- 
 ing his four-in-hand before the mirror over the wash- 
 stand. 
 
 " Yes," answered Jerry. " I guess Tim's hittm' 
 him for a job."
 
 52 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 "Be the powers! the crayture nades the bit av 
 wurk. The good woife an' two childer' mus' find it 
 hard ; an' Tim's a study, sober felly." 
 
 In a few minutes Tim returned; his face had a 
 brighter look and he was lilting an old country air. 
 
 " I go till wurk in the mornin'," said he with a 
 rapturous smile. " Young Nolan is a man av his wurd ; 
 he promised me a job at the first chance, an' now he 
 have give me wan. McQuirk an' his political bums 
 kin go till the devil, for me ! " 
 
 " Good luck, lad," wished the grocer. " Garten- 
 heim is the man for yez till stick till." 
 
 " He have the contract for layin' the sewer above, at 
 Frankford," went on Burns ; " an' he'll start till open 
 the strate t'morry." 
 
 " Nolan's a good guy," commented Jerry. 
 
 " That's no joke," agreed McGonagle. " He's a real 
 good t'ing." 
 
 " It's a pity," commented Clancy, " that his mother 
 is so tuck up wid the sup av drink." 
 
 " Ay ! " said Tim, shaking his head dismally. 
 
 " She hocks everyt'ing she kin carry," said Mc 
 Gonagle. " Dick can't trust her wit' a cent."
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 53 
 
 " Small blame till him," said Clancy ; " she'd git 
 drink wid it. He comes in an' pays me bill every 
 Saturday noight himself, poor b'y." 
 
 " Makes big money, too," remarked McGonagle ; 
 " and she cud live like a lady if she'd cut the bottle. 
 It's hard lines for Dick, le'me tell youse; for he's a 
 hard worker, an' he's got mighty big notions 'bout 
 gittin' to the top o' the heap." 
 
 " That sister o' his is a nice lookin' fairy," said Mc 
 Gonagle. 
 
 " Poody as a bicture," agreed Schwartz. O'Hara 
 gave a grunt ; the barber snatched away his blade and 
 inquired, " Does der razor hurd? " 
 
 " Yez damned near cut me chin ! " growled the dealer 
 in second-hand goods. " Shut up, an' tind till yez 
 wurk." 
 
 " She's a nice girl enough," said Jerry, " but, say. 
 she's cert'ny playin' Roddy Ferguson for a dead 
 one." 
 
 " An* is Roddy shparkin' her, sure ? " inquired 
 Clancy. 
 
 " Sure ! I never seen anybody so broke up on a 
 bundle o' skirts in me life. Say, he's dead twisted
 
 54 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 about her; he talks about her every time he opens 
 his mouth." 
 
 " Roddy's a study b'y," said Burns. " I heerd that 
 O'Connor '11 be takin' him intill the bizness wan av 
 these days. It's a good man he'd make her." 
 
 " Dick's leary on him," said McGonagle, " he won't 
 let her even look at him." 
 
 " D'yez say so ! " And Clancy regarded the speaker 
 with great surprise. " Faith an' I t'ought they wur 
 great buddies. They wint till the Brothers' School 
 together, an' in thim days, divil a long they wur iver 
 apart." 
 
 " Why it's a chestnut ! " exclaimed McGonagle. " I 
 t'ought everybody in the ward was next to that. 
 They've bin given each other the stony smile ever 
 since las' election, when O'Connor and Gartenheim run 
 against each other for select council." 
 
 " Ach ! " cried Schwartz, " dot vas a hod dime ! " 
 
 " The warmest ever," agreed McGonagle. " It was 
 a reg'lar drag out or I never seen one." 
 
 " Wur they not both Dimmycrats ? " asked Tim. 
 " What call had they till f eight, I dunno ? I wur in
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 55 
 
 the division at the toime, sure, bud I niver got the 
 roight av the t'ing." 
 
 " Why, when the gang went to the convention they 
 was split an' primed for trouble, see? One crowd 
 wanted O'Connor, an' the other was a-fracturin' their 
 suspenders whoopin' t'ings up for Gartenheim. And 
 when the O'Connor push got the bulge, the Dutch 
 man's people broke for the door, and started a con 
 vention o' their own upstairs o' Swinghammer's saloon. 
 Both o' 'em was in the fight from that on, and the 
 way they shovelled out the long green 'ed make youse 
 t'ink they was rank suckers. Why a mug couldn't 
 turn aroun' wit 'out runnin' into a bunch o' money." 
 
 "Glory be!" 
 
 " Nolan worked for Gartenheim, of course ; he 
 couldn't turn down his own boss, ye know. An' 
 Ferguson 'lectioneered for O'Connor for the same 
 reason, see? An' he chased aroun' the ward waggin' 
 his face for votes an' givin' Gartenheim the knife 
 every chance he got. On election night," continued 
 McGonagle, proudly, " we had the returns at the club 
 by private wire, ye know, and when Roddy was dead
 
 56 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 sure that Kelly had flim-flammed the push, he opened 
 up on Nolan an' said that Gartenheim had been workin' 
 wit' the other side, all along 1 . In a minute they was 
 clinched an' the crowd had to pull 'em apart. That's 
 how it is." 
 
 " But, Goose," complained Tim, " I don't see how 
 Kelly, who calls himself a Dimmycrat, got on the Ray- 
 publican ticket." 
 
 " He was foxy," returned Goose ; " I ain't stuck on 
 him, but I'll say that for him he's dead foxy. As 
 soon as he seen his own party split he made a play for a 
 place on the other ticket ; the other side knowed that he 
 cud lift a lot o' votes from us, and that they cud win 
 wit' him, see? McQuirk got onto the game an' tried 
 to make a deal. But they gave him the laugh, and 
 wiped up the ward wit' him on 'lection day, wit' Kelly 
 at the head o' their column. The boss was red hot, 
 le'me tell youse : I heerd him in Kerrigan's back room 
 the next afternoon, and he said he'd be at Kelly's finish 
 if it took every cent he had in his clothes." 
 
 " Next chendt ! " called Schwartz. O'Hara got out 
 of the chair, and McGonagle took his place. 
 
 " It was all blow, though," added Goose as Schwartz
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 57 
 
 swathed him in clean towels and began to apply the 
 lather. " He's got over his spasm, an' they're both as 
 t'ick as t'ives. Say," to the barber, " keep that soap 
 on the outside o' me face, will youse ! " 
 
 " Den keep your face shud, aind't it," smiled 
 Schwartz. 
 
 Clancy and Burns were about to leave. 
 
 " We'll see yez at the wake, Jerry," said the former. 
 " Will ye go along wid us, Malachi ? " 
 
 " I have till go to the length av Coogan's till see a 
 stove that they do be waitin' me till buy," answered 
 O'Hara, " but I'll folly right after yez." 
 
 " Good night, gentlemen." And the door closed 
 behind Mr. Burns and Mr. Clancy, who headed in the 
 direction of Murphy's Court.
 
 Chapter VI 
 
 " That's how they showed their respects for Paddy 
 
 Murphy, 
 
 That's how they showed their honour and their pride, 
 They said it was a shame for Pat, and winked at one 
 
 another, 
 Everything in the wake-house went, on the night that 
 
 'Murphy died." 
 
 MURPHY'S WAKE. 
 
 'CONNOR'S wagon had come and gone sev- 
 eral times; a black streamer hung from the 
 bell knob; the shutters were bowed with a 
 ribbon of the same sombre hue. Groups of chil 
 dren sat upon cellar doors and talked in whispers; 
 slatternly women stood on doorsteps, morbidly watch 
 ing all who came or went at the house where old Larry 
 lay dead. Mrs. Nolan, her head muffled in a woollen 
 shawl, was leaning out at her kitchen window, like 
 wise engaged, when Hogan the policeman, came 
 through the court upon his evening round. 
 
 58
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 59 
 
 " Are yez gpin' in ? " asked he, pausing. 
 
 " Not the noight," replied Mrs. Nolan, " all me bits 
 av rags is in the wash, an sorra' a t'ing have I till 
 put on me back. Bella an' Dick will, though, an' me- 
 silf will t'morry noight, plaze God." 
 
 Hogan drummed lightly upon a fireplug with his 
 club. " It's a Solemn High Mass they'll be havin'," 
 said he. 
 
 " Divil doubt it ! An' there'll be a power av hacks 
 at the funeral ; Dick wint for wan till McGrath's, bud 
 they wur all spoken." 
 
 " Yez'll not be at the Holy Cross, thin? " 
 
 " Faith, yiz. We have a hack av O'Connor's, an' 
 it's go in stoyle we will." Mrs. Nolan was looking 
 toward Murphy's as she spoke, and suddenly ex 
 claimed, in a startled voice: 
 
 " Who is that, Micky, that young McGonagle have 
 be the scruff av the neck ? Glory be ! Is it f oightin' 
 he'd be in front av the house where the corpse is ? " 
 
 A thick-set young man had staggered drunkenly up 
 the steps of Murphy's house, just as Goose McGonagle 
 halted before the door. 
 
 " Say Kelly," Goose had remarked, " don't youse
 
 60 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 t'ink ye'd better sober up a little before youse go in 
 there?" 
 
 The man on the steps swayed to and fro and re 
 garded him with drink-reddened eyes. 
 
 " Wha's it your bizh'ness ? " demanded he. " Don't 
 ye put yer beak in thish, McGonagle. D'ye hear ? " 
 
 " Put yer head to work," advised Goose, " an' have 
 some sense, Murphy's got enough trouble now wit'out 
 youse botherin' him, Mart." 
 
 " I'm goin' in," declared Martin Kelly, his thick 
 voice raising angrily, " an' what's more I'm a-goin' 
 to lick Larry Murphy! He's done me dirt; an' I'm 
 a-goin' to do him up." 
 
 He tried to open the door, but McGonagle whirled 
 him off the steps. 
 
 " Ye ain't a-goin' to kick up no muss here, and that 
 goes," said Goose, decisively ; " youse must be daffy, 
 ain't ye?" 
 
 Kelly had just aimed a wild blow at McGonagle 
 when Hogan pounced upon him. 
 
 " So it's yezsilf, Martin," sneered the policeman ; 
 " it's a great foighter yez are gittin' to be ! "
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 61 
 
 "Take yer paws off a-me, Hogan," growled the 
 drunken youth, struggling. " Me old man '11 have 
 youse broke for this." 
 
 " If ye don't quit makin' a monkey av yezsilf it's 
 a ride in the wagon yez'll git." 
 
 " Take the lush away," begged McGonagle ; " he'll 
 have the whole bloomin' neighbourhood up." 
 
 The expostulating Martin was hustled down the 
 street just as Mary Carroll opened the door. 
 
 " It's on'y Mart Kelly," Goose informed her, lifting 
 his hat. 
 
 " I'm glad he's gone away," said Mary ; " for he 
 was here this afternoon when Mr. Murphy was out, 
 and his talk was shameful. Are you coming in?" 
 
 " For a little while. Don't stand in the draf ' ; it 
 makes youse cough." McGonagle followed her into 
 the sitting room where the black box rested upon a pair 
 of low trestles. A number of wax lights burned at its 
 head and an aged woman knelt at the foot, her withered 
 lips muttering prayers for the repose of the departed 
 soul. A dozen more women neighbours sat around the 
 room talking lowly.
 
 62 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " The men are all in the kitchen," said Mary to the 
 young man, " and I suppose you will want to go there, 
 too." 
 
 "Arrah, then, Mary," spoke his mother who sat 
 among the group of women, " it's himself that 'ud 
 stay here till the cows come home iv Annie Clancy 
 were on'y here." 
 
 A titter ran about and Goose looked embarrassed. 
 " Don't mind her," said he. 
 
 " Annie's a nice girl," said Mary, smiling at him 
 with her kind eyes. 
 
 " Do Goose still droive the milk wagon, Mrs. Mc- 
 Gonagle?" asked Mrs. Burns after the young man 
 had gone into the kitchen. 
 
 " He do that same," proudly, " an' arns a good profit 
 ivery wake." 
 
 The street door had opened and voices were heard 
 in the entry. 
 
 " It sounds like the O'Hara's," said Mrs. McGlory, 
 wife of the contractor, who sat in a corner fanning her 
 self, with all the dignity of her social position. Mrs. 
 Burns elevated her hands in dismay. 
 
 " They'll be keenin', jewel ! " she cried to Mary.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 63 
 
 " I wouldn't have it ! " declared Mrs. Clancy, the 
 grocer's wife. " What'll people t'ink? " 
 
 The O'Hara sisters came bobbing into the room in 
 queer-looking quilted bonnets that hid their faces, and 
 triangularly folded shawls pulled tightly about their 
 narrow shoulders. Espying Mary, they threw them 
 selves upon her with lamentations. 
 
 " Mary, darlin'," cried Bridget, " it's a heart full av 
 trouble yez have this noight ! " 
 
 " God be good till yez, allanna ! " exclaimed Ellen, 
 " an' kape death from uz all for many a day ! " 
 
 Then they crouched down beside the ice box, betray 
 ing every symptom of great grief. 
 
 " Divil a tear did I see in her eyes," muttered Ellen. 
 
 " She's vexed at not gittin' the bit av money," said 
 her sister in the same low tone. 
 
 Then they began muttering prayers in the Irish 
 tongue; the others watched them, silently, from time 
 to time exchanging intelligent nods. Then the sisters 
 began swaying their bodies back and forth in unison, 
 and the other old woman rose to her feet. 
 
 " It's comin'," said stie, " divil choke thim ! " 
 
 A long, low wail burst from them that immediately
 
 64 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 filled the kitchen doorway with the grinning faces of 
 the men. It was the weird death cry of the Irish race, 
 with which they lamented the passage of a soul, in 
 their island home. Mary quickly approached the 
 women and spoke a few determined words; they 
 bounced upon their feet angrily. 
 
 " Shame on yez, Mary Carroll ;" cried Ellen. 
 
 " Is it prevint our showin' our rayspects till the dead 
 ye'd be doin ? " demanded Bridget. 
 
 " The custom is not understood in this country," said 
 Mary quietly; and they flounced indignantly down 
 upon the sofa and glowered about them. 
 
 " Luk at that stuck-up shtrap, McGlory's wife, 
 makin' game av uz," muttered Bridget. " Sure an' 
 iv she'd git her drunken brother out av the House 
 av Correction 't wud be fitter for her ! " 
 
 "Ah, the big, fat hussy !" exclaimed Ellen, "it's 
 well I raymimber the toime whin her owld man drove 
 an ash cart, an' hersilf tuk in washin'." 
 
 All unknowing, Mrs. McGlory was smoothing out 
 her silk dress and hoping that the others noticed the 
 sparkle of her chip diamond ring. 
 
 " Mary," inquired she, leaning forward as far as her
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 65 
 
 tight waist would permit, " is it owld Kate Sweeney 
 yez'll have till lay him out ? " 
 
 " I hadn't thought of that," answered Mary, " but 
 I suppose so." 
 
 " Kate do have illigant taste," affirmed Mrs. Clancy. 
 
 " Troth she do that ! " spoke Mrs. McGonagle, " an' 
 sorra a few have doide in the parish in the last thirty 
 years that she haven't put the shroud on. Ye'll have 
 till have some wan, Mary, an' yez moight as well put 
 the troifle av money in the poor owld crayture's way." 
 
 The door bell rang softly, and Mary went to answer 
 it. 
 
 " Is Rosie not here the noight Ellen ? " asked Mrs. 
 Burns. 
 
 " She do be in her bed, the crayter," answered 
 Ellen rather stiffly. " It's up t'ree nights han' runnin' 
 she's bin wid him," with a nod toward the box, " as 
 he lay sick ; an' a bit av slape'll do her no hurt." 
 
 " Rosie have a good heart," said Mrs. Clancy. 
 
 " True for yez," put in Mrs. McGonagle, " sure an* 
 iv it hadn't been for her, what 'ud Mary done at all. 
 at all!" 
 
 " Spakin' av Mary," said Mrs. McGlory ; " where
 
 66 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 did she get her eddycation? It's carry herself very 
 ladyloike, she do." 
 
 " She wur taught in a convent in Dublin," said Mrs. 
 Clancy. 
 
 " I t'ought it wur somethin' av the koind/' said the 
 contractor's wife, " seein' that she goes till the altar 
 ivery second Sunday. It's a good livin' girl she is." 
 
 "None better. But, God betune us an' all harm, 
 it's delicate she is. She have a bad cough." 
 
 Mary re-entered, accompanied by a pretty girl, very 
 showily dressed, and a young man. 
 
 " How do yez do, Bella? " greeted Mrs. McGonagle. 
 "An' is it yezsilf Dick?" 
 
 " I'm very well, thanks," answered the girl, stealing 
 a side glance at the looking-glass and arranging her 
 fluffy bang. " How have you been ? " 
 
 " I have me health, thanks be till God." 
 
 " Tim wur tellin' me, Dick," said Mrs. Burns, " that 
 yez have got him a job av wurk. It's pray for yez 
 this noight, I will." 
 
 " I need it," laughed young Nolan, " so fire ahead, 
 Mrs. Burns."
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 67 
 
 He walked back toward the kitchen, his sister fol 
 lowing him. 
 
 "Bella!" called Mary, "won't you sit here? The 
 men are all in there, you know." 
 
 " I'll be back in a second," said Bella, over her 
 shoulder. " I on'y want t' take a peep." And she dis 
 appeared into the kitchen. 
 
 " Hark till that ! " exclaimed Bridget O'Hara, look 
 ing about, grimly. " It's young Kelly she do be lookin' 
 after." 
 
 " She's a bowld wan, that t'ing," chimed in her 
 sister. 
 
 " Yez shud be ashamed av yezselves, both av yez ! " 
 cried Mrs. McGlory, reddening with indignation. 
 " Wud yez take away the girl's ker-act-er ! " 
 
 " V/e're sayin' nawthin' bud the truth, sure." 
 
 " Raymimber, yez hav a nace av yer own ! " 
 
 " An' I wud have yez till know, Mary Ann McGlory, 
 that she do be a daysint girl ! " 
 
 "Wud ye say that Bella Nolan is not?" 
 
 " Oh, hush ! " said Mary, pained beyond expression 
 at this outbreak. " Please do hush ! "
 
 68 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 W'hen Bella came back into the room she sat down 
 beside Mary, and began twisting a ring about her 
 finger, and giggling. 
 
 " I just wanted to see if Mart Kelly was in there," 
 she said. 
 
 The sisters threw glances of triumph at the contrac 
 tor's wife, and the other women looked slyly at each 
 other and shook their heads. 
 
 Two dishes stood upon the kitchen table, one filled 
 with loose tobacco, and the other with clay pipes ; the 
 air was heavy with smoke; the elder men leaned back 
 and talked of times past ; the younger grouped together 
 and discussed current events of a sporting character. 
 Larry sat upon the edge of the table, swinging his feet 
 slowly and stirring up the tobacco with the yellow 
 tipped stem of a pipe, a thoughtful look upon his face. 
 
 " It's a foine lot ye hav for him at the Holy Cross," 
 said Clancy, " marble at the head an' feet, an' iron 
 rails all about it." 
 
 " That so ? I never seen it," Larry had answered. 
 
 But he had seen another grave, away near the fence, 
 in the same cemetery a narrow, neglected grave, flat 
 and bare, with a wooden cross above it a grave that
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 69 
 
 lay at the end of a long row of others, the cramped rest 
 ing places of poor wretches whose lives had been as 
 cramped, and as bare, and as flat. 
 
 " Wid his side face to'ard ye, he luks like the gran- 
 father," said O'Hara, lowly. 
 
 " Is it loike old Larry ? " said Tim Burns. 
 
 " No ; the other." 
 
 " Old Cohen, thin. Sure, now that I t'ink av it, he 
 do. But thin he hav the blood in him, an' why not? " 
 
 " D'yez raymember owld Aaron, Clancy ? " 
 
 " Well do I. Faix an' I got me clothes av him up 
 till the toime he died. Divil a-far from crazy he wur 
 whin his girl ran off wid Mike Murphy ! An' iv owld 
 Larry wur mad at his b'y's marryin' a Jewess, the other 
 wur worse at his dawther for takin' up wid a Christian. 
 By dad, he cursed her up hill an' down dale ; he 
 frothed at the mouth, an' groun' his stumps av teeth 
 together loike a madman; an' nothin' ud do him bud 
 he'd hav her taken be the police. But Moran towld 
 him he cud do nawthin'. He'd a tramped her under 
 his feet wan day beyant on Second Street whin he met 
 her, iv it hadn't bin for Peter Nolan, Dick's father, 
 God rist his sowl in glory ! Peter jumped out av his
 
 70 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 cart an' dragged him away. Put Aaron an' owld 
 Larry in a bag together, an' scure till the wan cud 
 tell which 'ud jump out the first, for timper." 
 
 The clock ticked and struck through the hours ; the 
 people came and went as is the custom. When the 
 hands approached the hour of one, Tim Burns arose. 
 
 " 1 wur goin' till offer till sit up wid ye, Larry," 
 said he, " but as I have me job till go till in the mornin' 
 I mus' git a bit av slape." 
 
 " Much obliged, all the same," said Larry. " Larkin 
 an' McGonagle are goin' to stay with me." 
 
 " I'll be goin' mesilf," said Clancy, reaching for his 
 hat. " I mus' have me grocery open be four, be the 
 day." 
 
 There was a general arising, putting on of hats and 
 shaking of hands with Larry; the women had gone 
 long before ; and when the clock struck again the three 
 watchers were nodding together beside the kitchen 
 range.
 
 Chapter VII 
 
 " Oh they laid him away, 
 On one bleak Winter day, 
 An' the sun he'll never see more." 
 
 BALLADS OF BACK STREETS. 
 
 THURSDAY morning broke clear, and before 
 the factory whistles had done blowing, 
 O'Connor and Roddy Ferguson had carried 
 in the coffin, the great brass candelabra, and all 
 the other things that went to make up O'Connor's 
 first-class funeral. O'Connor's arrival was followed 
 promptly by that of old Mrs. Sweeney, and under their 
 practised hands things progressed rapidly; for when 
 the clock of St. Michael's struck the hour of nine, and 
 then began tolling sadly, all was ready and the doors 
 thrown open. 
 
 Hacks from neighbouring livery stables began ar 
 riving and lined up at the curb, and the friends of the 
 departed began to gather. The women went in, but
 
 72 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 the men, for the most part, collected upon the side 
 walk. Frowsy-haired women stood in groups at the 
 mouth of each alley in the block, blue faced and shiver 
 ing, but anxious to miss nothing. A crowd of young 
 men were smoking and laughing near Clancy's coal 
 box; the drivers of the hacks, in shabby livery coats 
 and grotesque high hats, called to each other from their 
 high seats. 
 
 It wanted but a half hour of the time when the 
 cortege was to move when Goose McGonagle pushed 
 his way through the people who were crowding in at 
 the front door; he had a band of crape about his arm 
 and was hatless. Approaching the group at Clancy's, 
 he said hurriedly: 
 
 " I'm goin' to be a pall bearer, fellas, and Larry 
 wants five o' youse to help. Talk quick ! " 
 
 Nolan and McGlory promptly volunteered. 
 
 " That makes three," said Goose. " Won't youse 
 help to carry him, Larkin ? " 
 
 " Try to get somebody else," begged Jimmie. And 
 with a nod of his head toward the smoky grey tower 
 from which came the doleful strokes of the bell, he 
 added : " I don't go there, ye know ; an' it might
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 73 
 
 make talk about Larry, see? Here's Casey an' Mike 
 McCarty comin' up ; give 'em a brace." 
 
 Danny Casey who worked for Contractor McGlory, 
 and Mike McCarty, who drove a truck for Shannon, 
 the teamster, and was considered the best-dressed 
 young man in the ward, were promptly " braced " and 
 gave consent. 
 
 " I'll git another one and give Ferguson yer names," 
 said Goose, " an' he'll fix youse up with gloves and 
 crape for yer skypieces." 
 
 And McGonagle plunged into the house with the 
 crowd. The prospective pall-bearers resumed their 
 comments upon the passing throng ; a pastime at which 
 they had been interrupted. 
 
 " Here comes Kelly and his wife," remarked Mc 
 Glory. 
 
 " With Mart pluggin' along behind. And he's half 
 lit up, too." 
 
 " Good mornin', Mr. McGlory," saluted Casey to 
 his employer. 
 
 "How are yez, Danny?" answered the contractor 
 as he went by with his wife. " Good mornin' gintle- 
 men."
 
 74 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Gee ! " whispered Casey, " ain't the old lady a 
 swell!" 
 
 " Git onto Clancy's stove-pipe lid ! Ain't it a bird ! " 
 
 " It was made during the siege o' Limerick," said 
 McCarty, " an' Clancy's wore it at every funeral an' 
 at every A. O. H. procession since then." 
 
 " Hello, Schwartz ; goin' to the funeral ? " 
 
 "Say," said McGlory, "don't Rosie O'Hara look 
 nice in black? Look at the two old ones givin' their 
 wipes a shower bath! Say, Larkin, there's Rosie 
 wavin' her hand, on the quiet ; she wants youse." 
 
 Her aunts had gone in, but Rosie paused upon the 
 step, and Jimmie was at her side in a moment. 
 
 " Who are ye goin' to walk with ? " said she. 
 
 " With youse, if ye'll let me ! " eagerly. 
 
 Rosie looked pleased. " Git our names down," said 
 she, " so's we'll be called out." 
 
 She entered the house just as Roddy Ferguson came 
 out, his hands full of black cotton gloves and streamers 
 of crape. 
 
 " Hold out yer fin, McCarty," commanded Roddy. 
 " Say, Casey, youse kin tie a bow knot, so gimme a
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 75 
 
 lift with these. I'd ask youse to come inside, gents," 
 went on O'Connor's aid, " but the house is packed with 
 women, and I know youse ain't proud." 
 
 " Who's got the list, Furgy ? " asked Larkin. 
 
 " O'Connor. Him and Larry's makin' it up in the 
 kitchen." 
 
 Jimmie Larkin took off his hat in the entry and 
 pushed into the room where the body lay exposed to 
 view. Mary sat at the head of the casket; beside her 
 were the Kellys, the mother with her handkerchief to 
 her eyes, the father talking across the corpse to a 
 friend, the son half asleep in his chair. Tall candles 
 shed their light about the room ; the walls were draped 
 in dead black ; the polished lid of the casket stood awe 
 somely in a corner; the flowers sent by friends and 
 the potted plants furnished by the undertaker smelt 
 sickeningly sweet and heavy in the close, crowded 
 room. 
 
 The old man looked very peaceful ; death had re 
 moved the hard, crabbed lines from his face, and the 
 pale hands, twined about with a rosary, and holding a 
 small crucifix, seemed, to the tenants, very different
 
 76 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 from the grasping old claws that he had been accus 
 tomed to thrust out for the rent. Some of the people 
 sat, some stood, others again knelt, hurrying over the 
 set prayers for the dead. 
 
 " What a beautiful corpse ! " ejaculated Ellen 
 O'Hara, in a loud whisper. 
 
 " Loike a child gone till slape," said her sister. 
 
 " He have fallen away a good bit," commented Mrs. 
 McGonagle. 
 
 " Yis," said Mrs. Clancy ; " but not so much as I 
 expected." 
 
 " He vas der hardest corbse to shafe I ever dackled," 
 Schwartz informed the latter lady's husband. 
 
 " What an illigant ' Gates Ajar ' ! " exclaimed Mrs. 
 McGlory. " Is that the piece that the A. O. H. sent, 
 Mary?" 
 
 " It takes Kate Sweeney till make thim look day- 
 sint in the coffin," remarked Mrs. Nolan. " What 
 splindid flowers she have put under his head ! " 
 
 " Tell me, Mrs. Clancy," whispered Bridget O'Hara ; 
 " who will walk wid Larry ? " 
 
 "Why, Mary, av corse." 
 
 " Divil a fear av her ! "
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 77 
 
 " Is she settin' her cap for him, I dunno ? " said 
 Ellen. 
 
 Mrs. Clancy turned to Mrs. McGonagle. " D'yez 
 harken till the talk av thim two ? " asked she. 
 
 " God save uz," answered Mrs. McGonagle, 
 " they'ed talk about any wan. But, whist ; is that not 
 Mrs. Noonen's black skirt, Casey's wife have on?" 
 
 " Av coorse. She borryed it yisterday ; for scure till 
 the stitch av black she have av her own." 
 
 " Is the Father Matt'oo comin' ? " inquired Mrs. 
 Nolan. 
 
 " Is it the T. A. B. yez mean ? " questioned Mrs. 
 Contractor McGlory. 
 
 "What ilce?" 
 
 " Sure Larry wur not a mimber." 
 
 " D'yez tell me so ! An' did he take the sup av 
 drink, thin? Begorry I'd niver a-t 'ought it." 
 
 Mrs. Nolan blinked at the corpse with renewed in 
 terest. O'Connor came into the room with Larry and 
 handed Mary a slip of paper. 
 
 " Iv there's any other names ye want down," said 
 he, " just say the word." 
 
 But Mary shook her head and returned it. Roddy
 
 78 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 Ferguson pushed his way into the room and drew his 
 employer aside. 
 
 " Callahan's outside with the hearse," said he in a 
 whisper, " and if we want to catch the Solemn High 
 Mass we'd better push t'ings." 
 
 The undertaker drew himself up to his full height 
 and looked gravely about him ; then in his deepest and 
 most professional voice, he said : 
 
 " The relatives an' friends of the family will take a 
 last farewell look at the departed before proceedin' till 
 the church." 
 
 Veils were dropped, gloves were put on, and a sub 
 dued sobbing and whispering began. All pushed for 
 ward anxious to see everything at this critical and in 
 teresting moment. Larry was moved but silent ; Mary 
 sobbed, quietly; Mrs. Kelly's grief was stormy; but 
 her husband and son regarded the body stolidly, then 
 gave way to those behind. In a few moments the 
 casket lid was screwed down and the six young men 
 had borne it through the door to the waiting hearse. 
 Young Ferguson took the list of names and stationed 
 himself by the door.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 79 
 
 " Mr. Lawrence Murphy and Miss Mary Carroll," 
 called he. 
 
 "Do she go afore me?" demanded Mrs. Kelly. 
 " Mr. O'Connor is a black stranger till walk ahead av 
 a sister av the corpse? " 
 
 Kelly sneered. " Sure they have it all their own 
 way, Honora," said he. 
 
 " Mr. James Kelly and wife," called Ferguson. 
 
 " Thanks be ! " cried the angry lady. " I wur ex- 
 pectin' till be left till the last ! " and out she went on 
 the arm of her husband, to treat the watching crowd 
 to an energetic exhibition of sisterly grief. 
 
 " Mr. Martin Kelly ! " cried Roddy. He hesitated 
 a moment, then added : " and Miss Bella Nolan." 
 
 Bella came forward, smiling, and took the young 
 man's arm. The sisters O'Hara threw looks of malice 
 toward Mrs. McGlory ; but the good woman disdained 
 to notice them. 
 
 " Go on, Roddy ! " directed O'Connor. " Is it aslape 
 ye are ? " 
 
 His assistant had followed Bella and her partner 
 with moody eyes, and now stood gazing at the
 
 8o THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 empty doorway. But he roused himself at O'Connor's 
 voice and before his abstraction was noticed by any 
 one else he continued : 
 
 " James Larkin, and Miss Rosie O'Hara." 
 
 " Divil the bit will she," broke in the latter's father. 
 " Rosie walks wid me, an' not wid the son av an' 
 Orangeman ! " 
 
 Rosie grew red, and the tears sprang into her eyes ; 
 Jimmie hesitated, uncertain how to act, but at a glance 
 from Rosie, he drew back and allowed her father to 
 lead her out. 
 
 " What a shame ! " said good-natured Mrs. Mc- 
 Gonagle. 
 
 "Will nothin' do the cub but Rosie?" sneered 
 Bridget. 
 
 " I don't like his trade," said Mrs. Clancy, " but 
 he's a foine young felly." 
 
 " He's his father's son," said Ellen, bitingly. 
 
 The list of names was gone quickly through; those 
 intending to walk in the cortege as far as the church 
 fell in, and all moved slowly down the street, O'Con 
 nor at their head. 
 
 Larry Murphy's recollections of what followed were
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 81 
 
 but dim ; through a sort of haze he heard the chanting 
 priests, and saw the swinging censers, and his mind re 
 tained but little of what the pastor said in regard to the 
 old man's life and acts. He had been but a child when 
 his father lay at the same altar rail, but his remem 
 brance of that was vivid. The organ was silent then ; 
 the church was deserted save for a few friends, and a 
 single priest performed the hurried service. It came 
 back to him that he had cried bitterly ; not that he had 
 much idea of what was happening, but the dull light 
 that crept in through the stained windows seemed to 
 add to the gloom that filled the church, and a vague 
 sense of loss had clutched at his childish heart. He did 
 not begrudge the pomp that marked his grandfather's 
 burial services, but he thought that the old man could 
 have spared a little from his store, that his dead son 
 might have gone to the grave in a fitting manner, and 
 not wait until death's hand was upon him before giv 
 ing a sign. 
 
 But it was all over now ; the pall-bearers had drunk 
 their glasses of red wine, crumbled their pieces of 
 sweet cake, shaken hands with Larry and departed. 
 The Kellys had remained until Johnnie Kerrigan had
 
 82 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 informed them that the entire property had gone to 
 Larry, and then left in a gust of anger. 
 
 The young man and Mary were alone. She sat by 
 the window, crying softly; he stood with his back to 
 the stove, his hands clasped behind him, staring at the 
 bright pattern in the carpet. 
 
 He was trying to think of something to say that 
 would ease her grief; but all that came to his mind 
 seemed vapid and without much meaning. He had 
 been thinking of her a great deal during the last few 
 days and it hurt him to see her cry. He had never 
 spoken to her before the day of his grandfather's 
 death ; but he Had seen her often on the street and at 
 the church when he went there and he had often 
 marvelled at the calm purity of her face. He had 
 heard much of her in different ways ; of her goodness 
 of heart, of her gentle ways, of her deep love and 
 veneration for the faith in which she had been reared. 
 He had lived rough, a young man in his place could 
 hardly help it; and he had seen, and said, and done 
 things which would have made him hang his head had 
 she known ; but, for all, he liked, as most men do, rever-
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 83 
 
 ence for holy things in a woman. It was Mary that 
 broke the silence. 
 
 " Mrs. McGonagle will take care of the house for 
 you until you have time to get settled," she said. And 
 he looked at her blankly, not understanding. " I will 
 stay with a friend for a while," she continued, " for I 
 haven't had time to think of anything yet." 
 
 " You're goin' away, then ? " 
 
 " To be sure ! " wonderingly. " This is your home 
 now, and I can't stay here, you know." 
 
 " That's so," said he. He hadn't thought of it be 
 fore; and now that he did his heart sank a little at 
 her helplessness. She fumbled at the catch of her 
 mourning glove; he looked at her for a long time, 
 thinking of another of the tall, splendid girl whom he 
 had known best as a child and playmate. But she 
 seemed far away now ; her people were his people no 
 longer. Ah, yes that was it: Education had done 
 much for this girl of whom he had dreamed since boy 
 hood ; but association had done more ; and she seemed 
 as far away as though she had dwelt upon a star. He 
 could never reach her plane ; and of late years he had
 
 84 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 only thought of her as one thinks of the dream-built 
 hopes of youth. At last he said to Mary: 
 
 " This house's been your home for a good while, 
 now ; and it'ed look like drivin' youse away, wouldn't 
 it? I mean if ye went." 
 
 " I don't know," answered she doubtfully. 
 
 " Anyway, I don't want ye to go," said he, with sud 
 den courage. " Stay here and marry me ! " 
 
 He looked into the pure, candid eyes and saw sweep 
 ing into them a quiet happiness that caused him to 
 stoop and kiss her cheek. 
 
 "Uncle Larry spoke of that just before he died," 
 she said ; " and if you are sure you want me, I'll stay."
 
 Chapter X 
 
 " There's an organ in the parlour, 
 Just to give the house a tone, 
 
 And you're welcome every evening, 
 At Maggie Murphy's home." 
 
 HARRIGAN. 
 
 71 T"OT many steps from St. Michael's is the 
 / I/ Academy of the Sacred Heart, where the 
 girls of the parish are taught by the 
 gentle-mannered sisters; and not far from that 
 again, was the home of Maggie Dwyer. Time 
 was, and not so many years before, when Owen 
 Dwyer mixed the mortar for McMullen the builder 
 and lived in one of the little houses in McGarragles' 
 Alley. But Owen made good wages and was a sav 
 ing man and a sober one. All his neighbours knew 
 that he had an account in the savings bank; but when 
 he sent his daughter to the Normal School and thereby 
 showed that he had sufficient to educate and support 
 her it excited much comment; and when he bought 
 
 85
 
 86 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 the Second Street house, and Fitzmaurice, the real 
 estate man, caused it to be known that four thousand 
 dollars was the price paid, a cry of wonder went up, 
 and the old country tale of the finding of " a crock of 
 gold," began to be whispered from one to the other. 
 
 And, although he shortly afterward gave up his job 
 with McMullen, Owen was still the same quiet, good- 
 natured man, passing the collection plate in the church 
 on Sunday morning and acting as president of the 
 T. A. B. society, as he had been accustomed to do 
 for years. 
 
 His daughter was his darling. Splendid, capable 
 Maggie ! whose fine eyes and handsome form were the 
 talk of all who knew her. Owen had some influence 
 in a political way, and after her graduation, Maggie 
 was made a teacher at the Harrison School ; her strong 
 young voice was soon heard in the church choir; she 
 sketched, embroidered, composed, and adorned their 
 pretty home with pictures, dainty bric-a-brac and other 
 things that a refined taste delights in, until Owen 
 walked about the rooms in awe, and admired with all 
 his soul. 
 
 One evening about a week after the funeral at Mur-
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 87 
 
 phy's, Maggie, in a close-fitting gown that displayed 
 the splendid lines of her figure, sat at her piano softly 
 playing over some music which she was to use at a 
 concert of the teachers' society; Owen read the even 
 ing paper and smoked his brier pipe by the shaded 
 lamp. 
 
 " I'm afeered, Maggie," said he, in a troubled tone, 
 laying down the paper, " that these goings on av the 
 Motor Traction Company '11 bring sorra' till many a 
 body yet." 
 
 "What is it, Daddy?" asked Maggie, pausing in 
 her playing. 
 
 " They do be after the franchise av the new com 
 pany," answered Owen. " An' the politicians are 
 sidin' wid 'em in their rascality. I 'have put more 
 money in this than I shud," added he, soberly, " an' iv 
 the franchise is revoked be the next set av councilmen, 
 it's in a bad way we'll be, Maggie." 
 
 She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, in the 
 motherly fashion that Owen loved. 
 
 " Don't worry, Daddy, you'll see that all will come 
 right in the end. And what matter, even if the stocks 
 you own are made worthless ; we still have our home."
 
 88 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Bud we can't ate bricks an' mortar, sure," com 
 plained he. " An' I'm too owld till go till work, now, 
 Maggie." 
 
 " But I am not," said .Maggie, with a laugh. " Why 
 you have said yourself, Daddy, that I earn more in a 
 month than you ever did with Mr. McMullen." 
 
 " Is it have me sponge on yez bit av wages ye'd 
 have me do ? " exclaimed the old man. " God f or- 
 gimme, Maggie, I couldn't do that." 
 
 The door bell rang at this moment. 
 
 " It's Mr. Mason, I suppose," said Maggie. " He 
 told me that he would drop in during the evening, and 
 said that he wanted to speak to you." 
 
 But it was Annie Clancy, the grocer's daughter, 
 a quiet, pretty girl, and a great favourite of 
 Maggie's. 
 
 " I only came in to say that Mary Carroll is coming 
 around to see you," announced Annie. " She said that 
 she was afraid you'd be goin' out, so she asked me to 
 run around and tell you to wait." 
 
 " An' how is young McGonagle, Annie ? " asked 
 Owen, banteringly.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 89 
 
 " Now, Daddy ! " warned Maggie, with uplifted 
 finger. 
 
 " What harm ? " persisted Owen, who delighted to 
 twit the girl about her sweetheart. " Sure, they tell 
 me, Annie, that he do sarve yez father wid better milk 
 than any av his other customers." 
 
 Annie tossed her head. 
 
 " He don't," denied she. " And even if he did," re 
 gretfully, " Pop wouldn't like him any better." 
 
 " An' does not take till Goose ? " inquired Owen. 
 
 " You know he don't. And it's all because Goose is 
 in debt to Mr. O'Hara. Pop says he'll never be able 
 to keep a wife ; and that he'll be sold out." 
 
 Owen saw the tears in the girl's eyes, and said 
 gently. 
 
 " Don't mind, Annie. You'll have him, never fear. 
 Goose is a good b'y till his mother an' that kind do 
 have luck." 
 
 " I'll have to go now, Maggie," said the grocer's 
 daughter. " Pop's going to the Clan-na-Gale meeting 
 to-night and I have to tend store." 
 
 Annie had hardly left when Mason came, and he
 
 90 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 had barely been welcomed when Mary Carroll fol 
 lowed. The two men were left in the parlour to discuss 
 the matter of Mason's visit, while the girls withdrew 
 to the sitting room upstairs. 
 
 " I could not delay telling you any longer, Maggie 
 dear," said Mary. " It came so sudden after poor 
 Uncle Larry's death that we have been keeping it a 
 secret." 
 
 " A secret? " exclaimed Maggie. " Tell me, quick." 
 " Larry Murphy has asked me to be his wife." 
 A quick change came over Maggie's face; she 
 paled, then flushed, and faltered when she tried to 
 speak. 
 
 " Why, Maggie," said Mary, anxiously. " What's 
 the matter?" 
 
 But Maggie had recovered quickly and replied : 
 " I am only glad, Mary glad for your sake ; you 
 will be very happy ; for Larry has a good heart." 
 
 " It came so strangely, too," said Mary, a happy 
 light in her quiet eyes. " We barely knew each other, 
 I mean in the conventional sense, but I must have 
 loved him and he must have loved me for ever so 
 long without either of us knowing it. And, oh, he
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 91 
 
 thinks so much of you, Maggie ; why, you and he were 
 boy and girl together, and yet I don't remember ever 
 hearing you speak of him." 
 
 " We have not seen much of each other for a long 
 time," said Maggie quietly. 
 
 When they finally came down into the parlour, Mason 
 was ready to take his leave; he had his hat and stick 
 in his hand and was exchanging some last words with 
 Owen. 
 
 " Every man," he was saying, " who has the good 
 of the city at heart, and who has the slightest sense 
 of justice, will do everything in his power to prevent 
 this proposed steal. I have made up my mind that the 
 only way to prevent its consummation is to canvass 
 persons who have influence in their own neighbour 
 hood, acquaint them with the facts and endeavour to 
 organize an opposition at the primaries." 
 
 " There yez have it," said Owen, approvingly. 
 " The primaries is the place till make the fight ; lave 
 thim wanst git control av the convintions in the differ 
 ent wards, an' they'll put their own bla'gards on the 
 regular ticket an' thin the divil himself couldn't bate 
 thim."
 
 92 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " And this young man whom you advised me to see ; 
 where can he be found ? " 
 
 " Oh, Larry Murphy ? Yis, yez could do worse thin 
 have Larry wid yez. Sure, he's so solid in his own 
 division that McQuirk himself has till take second 
 place, there. 
 
 " Mary," and Owen turned to the girl, " Is Larry 
 at home ? " 
 
 " Yes," answered Mary. 
 
 " If you want to find Mr. Murphy," laughed Mag 
 gie, " we will provide a way for you. Mr. Mason, this 
 is Miss Carroll." The introduction being acknowl 
 edged, Maggie continued : " You can be of mutual 
 service to each other, Mr. Mason you as escort, and 
 Miss Carroll as guide." 
 
 But, after their visitor had gone, and Maggie had 
 sought her own room, the laugh vanished and she 
 threw herself upon the bed and burst into a storm of 
 tears. 
 
 Her thoughts went back to the time of her child 
 hood, to the little home in McGarragles' Alley. She 
 once more saw the dark-eyed boy who had been her 
 very slave, who was always ready to fight for her, and
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 93 
 
 who was happiest when by her side. But as they 
 grew up the years had separated them ; she lived in her 
 present home, went to the Normal School and found 
 new friends very different from the old, though her 
 heart was still true to them. And Larry only saw the 
 change from the outside. When she came tripping 
 along on Sunday morning, prayer book in hand, on her 
 way to church, he, standing on the corner in front of 
 Regan's cigar store, rigged out in a cream-coloured 
 overcoat with pearl buttons, saluted her with a nod 
 of assumed indifference and she would return it in 
 kind and continue on her way, wondering : " What 
 in the world Larry Murphy saw in standing on 
 Regan's corner all day of a Sunday." 
 
 An incident had occurred later that should have 
 ended this misunderstanding; and it would have done 
 so had not the sense of distance between them been 
 magnified, in Larry's mind, by the very nature of the 
 happening. 
 
 Shannon, the teamster by whom he was employed, 
 had one day called Larry into the little office down by 
 the river. 
 
 " Larry," said he, " I'm after havin' great call from
 
 94 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 the mills above in Kensington, as ye know. Sure the 
 bell av me telyphone's jingling all the God's blessed 
 day, an' I have the divil's own job gittin' me teams up 
 there in time. Yesterday I bought six pair av the 
 foinest jacks yez iver laid eyes on, an' five trucks as 
 good as new; I have rinted the back room av Kavan- 
 augh's on the Frankford road as an uptown branch; 
 an' it's yezsilf I want till take charge av it. The work 
 will be asey an' genteel an' I'll pay yez twinty dollars 
 a week." 
 
 After a moment's sober thought Larry had replied : 
 
 " The job's a cinch, an' the money's good ; but, say, 
 Pat, how do youse t'ink I'll size up to the work? I 
 can't write a'tall an' on'y kin read a little." 
 
 " Now God forgi'mme for an ijit ! " exclaimed 
 Shannon. " Sure an I niver wanst thought av that. 
 That puts an end till it, Larry ; the work is beyant yez, 
 b'y." 
 
 Larry understood this and felt it keenly. He en 
 deavoured to convey an impression of carelessness; 
 but Shannon was not deceived. 
 
 " Common since'll tell yez, Larry," said he, kindly, 
 " that the man that takes howld av me up-town branch
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 95 
 
 must have a bit av larnin'. Give up runnin' wid the 
 gang, lad, an' go till the night school." 
 
 Larry paid very little attention to what the boss was 
 saying; he was wrestling with the bitterness within 
 him. But that night, as he was crossing the railroad 
 on his way to the club, he noticed that a broad shaft 
 of light flowed from each window of the old Harrison 
 School, and then Shannon's words came back to him. 
 A group of boys were skylarking in the entry where 
 a single gas light flared redly in the gloom. 
 
 " Night school ? " inquired he of one of these. 
 
 " Sure," answered the boy. " Started last week." 
 
 His mind was made up in an instant, and he started 
 up the stairs toward the principal's room. But with 
 his hand upon the door knob, he paused. What would 
 the gang say when they heard? He pictured himself 
 standing in the midst of them, an object of derision; 
 he saw two of them meet upon the street and heard 
 the laugh that greeted the words, " Larry Murphy's 
 goin' to school, like a kid." But he drove these vi 
 sions from him, muttering: 
 
 " If they kid me, there'll be somethin' broke, that's 
 all!"
 
 96 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 He half expected the principal to laugh when he 
 stated his business; but, on the contrary, that gentle 
 man seemed to regard the matter approvingly; this 
 made Larry feel better, and he entered the school 
 room indicated with scarcely a tremor. A number of 
 young men of his own age sat at the little desks, hand 
 ling the spelling books with pathetic care. There 
 were two teachers in the room, flitting helpfully from 
 desk to desk ; no one noticed Larry and he slid into a 
 vacant seat, and awaited developments. 
 
 One of the teachers was working from pupil to pupil 
 up the aisle toward him. His back was turned to her, 
 but he knew, from the sound of her voice, that she 
 was young. In a few moments she was, as Larry 
 afterward expressed it, " givin' points to the guy right 
 back o' me." 
 
 It was not until then that he recognized the voice; 
 and a panic immediately possessed him. 
 
 " Gee ! " he mentally exclaimed, " what did I drift 
 into this joint for, anyhow; I might a-knowed she'd 
 be here." He looked longingly toward the door. " If 
 I t'ought nobody was next, I'd take a chance, and fly 
 the coop ! "
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 97 
 
 But he delayed until too late; in another moment 
 Maggie had sat down beside him, inquiring : 
 
 "Plow are you getting on with ?" then in great 
 astonishment. " Why, Larry Murphy ! " 
 
 He began to stammer a confused explanation; but 
 she knew of his shortcomings and realized the situa 
 tion like a flash. 
 
 " I didn't t'ink I'd see youse here," he finished 
 awkwardly. 
 
 Maggie knew this; she also knew that if he had 
 dreamed of her presence wild horses could not have 
 dragged him there. Her tact soon put him more at 
 his ease, and, finally her manner of putting things, 
 awoke an interest in the lessons that almost made him 
 forget his situation. 
 
 When the class was dismissed she had called him 
 aside. 
 
 "You will return to-morrow night?" she asked. 
 
 " Yes," he answered hesitatingly ; " I guess so." 
 
 " Will you promise ? " 
 
 " Yes ; I promise." 
 
 He kept his word, finished the term and mastered the 
 studies in hand. But after that it was the same as be-
 
 98 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 fore; she could only feel sorry for him, he thought; 
 and when he chanced to meet her on the street his 
 manner was formal, and for her pride's sake her own 
 could not be otherwise. 
 
 And this, perhaps, is why Maggie wept so bitterly.
 
 Chapter XI 
 
 "Reform: A t'ing what the wise guys gits busy 
 at when the other push is holdin' the jobs." 
 
 CHIP NOLAN'S DEFINITION. 
 
 X"\LD Mrs. Coogan, who was distantly related to 
 | M Mary, opened the door for her and Mason. 
 Mrs. Coogan had been there since the old 
 man's death, as a sort of chaperon and house 
 keeper, and vastly pleased was she with the arrange 
 ment. Larry in his shirt sleeves came out of the sitting 
 room as they entered: 
 
 " Hello, back so soon ! " exclaimed he. Then, see 
 ing Mason, he added surprisedly : " Mr. Mason, how 
 are youse ? " 
 
 " Mr. Dwyer advised me to come to see you," said 
 Mason, shaking hands ; " but I had not the slightest 
 notion that I should meet an old acquaintance." 
 
 Mary left them to themselves ; and Mason plunged 
 at once into the matter in hand. He explained in detail 
 
 99
 
 ioo THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 the nature of the scheme on foot and then continued : 
 " Now the local reform organization has resolved to 
 fight this thing, and wants to enlist as many men ac 
 quainted with practical politics as possible." 
 
 " Sure," said Larry. " That's the first crack out o' 
 the box every time youse hear from 'em. Say, I'll give 
 it to youse straight: reform's all to the good, but the 
 reformers give me a pain." 
 
 Mason grew a little red, and looked nettled. 
 
 " Don't take that to yerself," said Larry, noticing 
 this ; " I ain't a-backheelin' you or any other man ; 
 it's the reformers as a bunch that I'm hittin'. When 
 they hear of a crooked job they start to kick up the 
 dust, hold meetin's at the Academy of Music and do 
 other red-hot stunts; then the first t'ing youse know 
 they're backin' up the worst kind of a gang of tin horn 
 pipes who are on'y fightin' the administration because 
 they ain't in on the rake off. If they win out, the pipes 
 git the plums and work ranker jobs than the other 
 bunch ever thought of, and then the reformers flop 
 over into the other camp and trot the race all over 
 again. Ain't I right?" 
 
 " There is some truth in this," said Mason, " but
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 101 
 
 then fusion is our only hope ; we have not the strength 
 to name and elect a man of our own." 
 
 "As long as youse t'ink that ye'll be easy game. 
 Say, the people who wants the cards dealt square in 
 the city's got the bulge, but they're dead leary on 
 gettin' their hands dirty; a man with aces in his 
 fist is beat if he don't use 'em at the show down." 
 
 " I take it that you would support a reform dele 
 gation providing you were satisfied it was controlled 
 by reformers." 
 
 " Not on yer life ! Le'me tell youse somethin'. Some 
 o' the fiercest guys what ever broke into politics, 
 started their turn as reformers, and I don't take no 
 chances on havin* a confidence game worked on me, 
 see? The man what goes to the convention from this 
 division stands to do a certain t'ing; he's sent there 
 to do it by the voters and he does it. Nobody out- 
 side's got anyt'ing to say." 
 
 "That's as it should be," said Mason. "But in 
 how many divisions or wards is that the case? The 
 ring controls the primaries in nine out of ten of them ; 
 the voice of the man with the ballot is seldom or never 
 heard. Slavery was a liberal institution compared with
 
 102 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 the electoral serfdom that exists in some of our muni 
 cipalities." 
 
 Mason's warmth led him into exaggeration; but 
 Larry had views upon this particular subject himself 
 and proceeded to unburden himself. 
 
 " Youse're dead right ! " declared he. " I was talkin' 
 to the old coon what peddles calamus root to the 
 avenoo, the other day, an' he said that he wished he 
 was a slave again, pickin' cotton an' dancin' the buck. 
 He says that he got a skin full o' corn pone then, but 
 that it keeps him scratchin' with both hands these days 
 to git next to anything with more stick in it than 
 water. Say, the Uncle Tom racket wasn't a bad graft 
 when ye look at it right, and maybe it'ed been a 
 good t'ing for the wool growers if Uncle Abe had 
 changed his mind." 
 
 Mason smiled at Larry's literal interpretation of his 
 words and made a vague remark regarding the bless 
 ings of liberty. But the other received it with con 
 tempt. 
 
 " That's got moss on it," said he. " Liberty's all 
 right, but it don't put beef and beans into a man. 
 There ain't a mug in this ward that ain't got it to
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 103 
 
 lose; but they don't lay in bed in the mornin' thinkin' 
 about it, either, when the whistles are a blowin' ; they 
 have to climb down the street, eatin' their breakfast 
 out o' one hand and buttonin' their overalls with the 
 other." 
 
 " But the slave," protested Mason, " before the 
 Civil War also had to work." 
 
 " Sure ! " exclaimed Murphy. " I didn't t'ink that 
 the main squeeze took off his coat and drove mules, 
 while they sat on the porch an' spit at their boots. A 
 young Willie, what had the Sunday-school class what 
 I went to onct, told us that the slave owner'd open 
 up a hand with a black snake whip, if he looked cross 
 eyed, and that it was the reg'lar t'ing to hang the cook 
 up by the t'umbs if she broke a plate. But, say, that 
 sassy t'ing was a-stringm' me cold; because when a 
 guy put up a thousand plunks for a bogie he wasn't 
 goin' to lam the life out o' him like they do in the 
 show. I don't say that he was stuck on him, mind 
 youse, but I do say that the price worried him some, 
 and that the worsted motto what his wife worked, and 
 hung up in the parlor read : ' T'ink twice before youse 
 slug a nigger onst.'
 
 104 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " The gang down in Washin'ton," proceeded Larry, 
 " riffled the deck in '62 an' made a new deal ; the coons 
 looked at their hands and t'ought they had the pot 
 cinched ; they stood pat on the Fourteenth Amendment 
 and waited for the guys with the dough to buck up. 
 But they're waitin' yet. They never git their eyes 
 on any o' the blessin's o' liberty cept at 'lection time 
 and then they must deliver the goods. Liberty ain't 
 a bad game; but youse want to size up the dealer 
 from start to finish, so's he don't stack the cards. 
 There's lots o' people in the liberty line what used 
 to carry a lead pipe in their pockets, but made the 
 change because the gilt grew thicker and there wasn't 
 so much chance for doin' time." 
 
 " Some one, long ago," remarked Mason, " said 
 something about the ' crimes committed in the name of 
 liberty,' and, unfortunately, it holds good to-day." 
 
 " That's no pipe dream ! Now look here ; there's 
 lots o' guys right in this division, what's swingin' a 
 pick for a dollar an' a half a day, an' hangin' up 
 their hats in a third story back where they have to 
 stand on the stove and hold the kid while their wives 
 make the bed. If a slave got sick his owner hustled
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 105 
 
 in a doctor, for if the coon went up the flue it was 
 good money goin' to the bad. But if the pick swinger 
 gits down on his back, the main guy cashes his time 
 ticket, hires a Polack, an' don't care a picayune if 
 his friends are invited to meet at two an' go at t'ree, 
 an' he has a plain black box and an undertaker's 
 wagon, with a drunken carriage washer to drive it." 
 
 " But all employers are not so unfeeling ; some are 
 heard of, now and then, who help their people out of 
 the hard places." 
 
 " That might be right," agreed Larry ; " but I never 
 piked off one that was out o' breath through handin' 
 out money. His daughter belongs to a flower mission, 
 maybe, and if she t'ought of it she might send the 
 sick man a bunch of hyacinths done up in a waxed 
 paper; but she'd stop the kids from cryin' quicker if 
 she trotted out a beef stew done up in a tin kettle, 
 an' that's no joke. Say, as Chip Nolan'ed say: It's 
 no wonder the coons are all whistlin' ' Lemme take 
 me clothes back home.' " 
 
 Mason managed to head him off at this point and 
 began an earnest plea for his support ; but Larry would 
 not bind himself to the support of any one at that time.
 
 io6 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " I'm leary on makin' promises," said the latter, as 
 Mason, at length, arose to depart ; " t'ings'll be dead 
 ripe by the night o' the primaries ; so after that I kin 
 talk to youse." 
 
 The bell had rung a few moments before, without 
 their noticing it; and now Mrs. Coogan opened the 
 sitting room door, saying : " Sure, here is Mr. Mc- 
 Quirk, as large as life." 
 
 " Murphy," said the visitor, as he stepped into the 
 room, " I hope I didn't interrupt ye ? I can wait if 
 you're busy." 
 
 It was Tom McQuirk, the boss of the ward, a big- 
 bodied, pleasant-faced man, well dressed and of as 
 sured manner. 
 
 " Hello," said Larry, " glad to see ye, Tom. Sit 
 down." 
 
 McQuirk glanced toward Mason and a smile of 
 recognition crossed his face. 
 
 " Mr. Mason, how d'ye do ! " exclaimed he, reach 
 ing out his hand. 
 
 Mason shook hands with him without enthusiasm. 
 He had sat too long at the feet of the sages of the 
 Civic Club not to believe that this man and his kind
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 107 
 
 were the very bacillus of corruption. He had met 
 him a year or two before at a conference held with 
 a view to allying the Democrats and the reformers in 
 favour of an independent candidate for city treasurer. 
 But McQuirk had been against the fusion and it 
 had failed. 
 
 And Mason, after he had taken his departure and 
 walked homeward, admitted to himself, with some 
 bitterness, that McQuirk's voice, in this ward at least, 
 would very likely be the deciding one in the matter 
 in hand.
 
 Chapter XII 
 
 " Oh! The room was decorated, 
 With the Hags of every land, 
 The gents were elevated, 
 Malone he couldn't stand,- 
 Canaries in their cages, 
 With flowers in a tub, 
 Stood on the piano, 
 At Casey's Social Club." 
 
 POPULAR SONG. 
 
 r\ ELLA NOLAN looked through the half glass 
 i j door of Riley's Oyster Cafe and tapped 
 softly upon the pane. Goose McGonagle 
 stood before Riley's bar, fork in hand, while Riley, 
 with amazing dexterity, wrenched open oysters 
 and placed them before him on the shell. At the sound 
 of the tapping, McGonagle looked up and Bella beck 
 oned him. 
 
 " A mash ? " smiled Riley. 
 
 " Ye've got another guess," answered Goose. He 
 laid down his fork and stepped out upon the sidewalk. 
 
 108
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 109 
 
 " Goose," asked the girl, " have you seen Mart 
 Kelly to-night?" 
 
 " No; ain't he up in the club? " 
 
 " I don't know. Will you go up and see, please? " 
 
 " All right," consented McGonagle. He opened the 
 door, " Say Riley," said he, " just open the rest and 
 have 'em on the bar. I'll be back in a second." 
 
 " Don't let on to nobody," cautioned Bella. *' Be 
 cause I wouldn't be talked about for the world." 
 
 The rooms of the Aurora Borealis Club were over 
 Riley's place of business; the entrance was by a side 
 door and a flight of steps led directly into the parlour. 
 The members were present in force, dressed in their 
 best and, as it was Saturday night, chinking their 
 money in their trousers' pockets. 
 
 Larry Murphy and Roddy Ferguson in their shirt 
 sleeves, were engaged in a game of pool, discussing, 
 between shots, the merits of the various candidates for 
 nomination at the coming ward convention. Mr. Mc- 
 Carty sat at the piano endeavouring to pick out a rag 
 time melody which he had heard at some " free and 
 easy " ; and Johnnie Kerrigan was critically examin 
 ing a portrait of McOuirk, the boss of the ward, a work
 
 no THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 of art which the boss had lately presented to the club. 
 Other and less distinguished members lounged about 
 the room, indulging in gossip of a sporting character 
 and strong cigars. 
 
 " I tell ye," said Ferguson, slipping a ball into the 
 rack, " O'Connor's got the t'ing cinched if he gets the 
 delegates. He'll win in a walk ! " 
 
 Murphy chalked the tip of his cue and looked doubt 
 ful. " Gartenheim's dead agin him," said he, " an' 
 Gartenheim kin scare up some votes, youse know that. 
 McQuirk's pullin' with Kelly this 'hitch, and he'll wheel 
 the machine in line. I don't t'ink O'Connor '11 do; if 
 we want to have a say we must ring in a man what 
 kin hold the push together, see ? " 
 
 " Dum-had, dah ; doodle-day ! " hummed McCarty, 
 banging away at the keyboard. " How's that, Kerri- 
 gari?" 
 
 " Nothing like it," answered Johnnie, " you're 
 getting worse every minute. 
 
 Tom Hogan, son of the policeman, came from an 
 adjoining room. 
 
 " They're makin' up a game," said he. " Any o* 
 youse gents want t' sit in ? "
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE in 
 
 Murphy paused with his cue poised. "'Not me," 
 remarked he. " Last Saturday night was my finish ; I 
 don't play no more poker with people what deals from 
 the bottom o' the deck." 
 
 McCarty stopped his piano practice and whirled 
 about on the stool. " This joint's gittin' to be a reg'lar 
 hang-out for sharks," complained he. " We hold a 
 meetin' to-night, and if Kelly don't git the razoo why 
 I git out o' the club, that's all." 
 
 Young Kelly, unnoticed, had followed Hogan into 
 the room. 
 
 " What's that ! " demanded he. " Speak yer piece, 
 McCarty, don't talk behind me back." 
 
 " Don't worry ; I'll talk in front o' yer face when 
 the time comes." 
 
 Martin struck the cushion of the pool table with his 
 fist. " I want to hear it right now ; what are youse 
 goin' to put me before the meetin' for?" 
 
 " Ah, yer crooked," said McCarty. 
 
 " Me crooked ! I can lick the guy that says it." 
 
 Murphy leaned his cue against the wall. " Ye done 
 me out o' a five spot by stackin' the papers," said he. 
 
 Kelly hesitated. Larry was one of the quietest men
 
 ii2 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 in the district; but then he was also the man that 
 the club had entered in the tournament for amateurs 
 a few years before and he had carried off the light 
 weight cup by beating three men in the finals. 
 
 " I ain't scrappin' with no professionals," growled 
 Martin at length. 
 
 " I ain't no professional," insinuated McCarty. 
 
 " Let it drop, gents ! " advised Jerry McGlory who 
 had just come in. McGlory was the club's president 
 and he felt that in his office it behoved him to act the 
 part of a peacemaker. He took the wrathful Kelly 
 aside and was trying to soothe him when McGonagle 
 entered upon his errand. 
 
 " Somebody wants ye outside, Kelly," announced 
 Goose. 
 
 " Go ahead out an' see 'em," begged McGlory, de 
 lighted. " Ye'll feel better after ye come back." 
 
 Muttering under his breath, Kelly followed Mc 
 Gonagle down the steps, and after he had gone Mc 
 Glory observed: 
 
 " That lobster's too gay ! He's got a notion he 
 runs this outfit." 
 
 " Well, he's got another t'ink," said Murphy. " Say,
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 113 
 
 us people made a foxy play when we turned down the 
 fifty dollars his old man wanted to chip in toward 
 gittin' the pool table." 
 
 " Lection's comin'," remarked Ferguson. " He 
 t'ought he'd cop our support be that move." 
 
 " He don't git no support o' mine," Murphy in 
 formed them. " I ain't for no gent that pulls on both 
 ends o' the string. Le'me tell youse this," rapping 
 with his knuckles upon the piano top ; " if Kelly scoops 
 the nomination we're a push o' dead ones." 
 
 " He's puttin' his net out though," affirmed Roddy 
 Ferguson. " O'Connor told me that he's got the ward 
 committee fixed, an' that the heelers '11 pull for him 
 at the primaries." 
 
 " He's got all the bums in the ward on his staff," 
 said McGlory. " He gits 'em out o' jail when they're 
 pinched, an' he's loadin' rum into them all day, over 
 his bar." 
 
 " The Mozart Sangerbund give him an invitation to 
 their last meetin'," put in McCarty, " and he wanted 
 Kerrigan to write him a speech. He's makin' a play 
 for the German vote." 
 
 " I heard in City Hall, yesterday," said Kerrigan,
 
 H4 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 "that the Mayor offered him the indorsement of the 
 other side again, if he could split our ticket. Mc- 
 Quirk was at the pow-wow and somebody slipped him 
 a bunch of money. But say ! if that's right he'll have 
 a warm time delivering the goods." 
 
 " When is the delegate election, Murphy ? " inquired 
 McGlory. 
 
 " About a month after our ball/' answered Larry. 
 
 " Talkin' about the ball," remarked McCarty : " we 
 won't have Larkin to lead the march for us this time, 
 eh?" 
 
 " There's a guy what knows the figures," com 
 mented McGlory. "How's he doin' now?" 
 
 " He's doin' 'em all ; an' right off the reel too," said 
 Murphy, who was a pupil of Jimmie's in the manly 
 art, and had watched his progress, through the news 
 papers, with interest. " He's done stunts wit' the best 
 o' them, since he left town, and they kin hardly put 
 a glove on him. He knocked the Pohoket Cyclone 
 dead to the world in the second minute o' the fifth 
 round last Monday night at New Orleans. Larkin's 
 a comer, le'me tell youse."
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 115 
 
 McGlory had pulled aside one of the window blinds 
 and was gazing down into the street. 
 
 " Say ! " exclaimed he suddenly, " it's a bundle o' 
 skirts what sent McGonagle up after Kelly." He re 
 garded the two figures standing near the curb below 
 under the glare of the gas light, intently. " It looks," 
 said he, " like Nolan's sister." 
 
 " Cheese it ! " whispered Murphy. But Roddy Fer 
 guson had caught the words; and he stood with his 
 elbow resting on the piano top, chewing at the end 
 of his cigar, and looking with clouded brow into the 
 fire. It was an open secret that Bella had thrown him 
 over for Martin Kelly; Roddy was too quiet and 
 steady to suit her light temperament, 'he lacked Mar 
 tin's swagger and bluster, qualities which Bella liked, 
 for she was one of those women who mistake excess 
 for a proof of spirit and dissolute living for a mark 
 of manhood. 
 
 Martin had found Bella waiting for him in front 
 of Riley's. His anger had not had time to cool, and 
 he demanded roughly: 
 
 "Well, what d'youse want?"
 
 n6 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " I'd like to speak to you Martin," timidly. 
 
 " Say, don't youse begin to dog me up, d'ye hear ! 
 I won't have it ! " 
 
 " You didn't meet me last night at Whalen's dance 
 like ye said ye would, and I thought somethin' might 
 be the matter." 
 
 " Nothin's the matter only I'm 'lectioneering for the 
 old man, an' I ain't got no time to meet women." 
 
 " S-h-h ! Mart Kelly, I don't thank you one bit 
 for talkin' to me like that ! Anybody to hear ye would 
 think I was common." 
 
 He looked at her for a moment, and then laughed : 
 
 " Oh, I guess not," said he. 
 
 "Well, don't do it no more! I don't want people 
 talkin' about me and giving me a shamed face. Ye 
 know, yourself, they'd on'y be too ready. Oh, my 
 Gawd," suddenly, " here comes Mom ! " 
 
 Mrs. Nolan, a market basket upon her arm, came 
 down the street with staggering step. Dick had en 
 trusted her with money enough to go marketing and 
 it had gone for drink; she was muttering to herself 
 and gesticulating drunkenly, and as she caught sight 
 of the pair by the curb, she halted :
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 117 
 
 " Ah ! " cried she. " Is it spharkin' be the gutter 
 yez'ed be doin', jewels? Have ye no home till go till, 
 Bella, that yez must stan' on the strate ! " 
 
 " Oh, go home ! " cried Bella, scarlet with shame, 
 " everybody's lookin' at you ! " 
 
 " Divil a hair do I care. Sure, an' haven't I the 
 roight till take a sup av drink iv I have the price ? It's 
 not long yez father 'ud be in biz'ness," she added to 
 Martin, " iv it wurn't for the loikes av me." 
 
 The young man growled out an oath. He saw Mc- 
 Gonagle looking at him through Riley's window, and 
 Riley, himself, with a grin upon his face. A Saturday 
 night crowd filled Second Street ; many that knew him 
 stopped and looked and laughed; on the opposite 
 corner, in front of Kerrigan's saloon and under the 
 glare of an arc lamp, a crowd of loungers were en 
 joying the sight; Officer Hogan was slyly pointing 
 at him with his club, and saying something to the 
 bartender who stood in the doorway. 
 
 " And is me poor home not good enough for yez," 
 went on Mrs. Nolan with increased pitch, " that yez 
 do be kapin' me daughter stan'in' in the strate till be 
 talked about. Divil a better had yez father till he
 
 n8 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 tuk to sellin' the drop. Lave go av me arm Bella; 
 I'll go home whin I plaze 1 " 
 
 " Ye'll go home now ! " said her son, pushing his 
 way through the crowd which had collected. " For 
 God's sake," as she began struggling, " don't make 
 a show of yourself ! T'ink of the neighbours ! " 
 
 " May the divil fly away wid the neighbours ! What 
 call have I till be af eerd av thim ? " 
 
 " Come on, Mom," urged Bella, almost in tears, 
 " if ye go on this way, I'll never show me face outside 
 the door again ! " 
 
 "Ye promised to do right," said Dick, with white 
 face, " and ye'll never get another cent o' my money 
 in yer hands as long as ye live ! " 
 
 Kelly had darted into Riley's; and the tittering, 
 thoughtless crowd was growing greater. 
 
 " Is this the way yez talks till yez owld mother ! " 
 cried Mrs. Nolan. " May the cross av Christ darken 
 the day yez wur born." 
 
 A man laughed loudly: Dick turned with a snarl, 
 caught him by the throat with one hand, the other 
 drawn back for a blow. Bella screamed and Hogan 
 ran across the street.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 119 
 
 " Don't hit him," shouted the policeman ; " don't 
 hit him, Dick ! " He dragged the angry, shame-mad 
 dened youth away from his victim. " I don't want to 
 pull yez," said he, " for I know just how it is. Go 
 along home, now and take yez mother wid ye." 
 
 The mother, frightened by her son's sudden exhibi 
 tion of fury submitted to being led away. And an hour 
 afterward she was deep in a drunken sleep on a narrow 
 settee in her kitchen. Bella sat upon the steps leading 
 to the room above, and her brother was walking the 
 floor, his head throbbing and a sickening feeling at 
 his heart. 
 
 " It's a bad t'ing to say," said he suddenly, " but 
 sometimes I wisht she was in her grave." 
 
 " Dick ! " cried his sister, frightened. 
 
 " I know ! I know ! " waving his hand impatiently, 
 "yer goin' to say that it ain't right; an' I know 
 that as well as you." He paced up and down in silence 
 for a moment. " Look at what I could do for her," 
 he resumed, " if she'd on'y do what was right. I make 
 big money, and I'd a-bought a house out o' the Build 
 ing Association long ago if it hadn't been for that " 
 with a gesture toward the sleeping form. " She could
 
 iao THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 live like a lady like a lady! And I'd only ask her 
 to do right." 
 
 He took a clay pipe from the shelf over the door 
 and struck a match upon the stove. 
 
 " How often has she promised to break it off ? " 
 demanded he staring at the flickering flame. " A hun 
 dred times if she's done it once." Here the match 
 sputtered and went out, and he threw the pipe angrily 
 from him, smashing it to fragments upon the floor. 
 " It was jist like that, though," he said. " She broke 
 'em all ! She'll do anyt'ing to get rum. Look at last 
 week when I was invited to Gartenheim's sister's 
 weddin' ! When I got home from work I hadn't a 
 rag to put on me back; she'd lifted 'em, and soaked 
 'em all at Rosenbaum's hock shop." 
 
 And bitterly he went over the long list of drink- 
 inspired acts that had made his life so hard to live, 
 and with a sense of despair he looked at the poor bare 
 room, and contrasted it with the comfortable home 
 that he could have supported had all been right. The 
 thought came, too, of Gartenheim's bright snug home, 
 of the gas-lit parlour on the Sunday night when last 
 he had been there, of the boss's flaxen-haired niece,
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 121 
 
 and of how she had sung the " Holy City " for him 
 in deep, rich, contralto voice. Then came darker 
 thoughts, and he sat down staring vacantly into the 
 fire. Bella watched him in silence, listening to the tick 
 of the little nickel clock, and petulantly frowning at 
 the bother of it all. 
 
 " I think I'll go to bed," she said, at last. She 
 opened the stair door and was about to ascend when 
 she felt her brother's hand upon her shoulder. 
 
 " I oughtn't to say this maybe," said he, slowly, 
 " but if yer mother can't tell ye why I must. I hope 
 yer a good girl Bella ; but I see youse with Mart Kelly 
 often, and a girl can't hold her head up long if she 
 sticks to sich people as him. Break it off! Break 
 it off, I tell ye, for he's no good." 
 
 He looked steadily into her frightened face for a 
 moment and then turned away. 
 
 " Good night," said he. 
 
 He heard the clock strike every hour through the 
 long night, but still he sat there struggling under 
 the weight of his cross.
 
 Chapter XIII 
 
 "Oh! There was a social party, 
 Of Repubs and Democrats; 
 Met at Michael Casey's, 
 And put away their hats, 
 One ticket gave a lady, 
 Admittance and her grub, 
 Invited by the committee, 
 Of the Casey Social Club." 
 
 POPULAR SONG. 
 
 rHE entrance to the hall was a-glitter with 
 gas lights; freshly barbered young men in 
 high collars and sack coats stood about 
 the doorway, smoking cigarettes and spitting 
 on the steps. A wagon was unloading kegs of beer 
 at a side door; people flocked into the smoky 
 entry; now and then a hired hack would pull up at 
 the curb and a member of the club would hand his 
 sweetheart out and up the steps. Four policemen, 
 engaged at three dollars a head to keep order, stood 
 on the sidewalk counting the ingoing kegs. 
 
 122
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 123 
 
 " Forty quarters, all told," said a pock-marked 
 officer, lifting his huge shoulders. 
 
 " Whew ! The club'll have a neat wad to put away 
 if they sell all that! An' just look at the people 
 goin' in ! " 
 
 " Say, there's one fight in every two kegs o' beer," 
 said a third policeman. " That makes twenty turns 
 before the janitor turns off the lights. We ain't a-goin' 
 to have no cinch." 
 
 The others laughed. 
 
 At the far end of the entry stood a pair of half 
 doors so arranged that only one person could pass 
 them at a time. Behind these, bathed in a glare of 
 yellow light from a cluster of gas jets which hung 
 directly overhead, stood Danny Casey, attired in a 
 dress suit rented from Goldstine the costumer, a huge 
 crimson badge edged with gold braid hanging from 
 his lapel. He was taking tickets and deftly slipping 
 them into a slot in a tin box which stood beside him 
 on a chair; on the stairs leading to the ballroom, a 
 man with a mass of brass checks hanging by strings 
 from his fingers was keeping up a continuous fire of 
 patter. Murphy and McGonagle, feeling rather queer
 
 i2 4 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 behind their glittering expanses of shirt front, walked 
 stiffly down the steps to where Casey was standing. 
 
 " A mob ! " said McGonagle. " The floor's blocked 
 with 'em already." 
 
 " And they've on'y started to come," said Casey. 
 " Who ordered the extree beer? " 
 
 "McGlory: an' we'll need it, too; for the guys 
 what's a-comin' in looks dead t'irsty." 
 
 " Say," put in Murphy, in an injured tone, " I don't 
 know how youse people take it but I feel like a sign 
 for a clothin' store. I can't bend wit'out breakin' me 
 shirt and the pants ain't got no pockets in." 
 
 " You look," commented McGonagle, " like a dressed 
 up prize-fighter. Somebody ought to slam McGlory 
 in the jaw for makin' that motion that we all 
 must wear dress suits. I know I look a mess in 
 mine." 
 
 " Thirty-eight dress suits at a dollar a throw," 
 figured Casey, as he politely plucked ticket after ticket 
 from hands extending them to him ; " that's thirty- 
 eight plunks. Goldstine's makin' money and McGlory 
 will be holdin' him up for a comish." 
 
 There was a stir among the sack-coated and high-
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 125 
 
 collared coterie at the entrance. A tall, well-built girl, 
 tastefully dressed and carrying herself with a dashing 
 air, had come in, escorted by a blushing youth who 
 looked very uncomfortable under the notice they cre 
 ated. 
 
 " It's Nelly Fogarty," said someone. " She don't 
 look like a poverty knocker when she's dressed up, 
 eh?" 
 
 " ' Oh Nelly was a lady/ " sang another. " Say, 
 Brennen, here's yer girl ! " 
 
 " Gee ! " exclaimed the person addressed. " And I 
 told her I wasn't comin' ; she's got me dead ! " 
 
 The congregated youths grinned over their high 
 collars and bowed after the fashion approved by Pro 
 fessor Whalen, teacher of the " Glide Waltz." The 
 girl flashed them a smile as she went by, a bunch of 
 La France roses in her hand. But a cloud crossed 
 her face, and she bit her lips at sight of young 
 Brennen. 
 
 " Go on, please, Mr. Shimph," requested she, of her 
 escort. " I'll folly you in a minute." 
 
 " But, say Nell ! " exclaimed Shimph, who had also 
 caught sight of Brennen, " yous're with me, ain't ye ? "
 
 126 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 "Cert'n'y!" with a lofty air, "I don't shake me 
 friends that way." 
 
 Re-assured, Shimph walked down the entry; Miss 
 Fogarty beckoned with the roses, and Brennen, a little 
 abashed, came to her. 
 
 " I thought," said she, " that you couldn't come to 
 night. What's the matter? didn't ye want to take 
 me?" 
 
 "Ah, say, Nell! What's the use " 
 
 "Who did ye come with? Was it Mary Haley?" 
 
 " I came alone Nell ; 'pon me soul, I did ! " 
 
 " Eddy Brennen, if I thought you was double-faced 
 enough to" 
 
 " Will ye cheese it ! If the gang git next they'll 
 give me the laugh. I didn't bring no lady, Nell. I'm 
 dead broke and couldn't, see! That's the reason I 
 give youse the song and dance about not comin'. 
 When I take youse out, I want to do the right t'ing." 
 
 Nell's face grew brighter at this explanation and she 
 said: 
 
 " I knowed you wasn't workin', didn't I ; and I 
 didn't expect ye'd blow your money when ye hadn't
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 127 
 
 much. You ain't acquainted with me, I can see that 
 right here. I ain't no leg-puller, Got a ticket? " 
 
 " No," answered the youth awkwardly ; " I'm waitin' 
 for a slow. Casey told me there'd be some goin' 
 aroun' after the push got in." 
 
 " For Heaven's sake ! " cried Miss Fogarty : " Don't 
 hang around the door waitin' for a captain; ye'll git 
 a hard name ! " She looked down the entry where 
 Casey was riffling a packet of tickets his shirt front 
 and rhinestone studs gleaming under the slanting rays 
 of light " After I go in," continued she, " ask Danny 
 for one ; I'll fix it with him as I pass." 
 
 " But, say Nell ! I don't like" 
 
 " Oh bother ! " She started to rejoin her escort, but 
 stopped suddenly. 
 
 " Look here," she cautioned, " don't you ask me 
 for a single dance ; for if ye do ye'll get flagged ! Rox 
 Shimph sent me these flowers and put up money for 
 a hack, and he's me partner for all the dances." 
 
 " Say, are youse goin' to t'row me down for that " 
 
 " Don't call him names ! He's run the pair o' looms 
 next to mine for three years now, and he's always
 
 128 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 acted like a perfect gentleman. You come to see me 
 steady, Mr. Brennen, but I won't play Rox for a 
 lobster even for you." And with this she once more 
 started away fumbling in her purse and saying over 
 her shoulder: "Don't forget to ask Danny for the 
 ticket." 
 
 Murphy had gone to the street door to speak to a 
 friend while the above scene was enacting; now he 
 came hurrying back to the " gate " excitedly. 
 
 " McGonagle," exclaimed he, " here comes Nobby 
 Foley and Tim Daily wit' a couple o' skirts. I'll bet 
 we'll have the ' chain gang ' here ! " 
 
 " Gee," murmured Goose. " If they cut loose this 
 won't be a ball, it'll be a scrappin' match. Say d'youse 
 t'ink four cops is enough? Hadn't we better git the 
 loot to send two more? " 
 
 Murphy looked at him, disdainfully. 
 
 " We ain't a lot o' kids, are we ? " inquired he. 
 " I might be dead wrong but I t'ink the push kin hold 
 their own with any of 'em. There's only one t'ing to 
 do ; as soon as they git gay, go in an' slam 'em ; ain't 
 that right?" 
 
 Foley was short and square-jawed; Daily was big
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 129 
 
 and brawny; and both carried themselves with much 
 aggressiveness, swaggering into the hall, their convoys 
 on their arms, with the air of men whose deeds were 
 epic in the ward. 
 
 " That's a swell one wit' Foley," whispered a voice. 
 " Who is she, Brennen ? " 
 
 " An old party rammer," answered Brennen ; " an' 
 she's the star pivoter of Whalen's Academy. Her an' 
 Bat Mahoney won the prize waltz at the Emmet 
 Band's picnic, Decoration Day." 
 
 " Her hair's bleached," remarked the other ; " an' 
 that rouge on her face is the reddest t'ing that ever 
 come down the pike." 
 
 The girl was taller than her escort; she was re 
 markably handsome, dressed richly, and held herself 
 in a way that made the women whisper and the men 
 stare. As they neared the gate, she laughing and 
 showing her beautiful teeth and flashing her splendid 
 eyes here and there, McGonagle leaned forward and 
 whispered a few quick words in Murphy's ear. 
 
 " No ! " exclaimed the latter, incredulously. 
 
 " Sure t'ing! What are youse goin' to do? " 
 
 "Why, put out the flag!"
 
 130 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 Brennen suddenly craned his neck out of its circle 
 of stiff linen, excitedly. 
 
 " Murphy won't take their tickets ! " he breathed, 
 " there's goin' to be a run in at the start ! " 
 
 All surged toward the gate; McGonagle whistled 
 through his thumb and fore-finger; a policeman came 
 looming along through the cigar smoke. 
 
 " Stand back, gents," requested he. He flourished 
 his club airily, and measured Daily with his eye. 
 " On'y three couple allowed at the gate at a 
 time." 
 
 The crowd fell back disappointedly. The group 
 at the gate were engaged in excited debate ; Foley was 
 describing aerial hieroglyphics with his clenched fist; 
 the girl had let go his arm and was staring Murphy 
 boldly in the eye. 
 
 " You've insulted this lady ! " declared Foley in a 
 sharp high pitched voice. 
 
 " I didn't insult nobody," said Murphy. " Didn't I 
 flag her on the quiet? Nobody knowed it until youse 
 made a holler." 
 
 " This is the rankest snap I ever stacked up against," 
 remarked the girl, tossing her head and rubbing the
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 131 
 
 wrinkles out of her long gloves. " If I'd a-knowed it 
 was a nasty-nice affair, I wouldn't a-come ! " 
 
 " This ain't the first time youse gave me the wrong 
 end of it, Murphy," said Foley, drawing back in such 
 a way as to cause McGonagle to brace himself for the 
 expected rush. " For the last time ; does she go in, 
 or is she barred ? " 
 
 " She's barred ! " said Murphy. 
 
 " This ain't no flash shine," broke in McGonagle, 
 " we've got our girls here to-night, and I, for one, 
 won't let mine dance on the same floor with her, and 
 that goes ! " 
 
 " Push along, gents," hinted the policeman, " in 
 side or out ; yer blockin' the passage." 
 
 Daily jogged his companion's elbow and whispered : 
 
 " Don't git leary ; ye'll queer Kelly if ye kick up a 
 row, now. Give him a chance to work the gang what's 
 runnin' the show. We can come back, ye know, when 
 he's done; and if youse wants to do business, then, 
 with the guy on the door, why you kin go ahead." 
 
 The crush was growing ; Levi and his orchestra had 
 just gone in, and the tuning of the harp and violins 
 came floating down the stairway. Belated Jerry Me-
 
 132 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 Glory came striding in, in a light top coat and a 
 glossy silk hat, bowing like a duke to his acquaintances, 
 with Veronica McTurpin, the little widow who kept 
 the millinery store; she was half hidden in her 
 bouquet, and also bowing and smiling, dazzlingly. 
 Mike McCarty followed, more than ever earning his 
 right to the title of Brummel of the ward. He carried 
 his stick and one glove in his right hand; with the 
 other he was barely touching the elbow of Mazie Dris- 
 coll, who sold ribbons in a down-town store. Then 
 there was Shaffer the collector for the brewery, and 
 Carrie Lentze, whose father carried on the " Delica 
 tessen " store on the avenue ; while behind them came 
 Koskee McGurk and a daughter of O'Mally, who kept 
 the junk shop back of the railroad. 
 
 " Checks! " cried the man on the stairs jingling his 
 bunch of brass tags. " Put yer wardrobe away, gents ; 
 youse can't go on the floor with yer overcoat or sky- 
 piece." 
 
 " Hully gee!" gasped a youth in soiled white kid 
 gloves and a scarlet Ascot tie ; " they sticks youse a 
 quarter for wardrobe ! " 
 
 " It's a t'row down," echoed a neighbour. " Mame,"
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 133 
 
 to the girl at his side, " it'll cost two bits to put away 
 yer hat." 
 
 " G'way," said Mame, shocked. " It's not the right 
 thing, when you're asked a dollar admission." 
 
 The man with the checks was growing impatient. 
 
 " Don't hold a meetin' and make speeches about it," 
 requested he. " If yer goin' to cough up, do it." 
 
 The bar was on the second floor and had a door 
 leading into the ball room ; groups of men and women 
 were gathered about the tables ; waiters were rushing 
 about, the fingers of each hand twisted, in some mi 
 raculous fashion, about the handles of a dozen beer 
 glasses ; a young man was seated at a piano, singing a 
 popular ballad in a high, throaty voice ; some members 
 of the club, their coats stripped off, their sleeves rolled 
 up, were drawing beer, popping corks and passing out 
 dry-looking cigars to a long line of thirsty patrons who 
 stood along the bar. 
 
 It was ten o'clock. The floor of the ballroom shone 
 with wax; the rows of chairs upon three sides were 
 filled with chattering couples; Levi and his musicians 
 stood ready. All were waiting for Master-of-Cere- 
 monies Murphy, to give the word.
 
 134 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " The floor looks great," remarked that gentleman. 
 He was surrounded by the " floor committee " at the 
 far end of the room, and was running his eye over 
 everything like a general before going into battle. 
 There would be no hitch if he could help it. He 
 hummed a tune and went through a few steps of a 
 " glide waltz " by way of a test. 
 
 " Like old cheese/' commented he, " jist as slippy 
 as ice." He looked about him, again. " Where's Mc- 
 Gonagle ? " he inquired. " Oh, there youse are," see 
 ing that gentleman. "All ready?" 
 
 " Sure," responded Goose, " it's up to youse to 
 say when." 
 
 Larry took some half dozen steps out upon the floor ; 
 then he paused, rapped sharply with his heel, and drew 
 himself up with a dignity that Professor Whalen could 
 not have excelled. All eyes were upon him; he ex 
 tended both arms, palms held downward, waving them 
 up and down. Silence fell. The palms came together 
 with a sharp report; Levi described a wild flourish 
 with his bow; the cornet blared brassily; McGonagle 
 and Annie Qancy stepped out upon the floor to lead 
 the march. The ball was on.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 135 
 
 At midnight the affair was in full blast; quadrille, 
 schottische and waltz succeeded each other with hardly 
 a pause, the dancers whirled, stamped and pirouetted 
 with exhaustless energy; the musicians blew and 
 scraped, the perspiration dropping from their faces. 
 A sergeant of police, on his round of inspection, had 
 just dropped in; he stood in the doorway leading 
 to the staircase looking wet and chilled, for it 
 had begun to rain, and talked to the men on duty 
 in the hall. 
 
 " Anything doing ? " asked he, shaking the drops 
 of water from the brim of his hat, his eyes taking in 
 the heaving mass on the floor, swaying in rhythm with 
 the music. 
 
 " On'y a couple o' drunks," answered the pock 
 marked officer ; " an' we just fired 'em out, not botherin' 
 to pull up for the wagon." 
 
 " I seen Daily and some o' that crowd, in the bar 
 room " said another. " From the way things look he's 
 cappin' for Kelly, and Kelly's dealin' out the dough 
 for further orders." 
 
 "For drinks, eh?" The sergeant frowned. "Say 
 Laughlin, go in there and tell Kelly I want to see him,
 
 136 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 right away. The damn fool oughtn't make work for 
 me!" 
 
 Kelly had a roll of notes in his hand and was flour 
 ishing them animatedly over his head ; a crowd of half 
 drunken youths surged about him, approvingly; he 
 was their idol, having usurped the post held an hour 
 before by Shaffer, the collector for the brewery. 
 
 " This is the stuff that makes the world move ! " de 
 clared the saloonkeeper. " We're all after it, me 
 bucko's, ivery wan av us an' small blame till him that 
 puts the fattest wad in the bank, eh ? " 
 
 " Yer dead right, Kel," agreed a supporter. 
 
 " Barkeeper," remarked Kelly after a glance about, 
 " me friends here are doin' nawthin'." He stripped 
 a note from the bundle and threw it upon the sloppy 
 bar. " Work that out," requested he, " an' tell me 
 when it's done. There's more to folly, for I'm out 
 for a good toime the noight." 
 
 " There's a good t'ing ! " exclaimed Nobby Foley. 
 " He's a blood, d'ye hear a blood ! He treats youse 
 right, see?" 
 
 " Gintlemen," affirmed the object of these remarks, 
 " I haven't a mane bone in me body, an' the man that
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 137 
 
 do be after callin' James Kelly a friend, is welcome till 
 share his last dollar. Iv any av yez gits pinched does 
 yez friends have till ax me twice till go yez bail? Be 
 hivens ! " excitedly, " there ain't a magistrate in the 
 city, Raypublican or Dimmycrat, that'ed kape yez in 
 the jug a minyute after I wint forninst him and told 
 him till lave ye go." 
 
 The enthusiasm that greeted this statement shook 
 the walls. Daily, Foley, and a select circle of kindred 
 spirits added no little volume to it. They rapturously 
 patted the speaker on the back and beat the bar with 
 their glasses, for each had a five dollar note tucked 
 snugly away in his pocket and felt in duty bound to stir 
 up the promised amount of enthusiasm. The outburst 
 elated the selectman ; his voice was husky with drink, 
 but he climbed upon a chair and plunged into a 
 speech. 
 
 " The fellys that are again' me," declared he, " say 
 that I am not a Dimmycrat, an' would have yez vote 
 to bate me. But whin the day comes I'll show thim 
 what the people of the ward t'ink, because the dilly- 
 gates '11 be there that'll name me in spoite av thim ! " 
 
 He forgot his protestation of a few minutes before
 
 138 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 that he was out for a good time, and proceeded to 
 make a bid for his hearers' support at the primaries; 
 Daily and his henchmen were punctuating his re 
 marks by salvos of applause, when Laughlin sum 
 moned the orator into the entry. 
 
 "Hello, Phil," Kelly greeted the sergeant, "sure 
 an' it's glad till see yez I am; but divil take ye, cud 
 yez not wait till I got through! I had 'em jist where 
 I wanted thim; I wur makin' votes by the dozen." 
 
 " It's a slashin' good game for you," grumbled the 
 sergeant; "but look at my end of it! You load 'em 
 up with booze they'll fight my men'll pull 'em, an' 
 I'll have to hold 'em till Moran kin give'm a heariri' 
 in the mornin'. Then what? There's lots of fellows 
 from my division here, an' I must carry that division, 
 Kelly, I must carry it, or lose me job; that's just 
 how I stand. An' if I put me people away in the 
 cooler how am I goin' to do any carryin', eh ? " 
 
 " Tut, tut, man dear, I must make meself solid wid 
 the gang av young fellys. Sure a drop av drink '11 
 do thim no harm, Phil; it'll make thim feel good, 
 that's all." 
 
 The uproar raised by Daily and his friends and
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 139 
 
 Kelly's display of ready money had captured both the 
 rowdy and the frothy elements. But the popular 
 young men the members of the club for example 
 held aloof; and it was these that Kelly was working 
 for. 
 
 " The stiff ! " exclaimed Jerry McGlory, as Kelly 
 came back into the barroom; "he t'inks if he blows 
 his coin over the bar we'll fall in line." 
 
 " Look at Mart, over there," said McCarty, " he's 
 looking black about something." 
 
 " He was backcappin' Murphy a while ago. He's 
 half lit up, and he'll say somethin' to Larry afore the 
 night's over, and Larry'll slam him." 
 
 It was McGonagle that spoke, and a moment later 
 he added: 
 
 " Here he comes over ! Play foxy, gents ; don't give 
 him no excuse for bother, see? " 
 
 Young Kelly approached, and with him were Daily 
 and Foley. 
 
 " How are youse, gents ? " saluted Martin. " It's 
 the old man's treat ; won't youse have somethin' ? " 
 
 "We're on the floor committee," said McCarty, 
 " an' we ain't touchin' it to-night."
 
 I 4 o THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 Martin sneered ; Daily heaved his bulging chest con 
 temptuously and coughed. It was Foley that spoke. 
 
 " When a gent tries to be friendly wit' me," an 
 nounced he, " I be's friendly wit' him, see ? Ain't that 
 right?" 
 
 " It depends on the guy that's doin' the stunt," an 
 swered McGonagle. 
 
 " Eh, no ! What t'ell no ! Youse do it every hitch ! " 
 And Foley excitedly dramatized a scene: "A gent 
 comes up to me, and puts out his fin, see? What do 
 I do? Why I takes it, an' puts away me medicine like 
 a little man ! All to be sociable, see ? All to be 
 sociable ! " 
 
 " That's right," agreed Daily. " That's the proper 
 t'ing to do. Why youse'd cut a hell of a caper, turnin' 
 down good people, wouldn't youse." 
 
 "Ah, go sdak yer head," growled McGonagle. 
 " Youse guys give me a pain ! We ain't suckers ; we 
 kin see a play when it's made, as well as the next." 
 
 " Youse're all gents ! " put in Martin, sarcastically. 
 " Here that lobster Murphy goes an' turns down a 
 lady, at the door. I'm 'sponsible to me friends for 
 that, d'ye hear? I sold 'em the tickets an' I'm 'spon-
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 141 
 
 sible for the game I steered 'em against! Ain't that 
 right?" 
 
 " Sure," answered Daily and Foley in a breath. 
 
 "Where's Murphy?" demanded Martin. "Mur 
 phy's got to apologize fer insultin' 'Nobby's lady 
 friend. He's got to do it ! " 
 
 " It's comin'," said McGlory, in a low tone. 
 
 " We'd better put Larry next," remarked McCarty 
 in the same voice. " Kelly carries a jack ; remember 
 how he t'rowed it into Ned Hogan that night ? " 
 
 Larry was dancing; he had his arm about Annie 
 Clancy's trim waist and they swayed and spun with 
 the music. Annie's face was bright and happy; her 
 eyes shone like twin stars, for Larry was telling her 
 how good a fellow his friend McGonagle was, and 
 that was a tale that Annie could have listened to 
 forever. 
 
 Word had gone about among the " floor com 
 mittee" that Kelly was looking for him, and Larry 
 received mysterious nods, winks and signals. He 
 could make nothing of it, so he led Annie to a seat 
 beside Miss McTurpin, and walked over to where 
 McGonagle, who had crossed the room, was standing.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " What's the new one ? " inquired Larry. " What's 
 the gang all pullin' faces about ? " 
 
 " Keep yer eyes on Kelly," cautioned Goose. " He's 
 been puttin' away .booze all night, and he wants to 
 see you about the girl what you flagged at the door." 
 
 " Oh ! " Larry shoved his head forward in a bull- 
 like movement and stared about him. " Does he want 
 some o' my game, eh? Is the lobster spoilin' to mix 
 it up with me? There'll be on'y two blows struck; 
 I'll hit him, and he'll hit the floor! " 
 
 Mike McCarty came out of the barroom and ap- 
 preached them, crossing the floor in the midst of the 
 dancers. A girl's swinging skirts almost wrapped 
 themselves about him, as her partner piloted her by. 
 
 " Ah, there, Mike ? " cried the lady, gleefully, and 
 McCarty bowed like a Chesterfield, never pausing in 
 his stride, however, until he reached the spot where 
 Goose and Larry were talking. 
 
 " Kelly's comin' across," said he pointing among the 
 dancing throng. " He just seen youse a minit ago, 
 and he's goin' to lay you out, so he says." 
 
 Larry growled an answer deep down in his chest; 
 he was looking at Kelly and his two allies as they
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 143 
 
 swaggered through the dancers. McGonagle rapped 
 out a vexed oath, as he caught Larry by the arm. 
 
 " I t 'ought," complained he, " that we'd pull off this 
 affair wit'out any scrappin'; and here them mugs 
 spoils it all. Say, if there's a fight, Annie won't do a 
 t'ing but climb down me back fer fetchin' her." 
 
 " My girl too," said McCarty, dolefully. 
 
 " Come out in the entry," pleaded Goose. " Don't 
 scare the women ! " 
 
 Larry reluctantly went with them, casting glances 
 over his shoulder at his prospective opponent. 
 
 " The mug'll t'ink I'm afraid o' him," said he. 
 When they reached the entry he tugged viciously at 
 the breast of his dress coat. " Damn it," growled he, 
 savagely, " the t'ing ain't got no buttons on ! I don't 
 want to get no blood on me shirt front." 
 
 " Keep yer eyes on Foley," whispered Mike to Mc 
 Gonagle. " I'll look out for Daily." 
 
 " D'ye t'ink ye kin hold him even ? He pulls the 
 beam fifty pounds more'n youse." 
 
 " I wouldn't care," smiled Mike, " if he was as big 
 as the side o' a house. The bigger he is the harder 
 he'll fall."
 
 144 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Youse're a nice-lookin' pill, ain't ye ? " were 
 Kelly's first words. " Floor Manager, too," sneer- 
 ingly ; " why, youse don't know a lady when ye see 
 one." 
 
 " She's crooked ! " remarked Larry, " and youse 
 know she is." 
 
 " You're a liar," snarled Martin. " And even if she 
 is, she's better than some women I know of. She don't 
 live with " 
 
 He did not finish but leaped back and threw up his 
 guard. Larry, his face wrinkling with a grin, was 
 upon him, striking with the speed, precision and power 
 of a practiced boxer. The exchange was heavy and 
 rapid. The men panted and laboured for breath, curs 
 ing each other between their teeth. The policemen 
 were clattering up the steps from the lower passage; 
 the doorway leading to the ball room was banked 
 solid with the strained, anxious faces of partisans; 
 women screamed shrilly; the music stopped with a 
 crash. 
 
 Suddenly Larry slipped and fell upon one knee; 
 Foley made a quick, wicked kick at his side, and the 
 next instant was thrown against the wall by the force
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 145 
 
 of a smashing blow from McGonagle. Mike Mc- 
 Carty was staring eagerly into Daily's face, his body 
 quivering like that of a crouching cat, when the offi 
 cers arrived. 
 
 " Fire 'em out," commanded McGonagle. " Fire 
 the t'ree o' them ! " 
 
 The offenders were promptly hustled down the 
 stairs and out upon the sidewalk. A light rain was 
 falling; the arc lamps sputtered and hissed in the 
 silence. A form wrapped in a blue mackintosh, 
 and holding an umbrella, was standing upon the 
 steps. 
 
 " Here he is," laughed the policeman who held 
 Martin ; " and I didn't have to tell him he was wanted, 
 either." 
 
 The three ejected ones stared curiously at the wo 
 man ; and the policeman laughed again and closed the 
 door. 
 
 " Mart," said the woman, " I want to talk to you." 
 
 " Who's yer friend," snickered Foley. 
 
 " Give us a knockdown," said Daily. 
 
 " Oh, hell ! " Martin's tone was one of deep disgust 
 and he waved his hand in a bored fashion.
 
 146 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Le's go have somethin', then," suggested Daily, 
 " don't stand here in the damp." 
 
 " Go on home, Bella," commanded Martin, address 
 ing the woman on the steps. " What are ye doin' 
 around here, anyway ? Youse must t'ink I'm a chump, 
 don't ye, to have youse follyin' me up this way." 
 
 "Just a minute, Mart," pleaded Bella: "I won't 
 be longer than a minute, so help me God ! " 
 
 " Ah, git away from me ! " 
 
 "Mart!" 
 
 " Go on, Kelly," said Daily; " don't talk to a bundle 
 o' skirts that way. See what she wants ; we'll wait for 
 youse at Mintzers." 
 
 Daily and Foley cut across the street to where the 
 lights of a saloon flared redly through the mist ; Mar 
 tin and the girl started up the street, slowly. She gave 
 one upward glance at the windows of the hall, and 
 sighed to see the dancers whirl gayly by. That was 
 of the bright past; and the future was black enough 
 for her.
 
 Chapter XIV 
 
 " When we were lovers, you were my downfall, 
 Now I am sneered at and jeered at by all." 
 
 SONGS OF THE CURB. 
 
 /T was the season of rains, and the great sewer 
 that drains the northwestern section of the 
 city had burst again, and with its collapse 
 sunk a goodly part of two streets at the junc 
 tion of Germantown Avenue and Third Street. 
 Gartenheim was doing the repairing as he had often 
 done before ; great heaps of brick and timber lay about 
 the break in the street ; a donkey engine, shrouded in 
 a canvas covering loomed up spectre like in the fog; 
 from the small windows of the tool shanty crept a pale 
 flare of light; and a man could be seen within, bent 
 over a mass of papers and time-books. Martin and 
 Bella paused at the foot of a broken spile-driver. 
 
 " It's our Dick," breathed Bella. " Let's go some 
 other way." 
 
 147
 
 148 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Oh, come on ! What's the matter with ye. He 
 won't see ye." 
 
 " I ain't a-goin' apast ! He'd never let me hear the 
 last of it if he seen me out so late." 
 
 " Well, speak yer piece, here. What d'ye want to 
 say?" 
 
 " You know well enough what it is." 
 
 " Say, is it that same old cry ? Youse make me 
 tired!" 
 
 " I don't care ! I on'y want you to do right by me ; 
 you promised you would." 
 
 Martin laughed. Bella's face was pale, and the 
 damp, penetrating mist made her shiver; a single, 
 heavy drop of water was falling from a height upon 
 her umbrella, with a measured beat that kept time 
 with the pulsation of her heart. 
 
 " I didn't promise nothin'," said he. " D'ye take 
 me for a gilly?" 
 
 " But ye must ! " she cried, desperately. " If ye 
 don't, what'll I do?" 
 
 " Damn'f I know. But ye don't tie me up in the 
 t'ing, I know that." 
 
 "You on'y think of yourself! What'll Dick say?
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 149 
 
 What'll everybody say? I can't face it, Mart; I can't 
 face it!" 
 
 She began to sob huskily; Martin prodded a stone 
 with the toe of his shoe and reflected; he whistled a 
 few bars from a popular song to convey an impres 
 sion of carelessness; nevertheless he was troubled. 
 
 " Well," said he at length ; " what are ye goin' to 
 do?" 
 
 " It's for you to say that." 
 
 " Well," deliberately, " I ain't a-goin to do nothin'." 
 
 " Ye don't want to, I know." Then she added after 
 a pause : " I was to see Father Dawson, yesterday." 
 
 "Eh?" 
 
 " He said he was comin' to see you ; and he said it 
 was shameful." 
 
 " So you've beefed, eh ? Yer goin' to try that racket, 
 are youse? Well you've made a scratch, see? Ye 
 forgot to call yer play. I don't go to church ; he can't 
 jump me because I won't stand for it." 
 
 " Then he'll go to your father," said she, " and I 
 will, too. He'll make ye do what ye said ye would; 
 he can't help it ! " 
 
 " I'll jump the town," said he, doggedly. " There
 
 150 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 ain't no use chewin' it up with the old man; he ain't 
 got no pull with me! I'd flag him as quick as I would 
 youse." 
 
 Then she began to reproach him. He opened an 
 extensive vocabulary of abuse, and drenched her with 
 epithets ; she grew angry and responded in kind ; for 
 a time their words reeked with foulness. Suddenly 
 he drew back his arm and struck her; she fell back 
 ward, the blood spirting from her nostrils and mouth. 
 Kelly did not give her a second glance, but strode 
 away, cursing under his breath. 
 
 People have an awkward habit of dying at all hours 
 of the day and night, and an undertaker is never care 
 free for a moment. Roddy Ferguson was revolving 
 this fact with gloomy disapproval as he bowled stable- 
 ward in O'Connor's black wagon, his mud spattered 
 horse picking its way along the broken street. 
 
 " Old Brannagan," muttered Roddy, " has been 
 dyin' once a month reg'lar for the last three years ; and 
 now, just because it's the night of the ball, he cashes 
 in for real, an' I have to hustle to fix him up." 
 
 His horse shied, and the youth tightened the reins 
 and chirruped soothingly.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 151 
 
 " Gartenheim," he mused, " must be gittin' paid by 
 the day for this sewer ; he's been long enough at it to 
 sew tassels on every brick he puts in. Go on there, ye 
 big Indian, what's the matter with youse, anyhow ? " 
 
 He jumped out to see what frightened the horse, and 
 at once caught sight of the prostrate figure at the foot 
 of the spile-driver; the pale, wavering rays of a gas 
 lamp gave him a glimpse of the blood-smeared face. 
 
 " It's a woman," he gasped, " she must be hurted ! " 
 
 He threw his horse blanket over her as a protection 
 from the rain and then rushed toward the tool shanty 
 and opened the door. 
 
 " Say," panted he, " there's a woman out here hurt. 
 Kin I bring her in here while I get a cop to ring up 
 for the wagon ? " 
 
 Dick Nolan stared at him, vacantly, chewing at the 
 end of his pencil, the figures of the time tickets buzz 
 ing in his head. He did not catch the import of the 
 words for a moment, neither did he recognize Fergu 
 son ; then his brain burst through the maze of arith 
 metic and both flashed upon him. 
 
 " Oh," said he in sullen recognition. " Who is it? " 
 
 " I didn't ask for no card," returned Roddy, sar-
 
 152 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 castically. It was the first words he had exchanged 
 with Nolan for almost two years, and the fact that he 
 had spoken first, galled him. " Lend me a hand," re 
 quested he, " I don't t'ink she kin walk." 
 
 They found the girl upon her feet, leaning dazedly 
 against the heavy timbers of the machine. Roddy 
 drew his breath, hissingly as he recognized her; and 
 Dick stabbed through the air at him with one quiver 
 ing finger. 
 
 " What is this, eh? Tell me, quick! " grated he. 
 
 " If there's anything wrong," answered Roddy, 
 " may I rot and die if I had a hand in it ! You know 
 I fought well o' her, Nolan ! " 
 
 Dick rubbed some of the blood from her face; she 
 was sobbing and clung to him tightly. 
 
 " Who done this ? " demanded he. 
 
 Ferguson's straining ears caught trie whispered an 
 swer, and a sense of smothering filled his breast. 
 
 "Kin ye walk?" 
 
 " I think so ; he didn't hurt me much." 
 
 " I'll take her home," said Dick ; " ye needn't wait." 
 
 He held out his hand and the other gripped it.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 153 
 
 " If yer goin' to do anyt'ing," said Ferguson, 
 eagerly, " I want to stand in with ye." 
 
 " Don't say anything," warned Nolan. " An', say, 
 where kin I see youse in the mornin'?" 
 
 " At the club," said Roddy, " afore ye go to work. 
 And ye kin bank on me not to say a word." 
 
 And they parted.
 
 Chapter XV 
 
 "A gadder kin put more good t'ings to the bad in a 
 three-minute round, than a draught horse could pull 
 from here to the corner." 
 
 CHIP NOLAN'S REMARKS. 
 
 7i /f RS. BURNS was bending over her wash- 
 J mri tub, placed upon a bench in the alley, 
 taking the skin from her knuckles rubbing 
 one of Tim's red flannel shirts. It was wash day in 
 Murphy's Court and a network of clothes lines 
 was strung from dwelling to stable, making a constant 
 bending necessary to safe progress. Mrs. Nolan was 
 hanging out her wash in her allotted space, her mouth 
 stopped with clothes-pins and her skirts tucked up out 
 of the damp; Mrs. McGonagle, who was making a 
 social call, sat upon Mrs. Burns' doorstep watching 
 the efforts of her hostess across the drifting steam. 
 
 " Glory be ! " exclaimed that lady, at length, paus 
 ing and wiping the perspiration from her face with one 
 bleached and wrinkled hand, " the owld felly himself 
 
 154
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 155 
 
 cud do nawthin' wid it I Sure I've rubbed it, an' I've 
 b'iled it; I've bleached it, an' I've got down on me 
 two knees an' scrubbed it, but sorra the cleaner it'll 
 git!" 
 
 " God love yez, avic, don't I know," said her caller. 
 " Faith Goose gits his shirts in sich a state from his 
 bit av work, that the washin' fair takes me breath 
 from me." 
 
 " An' it's Murphy's wash I'll have till do after me 
 own," said Mrs. Burns, grappling once more with the 
 labor at hand, half hidden in the thick cloud of steam. 
 " It's a-most dead I'll be afore noight." 
 
 Mrs. Nolan flung a bedspread to the breeze and 
 clamped it down with pins. 
 
 " How is Mary gittin' ? " inquired she. 
 
 " About the same," answered Mrs. Burns. " Poor 
 sowl; she's failin 1 fast," 
 
 " Tis a sin an' a shame till hark till the cacklin' that 
 do be goin' aroun' about her," said Mrs. McGonagle. 
 " Thim Kelly's is spalpeens, so they are 1 " 
 
 " Divil pull the tongues out av thim ! " cried Mrs. 
 Burns. " Did she not feed me two children whin I 
 hadn't a bite nor a sup in the house? "
 
 156 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Ah ! An' did she iver pass a body widout a good 
 word?" 
 
 " Yez may say so, 'Mrs. Nolan. Iv I wur Larry, it's 
 have thim afore Judge Moran, I wud ! " 
 
 But a little time had elapsed since the events nar 
 rated in the preceding chapters. Mary's frail health 
 had suddenly failed, and Larry passed most of his 
 time hovering about the sick-room. Their engage 
 ment had caused much comment in the parish and af 
 forded the Kdlys a chance to rid themselves of much 
 of the venom which the willing of the estate had 
 distilled. 
 
 " Scure till the bit av luck cud they expect," Mrs. 
 Kelly had declared. " The owld man's eyes were 
 hardly closed afore they were makin' eyes at wan an 
 other. The white faced t'ing is mad after him ! " 
 
 " It's the bit av money she wants," her husband had 
 said. " She do be a sly one for all her quietness." 
 
 It was this sort of thing and worse that had 
 caused the indignation of the trio of ladies in the 
 court ; it had gotten about the neighbourhood and had 
 long been the topic for conversation over cans of beer. 
 
 " Here comes Rosie, again," said Mrs. Nolan.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 157 
 
 " Arrah, what wud Larry do at all, at all, widout 
 her? Divil the bit av good owld Mrs. Coogan is as a 
 housekeeper. Rosie t'inks a power av Mary an' tinds 
 till her loike a sister. An' Maggie Dwyer, God bless 
 her, she's the good girl till thim." 
 
 Mrs. Nolan's red face became solemn. " Whisper 1 " 
 said she, " did yez hear the talk about Rosie an' 
 Larry?" 
 
 " Divil take ye, Mrs. Nolan ! " Mrs. McGonagle 
 fairly bristled. " Is it help till carry it around ye'd 
 be doin'?" 
 
 " Sure, I'm not sayin' it's true." 
 
 " Ye had better luk at home," muttered Mrs. Burns 
 from amid her cloud of steam. 
 
 Larry was in the kitchen washing his hands at the 
 sink. He had just been raking the fire so that it would 
 burn brighter, and the remains of his breakfast still 
 littered the table. Mary was in the adjoining room 
 propped up by pillows in a big rocker; she had just 
 awakened from a light sleep and had been watching 
 his efforts, a faint smile upon her lips. When Rosie 
 O'Hara came into the kitchen by the back door, Larry 
 greeted her, ruefully.
 
 158 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " I've bin tryin' to make the fire come up," said he 
 with a glance at the grey grate. 
 
 Rosie laughed. She set the steaming pitcher of 
 broth, which she carried, upon the table. 
 
 " I've brought that for Mary," gaid she, attacking 
 the range with vigour ; " I thought she might like it. 
 How is she ? " 
 
 " She had a bad night had a hemorrhage after 
 youse went home, and she don't breathe very easy. 
 She's asleep now, though." 
 
 " You mustn't get frightened, Larry ; the doctor 
 says there's no danger yet, you know." Rosie tied an 
 apron, which she took from a nail, about her trim 
 waist. " I'll wash these dishes for ye," she said. " I 
 couldn't get in to get your breakfast, for Aunt Ellen 
 kept me busy." 
 
 " I burnt the steak to cinders," said Larry forlornly, 
 " and youse could cut the coffee in slices." 
 
 " Poor fellow ! " She looked so bright, so sisterly, 
 so helpful, that the poor, strangely circumstanced 
 young man felt his heart go out to her in thanks. He 
 never knew what prompted him to do it, but he leaned 
 forward and kissed her upon the cheek. She looked
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 159 
 
 up, frightened; but the expression in his eyes reas 
 sured her and the bright tears sprang to her own. 
 
 And when he went into the room where Mary sat 
 he thought she looked whiter than usual. 
 
 " Hello! " he cried gladly, " Yer awake, eh? " He 
 took her slim hand in his own strong, rough one, and 
 it was trembling. She looked into his face strangely ; 
 for her visitors had been many since her illness and 
 she had heard things of which she had never spoken. 
 
 " D'ye feel worse? " asked he anxiously. 
 
 " No ! Only a little faint/' she answered. 
 
 And from that day her failure was more rapid ; from 
 that day her patience, her gentleness was more marked ; 
 from that day, if the truth be known, she grew anxious 
 to die.
 
 Chapter XVI 
 
 "Sweet came the hallowed chiming, 
 
 Of the Sabbath bell, 
 Borne on the morning breezes, 
 
 Down the woody dell; 
 On a bed of pain and anguish, 
 
 Lay dear Annie Lisle, 
 Changed were the lovely features, 
 
 Gone the happy smile." 
 
 ANNIE LISLE. 
 
 /T was a pleasant evening and the groups of 
 children were playing " a ring, a ring o'roses," 
 in front of Clancy's grocery. Clancy was 
 whirling at the handle of the coffee mill; and 
 Annie was attending to the other wants of Mrs. Mc- 
 Gonagle. who stood at the counter. 
 
 " They say that Mary do be very low," panted the 
 grocer. 
 
 " God help uz, yis," said Mrs. McGonagle, sorrow 
 fully. 
 
 160
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 161 
 
 " Your heart'd ache to see poor Larry," remarked 
 Annie. " That's tea, soft soap, two cents' worth of 
 syrup, and a mackerel, Mrs. McGonagle, what elce ? " 
 
 " That's all to-noight, barrin' the bit av coffee. It's 
 a sore trial for him, poor sowl ! " 
 
 " He thinks the world av her, do Larry, an' it'll be 
 a hard job for him till lose her." As he spoke Clancy 
 dumped the ground coffee into a paper bag and with 
 deft fingers tied it up. The song of the children came 
 through the door : 
 
 " There came two dukes a-riding, 
 
 Riding, riding, 
 
 There came two dukes a-riding, 
 All on a summer's day." 
 
 " Go long out av that wid yez ! " shouted Clancy ; 
 but the joyous little crew sang on unheeding : 
 
 " What are ye riding here for, 
 
 Here for, here for? 
 What are ye riding here for, 
 
 All on a summer's day?"
 
 162 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 The exact nature of the noble twain's errand still 
 remains a mystery, for the grocer bounced through 
 the doorway and scattered the tots in every direction. 
 
 " Ye young villyanB ! " shouted Clancy with a great 
 assumption of anger ; " sure a body can't hear them 
 selves think, for yez. Don't yez know that Mary Car 
 roll do be at death's dure, ye bla'gards ! " 
 
 James Kelly polished the walnut top of his bar and 
 nodded a " Good Luck " to Schwartz as the barber 
 was about to swallow his evening glass of beer. 
 
 " I hear that young Murphy's intended wife do be 
 dyin'," said he. 
 
 Schwartz wiped his mouth upon the towel hanging 
 outside the bar. 
 
 " It vas doo pad," returned he. " An' she vas sutch 
 a young vooman, doo ! " 
 
 " She have the con-stim-shun," went on Kelly, 
 cheerfully, "an* sorra a few av thirn iver git well av 
 that." 
 
 " AcH nine ! Dey hafe a ferry boor chanct." And 
 the barber shook his head. 
 
 " Oh, well ! It's not any of our doifi', Schwartz," 
 said Kelly, his voice full of comfortable irresponsi-
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 163 
 
 bility, " But hacks will bring a power av money on 
 the day av the berryin'." 
 
 A group of " somewhat drunk " young men sat upon 
 the cellar door in McGarragles' Alley, hawling out a 
 popular song between pulls at a can of beer. Goose 
 McGonagle, who was passing, paused and regarded 
 them disdainfully, 
 
 " Did somebody hit youse mugs with a bar rag ! " 
 demanded he. "Ain't none o' youse got no sense? 
 Here's Mary Carroll a-dyin' and youse people raisin' 
 hell almost under the window." 
 
 The singing stopped ; the young roughs had always 
 taken off their hats to Mary, a degree of reverence that 
 they showed no one else, except, perhaps, young Father 
 Dawson; and Goose passed on, confident that their 
 uproar for that night, at least, was done. 
 
 And so it went through all the neighbourhood; in 
 every court and alley the news was known; in 
 every kitchen and On every street corner it was 
 talked of. 
 
 Mike McCarty heard it while stripping tHe Harness 
 from his horses' backs in Shannon's stables; Tim 
 Burns was told of it while still on his way from work ;
 
 164 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 and it was the first thing that fell upon the ears of 
 Danny Casey as he entered his mother's house. 
 
 " Mary's dyin'," trembled upon every lip that had 
 smiled in answer to her kindness; and as the night 
 grew old, a hush seemed to fall over the district; the 
 very moon, as it sailed across the sky, attended by 
 myriads of stars, seemed to blink solemnly down, and 
 ponder sadly. 
 
 Yes, the serene, white soul was passing ; the shadow 
 of the death angel's wings had fallen across the bed 
 where Mary lay. Larry sat near the window, his arm 
 thrown along the back of the chair, his forehead rest 
 ing upon it ; Rosie, the only other person in the room, 
 wiped the death damp from the pale brow, her eyes 
 bright with tears. 
 
 " Don't take it so hard, Larry," whispered the sick 
 girl. " It had to come, you know, and you'll be happy, 
 afterward." 
 
 Happy! With a return of the old bare life the 
 rough, purposeless life that she had made bloom with 
 new thoughts? He would drift back to the old con 
 ditions; there would be nothing to keep him from it
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 165 
 
 when her gentle influence had relaxed. And that 
 " afterward " of which she spoke so often, and so 
 hopefully! It would be black and barren enough, his 
 heart whispered to him she would be where her voice 
 could not reach him and he would be alone with his 
 sorrow. 
 
 A picture of the crucifixion hung upon the wall; a 
 slanting ray from the dim light brought out the world's 
 great tragedy with piteous distinctness. But the 
 lesson brought no consolation to Larry. He looked at 
 the picture with vacant eyes, for his brain was numb, 
 and he could think of nothing but his impending loss. 
 Philosophy is a meaningless word to such as he; for 
 they who grapple with- poverty, and go wrestling 
 through a gloom from birth to death, find it hard to 
 submit. 
 
 " Are you crying, Rosie ? " asked the weak voice. 
 " Don't, dear ; you promised not to, you know." 
 
 Rosie's face rested upon the pillow beside her, and 
 Mary stroked the tear-wet cheek, softly. 
 
 " I'm sorry that I didn't see it long ago," said she, 
 sadly; "sorry for you, and Larry. But it won't be
 
 i66 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 long now, and you both will be very happy.*' Her 
 voice trembled a little but she continued, bravely: 
 " Promise me that you will think of me sometimes, 
 Rosie." 
 
 " I'll never forget you, Mary," sobbed the girl. 
 
 " And don't let Larry forget me, either," eagerly. 
 " And try and be a good wife to him, Rosie." 
 
 Both Rosie and the young man lifted their heads 
 quickly and looked at each other, searchingly. 
 
 From far down the street came a faint, musical 
 drone as of minor voices singing; the bell of St. 
 Michael's boomed the hour solemnly; quick footsteps 
 went by the house, grew faint and then died away. 
 
 " Do you think," Rosie's voice trembled in dread, 
 "that she's dyin', Larry?" 
 
 He had approached the bed and was looking down 
 at the pale face framed in the dark, loose hair. She 
 smiled up into his eyes. 
 
 " She will be good to you, Larry ; she has a kind 
 heart and will be a better wife to you than I could 
 have been." 
 
 "Mary!"
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 167 
 
 " You were kind to me when I was left alone, Larry ; 
 you would have married me because you felt sorry for 
 me. But you'll be free now; and I have prayed that 
 she'll be as happy as I was before I knew ! " 
 
 " Don't talk like that, Mary ! It was you that was 
 sorry for me! It was you " but his voice broke in 
 a dry sob. 
 
 " Hush ! " a pleading look crept into her eyes. " Don't 
 let anything stand in the way of your happiness, 
 Larry; don't let any thoughts of me any regrets 
 keep you apart. Promise me that ! " 
 
 He knelt and covered his face with his hands, the 
 deep, hard sobs racking him from head to foot; and 
 as he made no answer, Mary turned her eyes upon 
 Rosie. 
 
 " You will promise, I know," said she. 
 
 " Oh, Mary, Mary I can't ! Please don't ask me ! " 
 
 But seeing the look of sorrow that crept into the 
 death-dulled eyes, she added frantically despairingly, 
 thinking of nothing save the soothing of her friend. 
 
 " Yes, yes, Mary, I will ! If it'll give ye peace, I'll 
 promise."
 
 i68 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 The clock ticked on through the hours; the breath 
 ing of the man and girl was long and heavy, and their 
 eyes were blood-shot with watching. And when dawn 
 drew aside the sky's black draperies, the gray light 
 stole into the room and lighted up a face that was 
 calm and still.
 
 Chapter XVII 
 
 " The weird sisters hand in hand." 
 
 MACBETH, ACT I ; SCENE III. 
 
 7T'S an ill wind that blows nobody good," mut 
 tered Malachi O'Hara, as he stood looking 
 through his store window, his eyes resting 
 upon Goose McGonagle who had just drawn his 
 wagon up at the curb. " She's the lucky girl, so 
 she is." 
 
 Goose swung himself from the step of the wagon, 
 a milk-pail in his hand. Filling the pitcher, resting 
 for the purpose upon the counter, Goose addressed 
 O'Hara. 
 
 " I'm sorry," said he, " that election comes off so 
 soon after Mary Carroll's funeral. Larry ain't feelin' 
 fit for a bruisin' fight, yet." 
 
 " I've heard," said O'Hara, " that yez are both goin' 
 on the ticket at the primaries." 
 
 169
 
 170 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " It's a gift ! We'll go t'rough to beat the band, for 
 both division's is behind us, solid." 
 
 "Ye'll get it if yez are for James Kelly. It's a 
 walk over he'll have, I'm told." 
 
 " Rats ! We go to the convention and we don't 
 carry no banner for Kelly, either, see? And if he 
 t'inks he's got this t'ing cinched he's sold. The boss 
 is with him this time, but then, McQuirk ain't the on'y 
 fish in the swim. Gartenheim kin have the nomination 
 if he wants it, in spite o' him ; and then there's O'Con 
 nor; he wouldn't shake Kelly's fin if it was made out 
 o' gold." 
 
 " Sure thim two won't go afore the convintion I It's 
 inside information I have, from Moran." 
 
 " Moran misses it more times than any guy I know, 
 but he's put ye next to the right graft this time. 
 Gartenheim an' O'Connor both blowed in a bunch o' 
 money last 'lection, an' they've sort o' got it into their 
 heads that they can't stand for any more. If Garten- 
 heim's named he could not win out unless O'Connor 
 turned in for him, see? An' youse kin stake yer coin 
 on it, that O'Connor ain't a-doin' that he don't for 
 get so easy."
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 171 
 
 " Faith an' that's jist what the Judge told me, an' 
 he says, says he, ' They'll pick Kelly in the end, never 
 fear,' says he." 
 
 " Ah, we ain't losin' any sleep worryin' about old 
 Kelly scoopin' the pot. The gang's got their coats 
 off an' say we've got a graft to throw into the fight 
 that'll make him look like t'irty-seven cents. Look 
 out for the papers the day after." 
 
 After McGonagle had gone, O'Hara walked back 
 into the kitchen where his sisters were crouched be 
 hind the range. 
 
 " Where's Rosie ? " asked he, glancing about the 
 room. 
 
 " She's above stairs," answered Ellen, " an' cryin' 
 the two eyes out av her head ! " 
 
 "And for why?" 
 
 " Troth, Malachi, it's well enough ye shud know, 
 avic. I niver, since Gawd made me, see any wan 
 stand so in their own loight as she." 
 
 He wrinkled his brows, his round little eyes snap 
 ping angrily. Going to the stairs he called: " Rosie I 
 D'yez hear me? Come down here, this minyute! " 
 
 " Talk till her, Malachi," urged Ellen.
 
 172 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Show yez authority," approved Bridget ; " are ye 
 not her father, faith ! " 
 
 Rosie descended into the kitchen, slowly; her face 
 was flushed, her eyes were red and swollen. 
 
 " Will ye tell me the manin' av this ? " demanded 
 her father. She sat down, not answering; and he 
 continued : " Yez hav bin cryin' agin ! Will yez not 
 give over? " 
 
 " I can't help it," said the girl. " You're all against 
 me and I can't help it." 
 
 " Is it thinkin' av young Larkin yez are ! " exclaimed 
 Ellen. " Shame on ye, Rosie ! " 
 
 " Wud yez hav a black sin on yez sowl ? " cried 
 Bridget. " An' wud ye break yez promis till the dead? 
 Glory be! Bud the young wans now-a-days t'ink 
 nawthin' av the hereafter." 
 
 " I can't marry Larry," sobbed Rosie, " I don't like 
 him not that way. And then I've promised 
 Jimmie ! " 
 
 " Powers above ! " gasped Bridget. 
 
 " The son av a ' Know Nawthin',' cried Ellen in 
 horror. " Did yez iver witness the bate av that ? " 
 
 " Hold yez tongues ! " snapped their brother, " sure
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 173 
 
 a body can't git in a word edgeways for yez cacklin'. 
 Listen till me, Rosie; did ye not promise Mary, an' 
 she a-dyin', that yez wud be Larry's wife? Answer 
 me that." 
 
 " I didn't know what I was a-sayin'," protested 
 Rosie ; " I was so took back and frightened ! " 
 
 " Divil a bit do that alter the case ! Ye promised, 
 an' it howlds good in the soight av God ! " 
 
 " An' the blessed can'ls burnin' in the room ! " cried 
 Ellen. 
 
 " An' she jist after bein' anointed ! " added 
 Bridget. 
 
 " Will yez howld yes whist ! " exclaimed O'Hara, 
 enraged. " Faix, yez tongues do be goin' from Mon 
 day mornin' till Saturday noight, an' divil raysave the 
 voice kin be heerd bud yez own ! " 
 
 " She's yez own choild, Malachi," admitted Ellen, 
 as though to wash her hands of the whole affair. 
 
 " Talk till her, an' good luck ! " muttered her sister - 
 
 " I will iv yez giv me a chance." And O'Hara once 
 more turned to his sobbing daughter and proceeded 
 with his arguments. 
 
 Rosie had been an infant when her mother died,
 
 174 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 and she had been reared by her two aunts in an atmos 
 phere loaded with superstition and reeking of omens 
 of good and ill. If the wind but stirred of a night 
 among the house tops, Ellen detected the wail of a 
 banshee, and if a lonely dog howled at the moon, 
 Bridget, in hushed tones, announced the presence of 
 death in the street. They crowded the corners of 
 dimly lit rooms with the shadows of those departed, 
 and the very teachings of religion were so distorted 
 as to be made to supply exorcisms against agencies of 
 evil and tokens calculated to render powerless their 
 incantations. The girl was saturated with this; from 
 her childhood she had drawn it in with every breath; 
 and it was taught to her as an article of faith, to dis 
 believe which was to imperil her salvation. The father 
 was well aware of this. He was far too practical to 
 give heed to such things himself, but he was willing 
 enough that they should help him finger some of old 
 Larry's hoarded dollars. 
 
 So, like the crafty old fox that he was, he conjured 
 up dreadful pictures of the fate that awaited her 
 should she break her promise. The girl listened, 
 terrified.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 175 
 
 " Glory be ! That ye shud even t'ink av sich a 
 t'ing ! " cried her father in conclusion. " Don't ye 
 know that Mary do be harknin' till yez ? " 
 
 " She hears ivery wurd ye say," put in Bridget, un 
 able to hold her peace. 
 
 " No ! " said the poor girl, her face growing pale, 
 " don't say that, Aunt Ellen ! " 
 
 " Don't deny it, girl ! " exclaimed her father seiz 
 ing quickly upon the suggestion, " for divil the lie's in 
 it. She'll go moanin' about iver God's blessed night 
 wringin' her two han's an' cryin' the heart out av 
 her ! Scure till the bit av pace she'll see till yez word's 
 made good." 
 
 " Wud yez hav us visited by her ? " demanded 
 Bridget. 
 
 At this Ellen began a muttering; Bridget took it 
 up, and Rosie stared at them, the fear in her heart 
 showing in her wide-open eyes. 
 
 That night Malachi O'Hara waited upon his cus 
 tomers with looks of great satisfaction; and in the 
 little room above the store, Rosie cried herself to sleep 
 thinking of the letter she had sent Jimmie Larkin.
 
 Chapter XVIII 
 
 " I kape a saloon on the corner, me boys, 
 
 'An' faith I've a fiourishin' trade, 
 I bought out me cousin, Nathaniel Doyle, 
 
 The money on whisky I made, 
 I could sell to youse now a nice pusse caffey, 
 
 Or a Rhino-Victoria cigar; 
 No slate, chalk or pencil is kept in the house, 
 
 Whin Malone's at the back av the bar." 
 
 HARRIGAN. 
 
 rHE big gilt sign over Kelly's saloon on 
 Girard Avenue was all a-glitter with 
 morning sunlight; a crowd of hangers-on 
 leaned against the awning-frame, watching with 
 admiration the ease with which a powerful Ger 
 man, in a leather apron, lifted huge kegs in and out 
 of a brewer's wagon. 
 
 Within, James Kelly stood behind the bar polishing 
 thin glasses, and frowning vexedly; a group of cus 
 tomers sat at a table drinking and watching the deft 
 
 176
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 177 
 
 fingers of Nobby Foley guide a pencil along a narrow 
 strip of paper. 
 
 " What are youse buyin' to-day, Daily ? " inquired 
 Foley. 
 
 " I'm a sucker for buyin' anyt'ing ; " complained 
 Daily. He wore hob-nailed shoes and clothing covered 
 with burnt spots which showed him to be an iron 
 worker. He took some loose silver from his pocket 
 and selected a quarter. " Gimme that much," said 
 he, " o' whatever ye t'ink's hot." 
 
 " I'm buyin' the police row meself," said the policy- 
 writer. 
 
 " That'll do," said Daily. " It's just the same; like 
 t'rowin' good money in the street." 
 
 "Two's a half?" inquired the other, glancing up. 
 
 " Not on yer life ! If I strike the game I'll hit it 
 big, see ? Good and hard ! No gittin' the small end, 
 tryin' to save me play." 
 
 " It's your say. Whistle yer own piece, me boy, if 
 youse t'ink it'll do ye any good." The " writer " 
 looked around at the array of half empty glasses and 
 added, " drink yer beer, gents ; well have another." 
 
 Kelly glanced at the clock over the bar. His frown
 
 178 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 grew heavier; and opening the door leading to the 
 dwelling portion of the house, he cried : 
 
 " Is not Martin had breakfast yet." 
 
 " I can't swallow me feed whole," came Martin's 
 voice angrily. " Shut up, will youse ! " 
 
 Kelly closed the door with a bang. " Damn the bit 
 av good he is till me," growled he, recommencing 
 upon the glasses. 
 
 "Beers, Kel," called Foley. "What's the matter, 
 old boy. Youse look mad." 
 
 " Little wonder," answered Kelly, drawing the beer 
 and carrying it to where his customers sat. " Here 
 I have McQuirk an' young Haley till meet at the City 
 Hall at noine be the day ; it's but a few minutes av it 
 now, an' divil take the wan I have till tind bar." 
 
 " I heerd," said one of the men, addressing the 
 policy man, "that Levitsky's place was pinched last 
 night." 
 
 " That's right. He had some words with the lieu 
 tenant, and the loot sent a wagon down there t'cut 
 even, see ? But, say, he's out an' wide open for biz this 
 mornin', because McQuirk got him out as soon as he 
 Heard about it. Youse can't queer the push ! "
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 179 
 
 O'Hara came in through a side door ; his face wore 
 a fat smile, as he walked to the bar. 
 
 " Good mornin', James," saluted he. 
 
 " How are yez, Malachi ? " returned the saloon 
 keeper, " is it yez mornin's mornin' ye'd be after? " 
 
 " Divil a ilce ! Give me a sup out av the brown 
 bottle, an' a troifle o' porter on the soide." 
 
 " I suppose," remarked old Kelly as the drink was 
 tossed off and rung up on the cash register, "that 
 ye'll give me a lift at the primaries next wake." 
 
 " Sure, James, I'll strive till be neighbourly ; an' if 
 me vote'll do yez any good, faith, yez shall have it." 
 
 " Ivery wan counts. I'm sure till be nominated, for 
 the boss is wid me; but we want all the votes we kin 
 get in yez division, for the young bla'gards are makin' 
 a foight agin me, I hear." 
 
 " True for ye, boy ! I wur talkin' till young Mc- 
 Gonagle yesterday, an' it's on the ticket he'll be, agin 
 ye, Kelly." 
 
 " D'yez tell me so ! Faix, he's soured on me be 
 cause I wouldn't take me milk from him, I think. But 
 we'll bate him, never fear. McQuirk an' mesilf have 
 bin among Murphy's frinds an' we'll see till him, the
 
 i8o THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 spalpeen. McQuirk have got the most av thim jobs, 
 an' they can't go back on him, faith ! " 
 
 " Good luck till yez, sure. I hope yez'll have as 
 much av it as mesilf." 
 
 " Ho ! Ho ! Faith an' I thought yez wur in good 
 timper this mornin'. What's happened to yez, 
 O'Hara?" 
 
 " Nawthin' till me, sure. Bud Rosie's till marry 
 young Murphy; an' the money'll be a foine t'ing 
 for her." 
 
 Kelly stared at him in dumb astonishment, O'Hara 
 returned the look with great good humour. 
 
 " Be the powers av Moll Kelly ! " ejaculated the 
 saloonkeeper, " but that bates all, yet ! An' is it so 
 soon after Mary's berryin' ? " 
 
 " Oh, they'll wait a bit ; it's no hurry they're in." 
 
 The side door swung open, admitting Mrs. 
 Nolan, in a greasy wrapper, her face puffy with 
 drink. 
 
 " Good mornin' till yez gintlemen," to the nodding, 
 grinning group at the table. " It's takin' Willie 
 a-walkin' I am, this foine mornin'." As she spoke, 
 Mrs. Nolan flourished a kettle in the air and then
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 181 
 
 banged it down upon the bar. " Tin cints worth av 
 mixed," requested she. 
 
 Kelly jerked the can under the spigot with profes 
 sional dexterity and watched it, pondering. 
 
 " I'll be goin', James," said O'Hara. 
 
 " Stop an' have a sup on the house." 
 
 " Another toime. Faith, me business'ed suffer from 
 two drinks av yez whisky." 
 
 The second-hand man departed and Kelly slid the 
 filled can along the bar, the froth creaming down its 
 sides. 
 
 " I've had a surprise, Mrs. Nolan," said he. 
 
 " Small blame till yez, Kelly ; arrah, it's all the news 
 yez hear as ye stan' behind yez bar, so yez do ! " 
 
 " It will surprise ye, mam," spoke Kelly solemnly. 
 " Rosie O'Hara is till take up wid Larry ! " 
 
 " Is it marry him ! " 
 
 " Divil a ike ! Her father is jist after tellin' me 
 av it." 
 
 " Maybe she's compelled till, faith ! " 
 
 "Eh!" 
 
 " Faix, an' the talk wint round about thim, long 
 since, James. It's sorry I'd be iv it wur true."
 
 1 82 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " God bless uz, Mrs. Nolan ! An' d'yez tell me 
 this?" 
 
 " I'm not sayin' it's true, moind ye. An' did yez 
 not hear av it ? " 
 
 " Sorra the word ! " 
 
 " What will young Larkin do now, at all, at all. 
 He wur woild after her afore he wint away." 
 
 " So he wur, Mrs. Nolan," agreed Kelly, a change 
 suddenly creeping into his face ; " so he wur, mam." 
 
 " Glory be ! What'll he do whin he hears av this ? 
 He's got the divil in 'im whin his timper's up, so he 
 have." 
 
 " But he's a frind av Larry's." 
 
 " It's on'y worse that'ed make it." 
 
 After Mrs. Nolan had gone, Kelly wiped the little 
 puddles from the bar and ruminated. 
 
 " He have the divil in him," muttered he. " Did I 
 not see him, in this barroom, knock the padding out 
 av t'ree av' the ' Chain Gang ' for callin' his father an 
 Orange bastard." 
 
 The men at the table were shoving back their chairs 
 as thougfi about to go.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 183 
 
 " Foley," said the saloonkeeper, " stop a bit an' give 
 an eye till the bar ; I want till spake till Martin. Call 
 me iv any wan comes in." 
 
 "All right," said Foley. " On'y hurry up." 
 
 Martin had a great, half raw beefsteak before him 
 from which he was hacking bleeding strips; a 
 newspaper was propped against the salt cruet and 
 as he ate Martin read the doings of the sporting 
 world. 
 
 " Arrah, don't be botherin' him ! " cried Mrs. Kelly, 
 as her husband entered. " Lave him ate his bit av 
 breakfast in pace. Will ye have another cup av coffee, 
 Martin?" 
 
 Martin pushed his cup toward her, over the stained 
 table-cloth, in silence; his father sat down and 
 watched him as he split a bake-house biscuit and cov 
 ered it with butter, and then resumed his attack upon 
 the gory steak. 
 
 " I want till tell ye something Martin," said the 
 father. " No hurry for Foley's in the barroom." 
 
 " Foley ! " exclaimed Mrs. Kelly. Martin only 
 stared.
 
 1 84 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " The cash register'll ring if he meddles wid it," 
 grinned the saloonkeeper. " Never fear av Foley." 
 
 " Divil mend ye if yez are robbed av ivery God's 
 blissid cint ye have, some day ! " cried Mrs. Kelly, 
 putting the steaming coffee before her son. " I'll go 
 out till him. Sure, I wouldn't trust that felly wid the 
 value av a glass av porter ! " 
 
 She whisked hurriedly into the barroom, leaving 
 father and son together. 
 
 " Good riddance," said her husband " yez mother 
 talks too much at toimes, Martin ; an' I want till spake 
 till ye privately." 
 
 " Gee ! " exclaimed the son, surprised ; " what's the 
 caper, eh?" 
 
 Kelly spoke for a long time leaning across the table ; 
 Martin listened, his knife and fork constantly at work. 
 
 " Iv we knowed where Jimmie wur," said Kelly, 
 "we cud lave him know av this dirty pace av wurk. 
 Murphy is no frind av his'n nor moine aither ! " 
 
 " Larkin's easy found," said Martin. " He's got a 
 match on at the Crib Qub in Boston for nixt Monday 
 night, and he's trainin' at a road-house just outside
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 185 
 
 of the city. I kin git the address from somebody and 
 we'll write him, eh ? " 
 
 " We will, Martin ! Go out an' git a two cint stamp 
 at Mullen's drug store an' a sheet av paper, an' an 
 invelope, as soon as yez are done atin'. It's our juty 
 till tell Larkin av this, an' we must do it."
 
 Chapter XIX 
 
 " Dull rogues affect the politician's part, 
 
 And learn to nod, and smile, and shrug with art." 
 
 CONGREVE. 
 
 /T was the evening of the primaries and the op 
 posing factions were lined up for the battle 
 that would decide who was to be the party's 
 standard-bearer within the limits of the ward. The 
 workers had made a door-to-door canvass, plead 
 ing eloquently with some, making a vague statement 
 of principles to others, hinting at " prospective jobs " 
 to more. A great deal depended upon the person, and 
 the heelers were supposed to have the voters in their 
 precincts gauged to a nicety. 
 
 Tim Burns was eating his supper of potatoes and 
 eggs at the kitchen table, together with his wife and 
 two children, when a knock came upon the door. 
 " Come in," called Tim. 
 1 86
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 187 
 
 It was Gratten Haley, candidate for school director 
 and McQuirk ! 
 
 "Hello Tim," greeted Haley, cheerily, " feedin' 
 your face ? " 
 
 " God bless uz an' save us, Mr. McQuirk," ejacu 
 lated Mrs. Burns, confused at the sight of the ward's 
 great man. " Here Xavier, git down wid yez at wanst, 
 an' give the gintleman yez sate." 
 
 She dumped her eldest son unceremoniously from 
 his chair and dusted it with her apron. But McQuirk 
 re-seated the boy and shoved the chair back to the 
 table. 
 
 " Pitch in, son," advised he, heartily. He speared 
 an egg with a fork and placed it on the child's plate. 
 " Go to work," said he. He rumpled the youngster's 
 hair and turned to Mrs. Burns. " This must be a fast 
 day," remarked he. 
 
 " There's two this week, so they give out from the 
 altar on Sunday," answered Mrs. Burns ; " an' a body's 
 lost widout the bit av mate, after workin' all day." 
 
 Mr. Haley stood in the background, near the range, 
 pulling slowly at a fat black cigar, and gazing at his 
 leader admiringly. " For star plays," muttered he
 
 188 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 with ecstasy, to himself, " run me against McQuirk. 
 He's a miracle ! " 
 
 The feminine and juvenile side of the house sur 
 rendered without firing a shot; but Tim was made of 
 different stuff and had a long memory. He glowered 
 at his plate from under his brows and caused buttered 
 wedges of bread and saucers of tea to disappear with 
 startling rapidity. 
 
 " Got plenty to do, Tim ? " McQuirk stood with his 
 back to the range and tugged at the spike-like points 
 of his moustache. 
 
 " Lots av it now! " Tim put a great deal of em 
 phasis on the last word so that the boss might not mis 
 understand. 
 
 " The delegates are named to-night," interrupted the 
 candidate for school director, hurriedly, " and the town 
 will be jammed with conventions to-morrow, all the 
 way from members o'Congress to," modestly, " school 
 director." 
 
 " I know," said Mr. Burns. 
 
 " I want your support ! " said McQuirk, bluntly. 
 " There's a movement to wall me up in me own division
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 189 
 
 by a gang o' would-be reformers; and I want all me 
 friends to stand by me." 
 
 " So yez want me vote ? " asked Tim, as he wiped his 
 mouth on a corner of the table-cloth and pushed back 
 his chair. 
 
 " Sure ; you've voted with the party ever since you 
 got out your papers, an' you're entitled to a say in the 
 primaries." 
 
 " Have a cigar," invited Haley, as Burns got up. 
 
 " I'll smoke me poipe," said Tim. He took it down 
 from a shelf and knocked out the " heel " on the edge 
 of the range, then proceeded to cut a fresh charge from 
 a plug of " Rough and Ready," with his pocket knife. 
 
 " I'm a Dimmycrat," said Tim, " an' plaze God, I'll 
 always stay wan." 
 
 The boss beamed approval. " Now look here," said 
 he, " you know McAteer, don't you ? Well this other 
 crowd want to do him out of the nomination because 
 he sticks like glue to the party, see? Old Owen 
 Dwyer's on the ticket, instructed for him; so give 
 Owen your support, eh?" 
 
 " McAteer," spoke Mr. Burns, " is an able man, an*
 
 i 9 o THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 Owen Dwyer, is a daysint wan, an' a friend av my 
 own." 
 
 " So he is ; you're right, Tim ! And then there's 
 Abrams for judge Jimmie Hurley stands for him. 
 Abrams is a sheeney, but he's all right." 
 
 " I'm agin no man because he sticks till what his 
 father wur before him." 
 
 " And there's Kelly for select a neighbour of yours ; 
 and here's Haley for school director." 
 
 " I knew yez father," said Tim to Haley ; " he wur 
 a United man, an' an A. O. H., so I'll do what I can 
 till give his son a boost. But for James Kelly 
 never ! " Tim smacked his hands together loudly. 
 " Gartenheim gits me vote ; for he give me a job av 
 work when the rist av yez passed me by ! " 
 
 " Don't let any o' those young fellows jolly you, 
 Tim; for they're goin' to git it in the neck, sure! 
 Kelly's the man ! He's the only one that can hold the 
 workers, for he stands in with the mayor. He can git 
 jobs." 
 
 " I've heard that afore now," remarked Tim, stub 
 bornly. McQuirk touseled up the eldest boy's head 
 once more and also shook hands with the mother.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 191 
 
 " Gartenheim's name won't be mentioned," prophe 
 sied he as he buttoned up his light overcoat and paused 
 at the door. " Stand in with the party, that's the thing, 
 eh, Mrs. Burns? The right kind o' people never for 
 gets who puts them in office. Do what's regular, Tim, 
 that's all I ask, do what's regular ; vote to hold the or 
 ganization together and keep the snide reformers out. 
 And, remember, we've got a congressman to elect, the 
 only one o' the right stripe in the city." He opened the 
 door and stood aside while Haley stepped out. " Good 
 night, Tim ; I just thought I'd drop in and talk to you 
 about the thing. No harm done ? " 
 
 " Not a bit," answered Mr. Burns, " Good night." 
 
 And so it went from house to house, from alley to 
 alley, from division to division through the ward. 
 McQuirk did not trust himself in the hands of his 
 workers ; he saw the voters in person, raised the stand 
 ard and appealed to the partisanship that is born in 
 every man ; and so if there was glory to be gained, he 
 was the gainer ; if there was a harvest of defeat to reap, 
 it was not because of lack of personal attention on his 
 part. 
 
 Politics had been McQuirk's study for years, and he
 
 i 9 2 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 had been an apt scholar. He knew nothing of the pro 
 fundity of statesmanship, and cared less ; he had never 
 made a speech upon his feet, and could not had his 
 life depended upon it. But what he did not know of 
 practical politics, as his friend Moran was in the habit 
 of saying, was not worth knowing. He possessed a 
 genius for organization; in getting out the full vote 
 he was unexcelled, and he dominated the freemen of 
 his district by one of three things : Favour the ex 
 pectation of favour the fear of disfavour. 
 
 There were people in the ward that had known him 
 when he was a dump-cart driver, and others who re 
 membered a later period when his only visible means 
 of support was Sunday poker-playing in the parlours 
 of social clubs. Then he became a political hanger-on ; 
 he fetched and carried for the powers that were and by 
 his astuteness gained their favour. Little by little he 
 rose in power, and at length, was sent, under orders, 
 to represent his division in the ward committee. From 
 that time he grew visibly; his name began to appear 
 in the political columns of the Sunday papers and he 
 took to wearing a silk hat. Then came the revolt of a 
 clique of workers that presaged disaster to the ward
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 193 
 
 machine ; McQuirk saw his opportunity, threw himself 
 at the head of the insurgents and in a desperate battle 
 of the ballots, came off victorious. His old benefac 
 tors were driven to the wall and ruthlessly knifed, 
 and McQuirk stood at the head of the committee in 
 the pivotal ward of the district. 
 
 With a solid phalanx of admirers and a chain of 
 supporting social clubs behind him, he soon made him 
 self manifest; controlling the most powerful sub 
 division of the organization, he held the balance of 
 power and was courted and feared. He walked into 
 his first ward convention with his breast pocket stuffed 
 with proxies and dictated the nomination of his bitter 
 est foe ; then he threw his strength, in secret, with an 
 independent movement and buried the said foe under 
 an avalanche of ballots that effectually stripped him of 
 his dangerous qualities. As Mr. Haley had remarked, 
 McQuirk was a miracle. 
 
 James Kelly was sweating blood and spending 
 money, provided by the Motor Traction Company, right 
 and left, to accomplish his nomination. The back 
 room of his saloon, turned into a campaign head 
 quarters, had for weeks been a vortex of activity. The
 
 i 9 4 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 air was never clear of cigar smoke, or the table of beer 
 bottles. Kelly, aided by that rising young politician, 
 Gratten Haley, Nobby Foley and his son, had can 
 vassed the ward from end to end. This did him some 
 good; but vastly greater than their combined exer 
 tions was the fact that the boss favoured him that he 
 was the choice of the machine. 
 
 " That mocaraw," said McQuirk, on Tuesday morn 
 ing as he stood in Moran's " court," " has queered the 
 whole shooting match ! He'll have every voter out to 
 night, either for him or against him, and that'll bring 
 our other people into the fight." 
 
 " He ain't got no gumption," remarked the magis 
 trate tipping himself back in his office chair, and loos 
 ening the foil covering of a paper of fine cut. " The 
 old way's the best. Keep quiet and on the night of the 
 primaries half of them will forget it, and the other half 
 won't bother their heads. Enough picked people to 
 elect each delegate is all we want; when the whole 
 crowd starts to chip in, it keeps you guessing." 
 
 " That's what ! It's time enough to make a hurrah 
 and shoot off the skyrockets when the convention's over 
 and your slate's all to the good; you're fresh for the
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 195 
 
 fight, then ; but when there's a preliminary about who'll 
 carry the flag, it makes hard feelings ; and a man who 
 would turn out with the gang, with a torch dropping 
 grease down his back, in the first place, wouldn't show 
 up in the second even if you promised to put him under 
 a plug hat and on top of a horse ahead of the band." 
 
 Moran nodded his approval of this piece of. political 
 sagacity; McQuirk buttoned up his coat. 
 
 " I've fixed it," said the latter, " so that if anybody's 
 pinched they'll be run over here in the wagon. Be 
 sure you have somebody to bail them out if you can't 
 discharge them." 
 
 " That'll be all right. I'll have Pete Slattery hangin' 
 around somewhere ; he'll do for a few more, yet." 
 
 Here the magistrate laughed, but the boss looked 
 glum. 
 
 " That young Murphy," said he, " is bothering me 
 some. I don't like the way he is jumping into this 
 thing. He's sore on Kelly, eh ? " 
 
 " I should say so ! He'd give him the knife in a 
 minute. Say," continued Moran, suddenly, "ain't you 
 on the wrong track, McQuirk? You don't want to 
 make an enemy of Murphy, he's growin' up and begin-
 
 196 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 ning to take notice, don't you know? Keep him in 
 line ; one young one's as good as a half dozen old ones, 
 and they do more and don't ask as much. Ain't that 
 right?" 
 
 The boss looked at his watch, snapped the case shut, 
 and dropped it into his pocket. 
 
 " I'm going down to the Precinct Club," said he. 
 " The committee holds a pow-wow there in half an 
 hour, and I must make good." 
 
 " But, say," went on the magistrate tenaciously, 
 " what's the good word, Mac ? Sling me a line on it, 
 so's I can put the boys next. Is it Kelly or nothin'? 
 Or is it Kelly if we can ? " 
 
 McQuirk cleared his throat and twisted his ringers 
 among the links of his watch chain. He was not re 
 volving a decision that had been made weeks ago. 
 He merely wanted his honour to draw his answer more 
 from his manner than his words. He had seen politi 
 cal friendships broken before now; and he had also 
 seen men's words, quoted in fat type, posted upon 
 fences. 
 
 " We'll do what we can for Kelly," said he, " yes, 
 we'll do all we can for him."
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 197 
 
 Moran smiled when his visitor left, and caressed his 
 dyed moustache. 
 
 " Just as foxy ! " murmured he. " It'll be a slick 
 member that ever makes him slip his hold, and that's 
 no dream. If Murphy draws the most water why 
 Kelly gets entered among the also rans, that's 
 all." 
 
 Not many members of the Aurora Borealis Club who 
 had entered the political arena against Kelly had gone 
 to work that day. Some were canvassing their di 
 visions for votes or information, and others lounged 
 about the club rooms, ready for anything that might 
 turn up. Larry Murphy, wearing a deep black band 
 about his hat, dropped in during the morning. 
 
 " We're goin' to do him," said Larry, after a long 
 talk with his friends. " If anybody ever needed a 
 lickin', it's Mart Kelly. He wants it bad ! " 
 
 " I heard Mary prayed for in church on Sunday," 
 said Jerry, with a glance at the mourning band. 
 
 "Sure," said Larry. "But she don't need it, 
 though," he added reverently. 
 
 " If we all stood as good as her," remarked Mc- 
 Gonagle, " we'd be all right. Me mother was makm*
 
 i 9 8 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 a novena for her when she died. She t'ought she'd 
 get better." 
 
 " Tell her I'm much obliged," said Larry. " Your 
 mother always liked Mary." After a pause he said: 
 " I'm goin' out to see what's doin'. Don't loaf, gents, 
 keep the t'ing goin'." 
 
 After he had gone McGlory asked. 
 
 " Did any o' youse fella's hear the new one ? " 
 
 " Bat it out," requested McGonagle. 
 
 " One o' Rosie O'Hara's aunts was to see me mother 
 last night, and it was the first time she was ever in 
 our house, for her and me mother can't hit it. I was 
 out at the time over to see Veronica, ye know but 
 I heard all about it at breakfast-time next mornin'." 
 
 " Well, chop it off ! " urged McGonagle, impa 
 tiently. " Don't wait until I'm grey-headed. Bat it 
 out." 
 
 " Larry and Rose is goin' to run double." 
 
 " G'way ! " Goose stared at his friend, amazedly. 
 " It must be a roast. Murphy was a friend o' Larkin's ; 
 he wouldn't play him dirt like that ! " 
 
 " What's Larkin got to do with it ? "
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 199 
 
 " Why him an' Rose was engaged on the quiet, ye 
 know." 
 
 " Whew ! " Jerry whistled through his teeth and 
 frowned across the table at the other. " I'll bet the 
 best skate we've got in the stable that Murphy don't 
 know a thing about it." 
 
 " But Rose does ! She's give Jimmie the ice-house 
 laugh, that's what she's done ; he's only a sparrer, an' 
 Murphy's got the money, see? I never put me lamps 
 on a woman yet that wasn't daffy after a guy what's 
 got a wad o' rags." 
 
 Danny Casey who sat by a window, emerged from 
 behind his newspaper, took his feet from the sill, and 
 observed : 
 
 " There seems to be lots o' new t'ings chasin' around. 
 When I heard that Dick Nolan and Roddy Ferguson 
 had made up, ye cud a-knocked me down with a straw ; 
 but when I seen them workin' together against Kelly, 
 why, say, I almost fainted." 
 
 " That ivas a funny t'ing," agreed McGonagle. " I 
 tried to pump Roddy, but he was dead dry. But, say, 
 it'll be a good snap for us all, eh? Nolan's ace high
 
 200 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 with Gartenheim, and if he kin coax him to step out, 
 and give O'Connor a push, Kelly '11 be a dead cock in 
 the pit." 
 
 Casey shook his head doubtfully. He felt that 
 Goose's hopes were a trifle too roseate. 
 
 " Dick pulls some weight wit' the old man," ad 
 mitted he ; " but he can't do all that. I tell youse Gar- 
 tenheim's too sore on O'Connor to turn in for him. 
 Stick to Murphy's lay-out; we've got the best chance 
 there. When we spring it, take me word for it, the 
 whole shootin' match'll stand up on their hind legs." 
 
 " Youse might be right ; I only hope ye are," said 
 Jerry. " Anyhow let's go down the line ; we ain't doin' 
 no good holdin' down chairs around here. I want to 
 see old man Hoffer and a lot more guys; they're 
 friends o' the old man's and I want to sling 'em a 
 breeze." 
 
 When seven o'clock drew on the division houses 
 were wide open ; the special policemen and ward work 
 ers were clustered in the doorways and were aghast 
 at the magnitude of the vote called out by the conflicting 
 efforts of Kelly and his opponents ; it was as heavy as 
 that of a general election and stood unprecedented in
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 201 
 
 their experience. McQuirk, in a silk hat and with a 
 cigar between his teeth, was going from division to 
 division, in one of McGrath's hacks; his subordinates 
 worked zealously with the vote, feeling that their fu 
 ture weal depended upon the impression that they 
 made. 
 
 Clancy came through McGarragle's Alley and turned 
 down the avenue toward the polling place of his di 
 vision ; his white apron was tucked up about his waist 
 and he carried a ballot fluttering between his fingers. 
 Murphy who stood by the curb, watching things, and 
 sending out his aids to drag voters from their suppers, 
 at once pounced upon the grocer. 
 
 " Just a second, Clancy ! " besought he. 
 
 A stout man with a red face protested. 
 
 " Ah, let the man be ! " requested he. " The polls '11 
 be closed in a little while. Go ahead and vote, 
 Clancy!" 
 
 " Close yer face, will youse? I'm doin' this." 
 
 " An' yer makin' a mess of it. too. Youse people '11 
 split the ticket, and we'll get it good and hard, like last 
 time." 
 
 " I take notice youse have all turned in for de guy
 
 202 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 what licked youse; youse fellas would cap for Mc- 
 Quirk to beat yer own gran'father." 
 
 Murphy was about to unmask his batteries and 
 wither the red-faced man with sarcasm when Clancy 
 interrupted him. 
 
 " What d'yez want av me ? " asked he. 
 
 " Yer got a pink ticket there. Just open it and paste 
 this sticker over Pete Slattery's name." 
 
 " Divil the bit ! Sure, Slattery's a friend av mine, 
 an' a customer." 
 
 " But, say, he's for Kelly ! Ye ain't goin' to help 
 that slob to lick us, are ye? " 
 
 " For Kelly ! Begorry, they niver towld me that. 
 Where's yez sticker? Divil a boost '11 I give a man 
 that's for James Kelly." 
 
 A deep murmur that swelled into a smothered roar 
 came from the cigar store where the balloting was be 
 ing held. A dense group of excited, gesticulating 
 workers were gathered about the table; in their midst 
 stood two men, their noses almost together, their faces 
 pale, their voices high-pitched and angry. 
 
 " Ye don't vote, see," declared one. " Ye ain't got 
 no vote, here, and that goes."
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 203 
 
 " I'm as good a Democrat as youse," maintained the 
 other, " you're a mugwump, ye stiff ! " 
 
 "You're a liar!" 
 
 In an instant they had clinched and were making 
 maddened efforts to strike. A policeman rushed in, 
 tore them apart and hustled one out upon the sidewalk. 
 Murphy desperately forced his way through the crowd ; 
 he saw a vote being lost to his faction, and the sight 
 aroused all his combativeness. 
 
 " Let him go," commanded he. " He didn't do 
 nothin', Callahan ! " 
 
 Officer Callahan turned with upraised club. " 111 
 break your lace ! " growled he, " I'm dead onto you, 
 anyhow." 
 
 There was no telling to what extreme the young man 
 would have gone, had not McGonagle and some others 
 pulled him away. 
 
 " Youse must be daffy ! " exclaimed Goose, " D'ye 
 want to play right into their hands? Every copper 
 around the booth's a Kelly man and they'll rope in us 
 people if we look cross-eyed; and then we'll get the 
 wrong end of it, sure." 
 
 " The wagon's been out t'ree times in Tom Hogan's
 
 204 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 precinct," said another, " they're challengin' all our 
 people and t'rowin' 'em down an' givin' 'em a ride if 
 they kick." 
 
 " I know'd Hogan'd get the goose if he'd go against 
 Daily alone. Somebody go down and help him out " ; 
 continued Murphy. " Hully Gee, we gotta' hold 'em 
 safe down tihere, it's our strongest graft, and we can't 
 afford to be gold-bricked, gents." 
 
 " It's too late," spoke McGonagle, looking at his 
 open-faced watch ; " the polls '11 be closed in a quarter 
 of an hour." 
 
 Jerry McGlory dashed up in his father's falling-top 
 buggy. 
 
 " Anything doing ? " asked he. 
 
 " It's all done," answered Larry. 
 
 "How's the vote?" 
 
 " Heavy as lead." 
 
 " They're doin' us dirt," said McGlory, bitterly. 
 " They're pullin' our vote, an' holdin' 'em for a hearin' 
 in the mornin'. They took twelve out o' Mason's pre 
 cinct since seven o'clock ! " 
 
 " Move over," said Larry. He and McGonagle 
 jumped into the carriage beside Jerry, as he continued :
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 205 
 
 " Now throw it into that old skate o' yourn for all yer 
 worth." 
 
 " Which way? " asked McGlory. 
 
 " Up to Moran's," answered his friend. " He's 
 goin' to do somethin' damned quick, or the next guy he 
 holds for a hearin' '11 have done somethin' to be held 
 for!"
 
 Chapter XX 
 
 " The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve." 
 
 SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 ~T\ UT Moran was not to be found. After the 
 i ~\ horse had been put up, Jerry started for the 
 club. Larry and McGonagle began a round 
 of the divisions; but finding the polling places 
 closed, followed Jerry's footsteps. The hour was 
 midnight ; the moon was pushing its red rim above 
 the housetops ; and the great heart of the city throbbed 
 but slowly. The streets were silent, deserted, save for 
 a single pedestrian who now and then loomed up, 
 ghost-like, from the shadows and as suddenly vanished 
 frorh view. 
 
 " So youse t'ink we've got the bulge, eh? " asked 
 Goose, as they hurried along. 
 
 " Sure ! We copped votes in places where I t'ought 
 we'd get the dinky-dink. If the other end o' the ward's 
 as much to the good, we're all right." 
 
 206
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 207 
 
 An engine pulled out of the freight yard as they 
 were about to pass and stood coughing and panting 
 upon the path, blocking their passage. A shower of cin 
 ders dropped through the grate bars, turned a dull red 
 and then expired ; a man ran along the top of the cars 
 swinging his lamp in frantic signals ; the moist, grimy 
 face of the fireman peered through the cab window, his 
 inflamed eyes blinking at the fluttering red spark ; then 
 the lever was reversed with a jerk, and back they go 
 until a sudden crash and a shrill " Why-OO ! " tells 
 the engineer that another car has been added to his 
 string. 
 
 " Come on," said Goose, " here comes the ' loco ' 
 again. What are youse lookin' at? " 
 
 Murphy was gazing over his shoulder into the 
 shadow and did not take advantage of the shifting 
 engine's retreat. Two men were swiftly crossing the 
 street toward them. 
 
 " Here comes a couple o' gents what wants to sling 
 us a breeze," said Larry. " It's either the price of a 
 bed they're chasin' up, or they want to give us a piece 
 o' lead pipe." 
 
 " The fat one looks like old Kelly," observed
 
 208 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 McGonagle. "Say, he can't be on the fight, kin 
 he?" 
 
 They waited for the men to come up ; and once more 
 the signal lamp swayed up and down, once more the 
 engine wheezed out upon the path, groaning and hiss 
 ing as though in protest. A man rushed down the 
 track, paused under the flaring head-light to look at 
 some papers, and then began swearing at someone in 
 the darkness. He had lost one hand and the stump 
 was armed with an iron hook; this he waved fran 
 tically. 
 
 " Drop them last cars ! Go down the next siding and 
 pick up the flats! You know better than this, 
 Conroy ! " 
 
 The engine seemed to have caught his humour for it 
 snorted angrily ; the crew began twisting madly at the 
 brakes, the lamps were set swinging down the track ; 
 a shadowy form darted out of the gloom, threw open a 
 switch and was immediately swallowed up again. The 
 panting of the locomotive grew fainter ; from far down 
 the yard its head-light burned like a dim. red spark. 
 The man with the hook entered a watch box and an 
 grily slammed the door. Silence!
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 209 
 
 " We heard that yez had come this way," remarked 
 Kelly, as he came up. " McQuirk an' mesilf were 
 passin' Phil Burk's place as he wur shuttin' up an' he 
 towld us yez had started for the club." 
 
 " We want to have a little talk," said the boss, as 
 they walked along. " A little confabulation, you 
 know." 
 
 Larry nudged his friend, and received a like signal 
 in return. 
 
 " All right," said he, cheerfully, "' sing your song, 
 Mac. What's on yer mind ? " 
 
 " We want till ax yez " Kelly began, hurriedly ; 
 but McQuirk stopped him. 
 
 " Let me tend to this," requested he, coolly. He 
 turned to Larry and in a fatherly fashion laid his hand 
 upon his shoulder. They were under an arc lamp and 
 in the blue-white light. Larry saw that his face was 
 wrinkling with smiles. 
 
 " You toys put up a good fight," said McQuirk. " I 
 like the way you run things. Me an' Moran was 
 talkin' about an hour ago; he's feelin' obliged to the 
 club for turnin' in for Rhinehardt for common council, 
 and told me to tell you so."
 
 aio THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Don't mention it," murmured Larry. 
 
 " There's bigger lobsters than Rhinehardt kickin' 
 around loose," put in McGonagle. " He kin get a 
 lamp-post put on the corner if youse want one bad ; an' 
 he kin have one took away if youse kick. That's 
 more'n some o' the other guys kin do for the ward." 
 
 McQuirk nodded and smiled approvingly. 
 
 " Haley's got a safe majority in the convention," 
 said he ; " the present member '11 go back on the ticket 
 for Congress; Abrams has won in a canter; and the 
 only man that's been back-heeled is Kelly, here. You 
 boys fought him so hard that he could only split even." 
 
 " Much obliged for puttin' us on," said Larry. " So 
 we made it a draw, eh ? " 
 
 " That's just what you done," laughed the boss ; " an 
 even draw ! I like to see young roosters make a game 
 fight ; it shows that they're made of good stuff. But, 
 look here; now that you've showed your spurs, what 
 are ye goin' to do? Kelly's the choice of the regular 
 crowd." 
 
 Facing tHem was Kerrigan's saloon, ablaze with in 
 candescent lamps. A number of men came noisily 
 forth and went wrangling up the street; the white-
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 211 
 
 jacketed barkeeper came out and looked after them; 
 then he went in, banged the door and turned off the 
 lights. 
 
 " Damn it ! " exclaimed Kelly ; " he's shut up. I wur 
 just goin' till ax yez in till have a sup av somethinV 
 
 " Much obliged," returned Larry. " We ain't hittin' 
 the booze to-night. We're in trainin', see ? " 
 
 " The regulars all want Kelly," persisted McQuirk, 
 " and we want to hear from you people. Who are ye 
 goin' to throw the vote for ? " 
 
 Larry looked at him sourly. 
 
 " The reg'lar crowd, eh ? " sneered he. " That's a 
 good t'ing, ain't it ? " to McGonagle, " that's a real 
 good t'ing." He turned once more to McQuirk and 
 demanded : " Say who is the regulars, eh ? Ain't it 
 the majority o' the party ? And if none o' us ain't got 
 the big end o' it, who d'youse call the reg'lar push, eh ? 
 Ain't us guys, what's workin' agin Kelly, inside the 
 lines? Don't we say our say? And don't we win if 
 we hold the people ? " 
 
 " Keep yer shirt on," soothed McQuirk. 
 
 " That's all right, see ? " Larry was speaking in a 
 loud, sharp tone, working his arms like flails. They
 
 212 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 had paused upon the sidewalk, before the door of the 
 club. The piano was being thumped joyously and a 
 thundering chorus came through the partly opened 
 windows : 
 
 "I'm candidate, 
 
 For magistrate, 
 
 An' believe me what I say, 
 
 So, pull off your coat, 
 
 An' cast yer vote, 
 
 For me on 'lection day." 
 
 The singing ceased suddenly and a voice shouted : 
 
 "What's the matter wit' Kelly?" 
 
 A cyclone of groans, hisses and profanity came 
 whirling out into the night. The execrated one looked 
 at McQuirk ; and McQuirk shrugged his shoulders and 
 laughed. A man got between the light and one of the 
 club windows; his body, silhouetted upon the blind, 
 writhed and swayed ; his right hand flourished a beer 
 glass above his head, apparently demanding silence. 
 At last his voice was heard. 
 
 " Gents," cried he, " we have slammed it into 'em,
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 213 
 
 ain't that right? We've got the t'ing cinched! We 
 don't want that lobster Kelly, and we'll sit on the mugs 
 what trys to ring him in. We got a man of our own." 
 He flourished the glass, seeming to defy contradiction. 
 " We got a man of our own," repeated he ; " and he's 
 a winner in a walk ! Gents, I'll ask you for t'ree rips 
 for old man McGlory ! " 
 
 The yell that followed split the silence like a knife ; 
 the man with the glass vanished from the blind; the 
 piano resumed its measured beat; the triumphant 
 chorus once more began. 
 
 " Youse just asked me what us people was agoin' to 
 do," said Larry. " Well the gang just saved me the 
 trouble o' tellin' yez." 
 
 " So McGlory will go afore the convention, Mur 
 phy? "asked Kelly. 
 
 " It looks like it," admitted Larry.
 
 Chapter XXI 
 
 " We were batting the town, from the sun went down, 
 Till the morning grew grey in the sky; 
 l And we heard the cocks crow, as we homeward did go, 
 With our skins full of mellow old rye." 
 
 SONGS OF THE CURB. 
 
 the two young men pushed open the 
 door leading to the club's parlour, they 
 found themselves in a vortex of wild en 
 thusiasm. The congregated members, for the most 
 part, were coatless; and with cigars clinched 
 between their teeth they madly gyrated about the room 
 to the tune of : 
 
 " Oh Murphy he was paralysed, 
 McCarty couldn't see, 
 'I was drunk, but Ferguson, 
 Was a damn sight worse than me!"' 
 214
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 215 
 
 Danny Casey, his suspenders slipped from his shoul 
 ders and his derby hat tipped back upon his head, pre 
 sided at the piano; McGlory, standing upon the pool 
 table waved his arms like a bandmaster. 
 
 Mike McCarty appeared to be the only sane person 
 in the place; he stood in the doorway that led to the 
 adjoining room, as self-possessed, as well-dressed as 
 ever, a smile upon his face. Though he was born in an 
 alley and of a woman who took in washing, Mike, in 
 instinct, taste and deportment, was a gentleman. 
 Seeing Larry and McGonagle enter, he beckoned them 
 into the other room and closed the door. 
 
 " The push is havin' a good time," remarked Larry. 
 " That's a lovely skate McGlory's got." 
 
 " They're all about half lit up," returned McCarty ; 
 " and they are plumb daffy, too. It's best to save yer 
 sky-rockets till after the game's won; ain't that 
 right?" 
 
 " We'll take it from youse," agreed Larry. 
 
 "How did youse make out?" asked Mike. 
 
 " Knocked 'em cold ! We both go to the conven 
 tion, all right." 
 
 " It was a cinch," put in Goose. " There's about
 
 2i6 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 forty o' McGlory's drivers boardin' in my division, and 
 when the old man cut 'em loose, the Kelly push wilted 
 like wet rags." 
 
 " Then we got 'em," declared Mike, exultantly. " I 
 knowed youse'd win out; that gives us two more." 
 He nodded toward a sheet of foolscap upon the table, 
 covered with names and figures. " Kerrigan made 
 that," added he. " It's all right, I guess." 
 
 Larry and McGonagle bent over the paper atten 
 tively ; the uproar in the other room continued ; but the 
 tune was changed; the dancing had ceased and the 
 voices of the overjoyed members were raised in the 
 ditty: 
 
 "I'm goiri down to Kerrigan's, 
 On purpose to get tight, 
 An' when I get home again, 
 There's gain' to be a fight, 
 I'll smash up all the furniture, 
 And all the dishes, too, 
 Upset the stove when I go in, 
 Is the first t'ing I will do."
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 217 
 
 The reasons for these acts of domestic vandalism 
 were not inquired into by Murphy or McGonagle; 
 each had his finger upon a name and they were look 
 ing at each other with something like dismay. 
 
 " Tim Daily," Larry straightened up and fairly 
 glared. 
 
 " And Levitsky," moaned Goose. " Elected by our 
 people, too ! Oh, I kin see our finish, right here." 
 
 " Hully Gee ! " murmured McCarty, " is them peo- ' 
 pie been worked in? Then they're got the bulge." 
 
 There ensued a silence as sulphurous as any pro 
 fanity ever conceived by mortal man. Then McGona 
 gle spoke. " Well," demanded he, of Larry, " what 
 next?" 
 
 " They've put us up against it, hard," mourned 
 Larry. 
 
 " Got anyt'ing to say Murphy ? " 
 
 Larry glowered at them in bovine fury. " I went 
 into this mix," declared he, his right hand beating upon 
 his left, " to win ! And we're goin 'to win if we have 
 to tear up the ward be the roots ! McQuirk's played a 
 foxy game, and worked some of our people for rank
 
 art THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 suckers, see ? But we'll kick the props from under him 
 and do him brown, d'ye hear ? We'll do him brown ! " 
 
 "How?" ventured McGonagle. 
 
 " How ? I don't care a damn how we do it ! We 
 ain't a'goin' to let him play us for good t'ings, 
 are we?" 
 
 " Let's go see Daily," suggested Goose. 
 
 McCarty looked at his watch. " It only wants a 
 couple o' minutes o' one," said he, " Daily's snorin' t' 
 beat the band by this time." 
 
 "Not on yer life! He's on the night shift this 
 week," said Larry. " We kin see him, all right. Come 
 on, Goose." 
 
 The two repassed through the parlour, almost unno 
 ticed in the excitement, and down the stairs to the 
 street. They headed eastward over Girard Avenue, 
 their objective point being one of the iron mills that 
 line the river front in Kensington. 
 
 Down a narrow street, under the light of the lamps, 
 a dozen or more of men were swinging long-handled 
 brooms; a pair of bony, dispirited horses followed in 
 their track, their driver shovelling the heaps of rubbish
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 219 
 
 into the cart. The scavengers droned a strange-sound 
 ing song as they worked ; the watching overseer talked 
 constantly, in a sharp, high tone ; the horses hung their 
 heads dejectedly and rattled at the chains of their 
 harness. 
 
 " That's some of McGlory's night gang," remarked 
 Larry. " They start 'em out early since the loot re 
 ported dirty streets in the old man's district/' 
 
 They turned into a quiet street leading toward the 
 river. A cellar door opened, and a broad barb of light 
 shot across the sidewalk; from the midst of this rose 
 a pallid, spectral form, and stood looking calmly into 
 the night. But it was only a baker, clad in his spotless 
 working dress, popping out of his overheated basement 
 for a breath of air. A great stack, towering skyward, 
 and vomiting a blazing shower of sparks into the night, 
 showed that they were nearing the mill. The huge, 
 low, shed-like buildings lifted their corrugated walls, 
 like the beginnings of greater structures ; a knot of 
 men were gathered about the wide doorway; they had 
 limp, damp towels twisted about their necks and all 
 smoked short pipes. Rows of puddlers, naked to the
 
 220 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 waist, their bodies glistening with perspiration, stood 
 before the furnaces " balling " the molten metal ; from 
 time to time one would drench himself with water, and 
 once more face the Cyclopean eye glaring so angrily 
 upon him. 
 
 Daily was among the crowd at the door, and he 
 smiled and winked at his fellows, as the two young 
 men approached. 
 
 " We'll on'y keep youse a second," said Larry. He 
 gathered from Daily's expression that he knew the na 
 ture of their errand. " Come on in here." 
 
 The three entered the building. The vast mill was 
 in almost complete darkness, save for the far end 
 where, sweltering, the puddlers toiled; here and there 
 an incandescent light threw a thin gleam over the pon 
 derous machines which crouched close to the floor like 
 squat black monsters. Huge cogs, a-glitter with grease 
 ground together with metallic growls. 
 
 " Cut it out," said Daily ; " this heat '11 be on in a 
 minute or so." 
 
 " We've heard that yous're got the papers in your 
 division to vote in the convention t'morrow," said 
 Larry.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 221 
 
 " That's what," grinned Daily. " I'm the delegate, 
 all right." 
 
 " Who are youse for ? " asked Larry. 
 
 " Why Kelly, of course ! I'm a regular, see ? I don't 
 get dead sore because t'ings ain't batted my way; ain't 
 that right? I didn't start to work to-night till 1 got 
 out the vote," continued Daily, with a laugh, " an' the 
 way your people shoved their little old votes in for me 
 when Foley slung 'em a breeze that I was against 
 Kelly, would make youse hit yer mother. Say, it was 
 the real t'ing ! " 
 
 " I knowed youse done us dirt ! " exclaimed Larry. 
 
 " None o' youse could a-squeezed in any other way 
 in that division," put in McGonagle, angrily. 
 
 " Ah, git out ! If they was fools enough, whose 
 fault is it? If you was dead set on carryin' the pre 
 cinct, why didn't youse watch your end o' the game, 
 eh ? But I got the vote, and I'm for Kelly ! " 
 
 From far away in the dimness of the mill, a hammer 
 rang upon an iron plate with a tumultuous clangour. 
 A voice vociferated : 
 
 "Heat! Heat! Heat-oo!" 
 
 Pipes were laid aside ; heavy shoes rattled along the
 
 222 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 plated floor; the rolls began to rumble slowly as the 
 belts were shifted from the loose pulleys; the men 
 seized their tools and stood ready. 
 
 " So long," said Daily. " The 'heat's up." 
 
 " Hold on ! " Murphy held him by the arm and 
 spoke rapidly. " Listen to me. A delegate sits in a 
 pow-wow to talk for the people what sends him ; ain't 
 that right? An* if they sends him to salt a man, and 
 he supports him, why he's playin' 'em all for good 
 t'ings!" 
 
 Daily turned away. "Youse give me a pain," 
 sneered he, over his shoulder. 
 
 They watched him as he took his place at the rolls. 
 Huge tongs running upon trolleys, were shoved into 
 the gaping maws of the furnaces and each emerged 
 gripping a white-hot mass of metal. A jarring concus 
 sion rang through the building ; it was the first of these 
 being passed through the rolls, and its scattering scales 
 made even the hardened " passers " flinch. Report fol 
 lowed report; the darkness had vanished before the 
 lurid glare; the heat of the place became blistering. 
 Amid the blinding flashes and the serpentlike bars that 
 crawled about the floor, the men worked furiously, like
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 223 
 
 heat-maddened demons, engaged in some dread incan 
 tation. 
 
 Then they turned and walked away. Larry's face 
 worked with rage; McGonagle walked gloomily along 
 at his side, his hands stuffed into his pockets, his head 
 bent dejectedly. 
 
 " We've got it where we live," said the latter. " It 
 was all serene till we heard o' this, and if he's goin' to 
 vote for Kelly, why we can't stop him, that's all; we 
 can't do nawthin'." 
 
 " T'ell we can't ! " cried the enraged Murphy. " Say, 
 look'et here, Goose; one hour after Tim Daily says 
 ' yea ' for Kelly he'll be in St. Mary's done up in 
 splints! He's played crooked with us people, ain't 
 that right? And we'll git even if we have to t'ump 
 him. Ah!" 
 
 They walked along for a time, in silence. 
 
 " Are ye goin' to see the other lobster ? " questioned 
 Goose. 
 
 " Let's go over to the Dutchman's, hit a bracer and 
 talk t'ings over, first. I've got cobwebs in me head 
 an' I want to brush 'em away. The motzer kin wait 
 till daylight."
 
 224 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 The saloon was the only all-night establishment in 
 the neighbourhood. It glittered with clusters of elec 
 tric lamps and broad, gilt-framed mirrors; a marble- 
 topped bar backed by pyramids of glasses and bottles 
 stood upon one side. 
 
 They talked in a desultory way for some time, con 
 suming much beer and many plates of sandwiches. 
 Dawn stretched a grey hand through the window and 
 dimmed the clusters of lights ; and when they ranged 
 along the bar for the last drink, the streets were filling 
 with people hurrying toward their work. 
 
 Then they tramped off toward the spreading He 
 brew settlement on North Second Street. Levitsky, 
 the man whom they sought, while he claimed a voting 
 place in the ward, really lived south of the line, in one 
 of the row of houses that face the old market sheds. 
 These teem with long-coated, huge-bearded Russian 
 Jews, who drag their stock in trade upon the sidewalk 
 each morning and prowl up and down before it watch 
 ing for customers, and hoarsely shouting in a mixture 
 of English and Yiddish. 
 
 Larry and his chum paused before a dirty bulk win 
 dow heaped with odds and ends of merchandise ; on a
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 225 
 
 stand upon the sidewalk lay little stacks of Yiddish 
 newspapers and pamphlets; a thin, yellow-faced man, 
 in a round, high-crowned cap, and with a beard of 
 patriarchal length, sat in the doorway twisting a 
 cigarette out of some damp tobacco. He was a wise 
 man in the Ghetto, learned in the law and a public 
 reader of the scrolls; he knew the ways of Gentile 
 youth when it was half drunken, for he drew his long 
 coat about his gaunt frame as they approached, and 
 raised his hand to prevent the expected plucking at his 
 beard. 
 
 " Where's Levitsky ? " asked Larry. 
 
 The man in the velvet cap gestured his relief and 
 called shrilly to someone within. A girl came out; a 
 dark-eyed, deep-breasted girl, the perfect type of 
 Jewess. 
 
 " Levitsky's gone down to get his breakfast at 
 Sam's," said she. 
 
 " Much obliged," said Larry. " Come on, Goose." 
 
 Down the street a scarlet lettered sign flamed con 
 spicuously among a wilderness of others, and thither 
 they hurried and entered at the door over which it 
 hung. The revolving fans drove the hot, strong-
 
 226 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 odoured breath of the place into -their faces ; waiters, 
 greasy aproned and perspiring, rushed about dexter 
 ously balancing pyramids of food-filled crockery; the 
 iroom resounded with shouted orders and the incessant 
 ringing of the cash register. 
 
 " There he is," said Larry. 
 
 A stocky young man, in a collarless shirt, was just 
 about to seat himself at a table; he greeted them sur- 
 prisedly, 
 
 " Vy cert'ny," answered he, " ye kin see me. But 
 I cand sell no bolicy here, chends ; there ish doo many 
 beoble." 
 
 "' We ain't lookin' for policy. We want to see youse 
 about yer little old vote in the convention." 
 
 Levitsky grinned. " Oh ! " said he, " veil, sit down. 
 Vill you have anyding to eat ? " 
 
 " No ! " said Larry. " We'll on'y stay in here a 
 second." 
 
 The policy-writer did not urge them, but turned to 
 the waiter. 
 
 " Two fried eggs ; a rare steak ant onions, ant a 
 cup of coffee." 
 
 And then Larry proceeded to state his views;
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 227 
 
 Levitsky listened, never volunteering a word, until he 
 had finished his excited remarks, then he spoke. 
 
 " Youse chends alvays treaded me right," said he, 
 " and I wud like to do someding for you, an'd dot ride ? 
 But McQuirk jusd god me oudt of drouble and I cand 
 go pack on him, can I ? " He flourished his arms 
 wildly as though protesting against the mere thought. 
 " I vill leave id to you fellas ! " exclaimed he, " vould id 
 be ride?" 
 
 This involved a question of ethics with which neither 
 Larry nor McGonagle felt themselves capable of 
 grappling. 
 
 " But say," demanded Murphy, " do youse t'ink us 
 people's goin' to make good to McQuirk because he got 
 youse out o' hock? If ye want's to square yerself, 
 don't make us stand for that. Ye've copped a sneak 
 on us, Levitsky, ye know ye have." 
 
 They argued the question until the ordered break 
 fast appeared. Levitsky attacked it, apparently un 
 moved in his determination to remain faithful to the 
 boss ; the others got up angry and despairing. 
 
 " Just now," said Larry, " it looks as if youse had 
 us skinned to death ; but, say, there's a block for every
 
 228 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 punch, and if Daily and youse try to double bank us, 
 we'll git even in the convention if we have to pull the 
 shack!" 
 
 And they left the place.
 
 Chapter XXII 
 
 " Come all ye sons of Erin an' listen to my lay, 
 An' I'll tell the story av the wise man av Galway, 
 A credit to his country a credit to his name, 
 Three provinces a-ringin' wid the echoes av his fame." 
 
 AN OLD COME-ALL-YE. 
 
 rHERE were but few at the six o'clock serv 
 ice, and these were so scattered about the 
 church 'as to create the impression of va 
 cancy. The priest, glittering in gold-embroidered 
 vestments intoned the mass at the high altar; 
 the acolytes drowsily made the responses ; the wor 
 shippers followed the sacrifice with devout atten 
 tion; a restless child now and then broke the silence 
 that pervaded. 
 
 A light stole through a long, stained window, throw 
 ing shafts of crimson and purple radiance across the 
 side altar, where stood a carven image of the Holy 
 Virgin. A girl knelt at the altar rail, her head bowed, 
 her hands clasped. Even the black-robed sisters, who 
 
 229
 
 2 3 o THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 taught in the parochial school, now and then raised 
 their eyes to look at her, for she was so white, her 
 attitude was so supplicating. 
 
 Larry Murphy who was very regular at church since 
 Mary died, often glanced up from his book to look at 
 the pleading figure; but he did not recognize her, he 
 was too far off, or the light was too dim. It was Rosie 
 O'Hara. 
 
 With all her pure young heart Rosie was pleading 
 for her love. Right or wrong she had been taught to 
 carry her griefs to her who had been born into the 
 world to crush the serpent's head; and with an in 
 tensity for which her mind could find no words, she 
 prayed mutely. 
 
 The gleaming, richly-wrought vessels had been 
 taken from the tabernacle and stood upon the pure 
 white altar cloth; the good father bent his knee, and 
 every Head sank in adoration. Rosie, awed to the very 
 soul at the proximity of the unveiled host, found words 
 the words of the angel : 
 
 " Hail Mary, full of grace," she breathed, " blessed 
 art thou among women ; and blessed is trie fruit of thy 
 womb, Jesus."
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 231 
 
 At intervals the bell continued to ring softly, the 
 people beat their breasts; all bent before the uplifted 
 host, save the child, who looked on, open-eyed, won 
 dering. 
 
 " Holy Mary, mother of God," pleaded the girl. 
 " Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our 
 death!" 
 
 When the services were ended, Rosie lingered until 
 the priest had left the altar and the people had gone. 
 Upon her way out she paused. In a far corner, where 
 the light scarcely fell, hung a pale, white Christ upon 
 a cross ; she knelt and pressed her lips to the wounded 
 feet, her eyes bright with tears, and then she passed 
 out through the great swinging doors. 
 
 Larry had been one of the first to leave the church ; 
 Jimmie Larkin, who was standing upon Kerrigan's 
 corner, saw him, instantly crossed the street and ad 
 vanced to meet him. 
 
 " Larkin ! " young Murphy's voice showed his sur 
 prise ; and he held out his hand in a hearty, full-blooded 
 fashion. But Jimmie stuffed his hands into his 
 pockets, and stared at him, with a sneer. 
 
 " Ain't youse forgot somethin' ? " asked he.
 
 1232 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 Larry looked his astonishment : " What's hurtin' 
 ye? " he demanded. 
 
 "Ye know well enough! I've bin put next to the 
 cross game yer workin', Murphy; I'm dead on, I tell 
 ye, and I'm rotten sorry ! I trusted ye, I did ; I trusted 
 youse like I would me brother." 
 
 " Say, what's the matter with youse, Larkin ? Don't 
 stand there like a stuffed shirt! Put me on to the 
 trouble. What are youse jumpin' me for?" 
 
 " Ah ! Don't try that ; it won't work. I ain't sore 
 because I got the dinky-dink, but on'y because youse 
 had a hand in it! You was me pal, wasn't youse? 
 Didn't I usta sleep with youse? And didn't we eat 
 together? I borried yer coin when I was strapped, 
 and lent youse mine when I had any. You knowed all 
 about how it was with me and her, ye knowed it and 
 done me dirt when me back was turned. That's the 
 part what hurts, an I've broke trainin' to come here 
 and lick youse, Murphy to lick youse till ye beg ! " 
 
 Larry drew back, frowning into the other's flushed 
 face. 
 
 " I don't know what ye mean," said he, sharply. 
 " Youse're a friend o' mine, Larkin, and I'll stand for
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 233 
 
 all kinds o' talk from ye, but, say, if ye go t'rowin' 
 any punches my way, I'll try to give ye a run for yer 
 trouble." 
 
 It was then that Rosie came out of the church. She 
 saw, with frightened eyes, the angry and threatening 
 gestures, and caught the high, sharp tones of their 
 voices. She Lurried forward, her heart palpitating, 
 realizing at once the cause of the quarrel. 
 
 " Oh, Jimmie," she exclaimed. " Have you got back 
 home!" 
 
 " Oh, yes," said he mockingly : " I've come back. 
 I just wanted to see Larry, that's all." 
 
 " Don't ask Larry about it," she pleaded, eagerly. 
 " He don't know a thing. Let's walk down toward 
 McTurpin's, and I'll tell you" 
 
 Larkin laughed and interrupted her. " Gee ! " ex 
 claimed he, " is it that bad, eh ? Is he a-goin' to hide 
 behind yer skirts ? " 
 
 " I ain't a-goin to hide, and I ain't got no reason 
 to hide," stormed Murphy. " Come on, whatever it 
 is ! We'll settle this right here." 
 
 " Don't fight," said Rosie, frightened more than 
 ever. " Look you're a-most in front of the church.
 
 234 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 Honest to God, Larry, I couldn't help it! Me father 
 got it around : He told everybody." 
 
 "Eh! Told what?" 
 
 " Why, you know that, what Mary said ; you ain't 
 forgot about that ? When she was dyin', I mean." 
 
 "Oh! No! But what's he gotta do with that? 
 That's what I want to know; where's his kick 
 a-comin? " 
 
 " Me and him was engaged, ye know, an' Pop made 
 me write to him that me and you " 
 
 " No ! " Murphy fairly gasped as he caught her 
 meaning. " Say, did youse do that ? " 
 
 Rosie began to choke and sob. 
 
 " Oh, Larry, I couldn't help it ; they frightened me 
 so; and I was willing to do anything." 
 
 Larkin was looking from one to the other, puzzled, 
 glowering and suspicious. Murphy turned to him. 
 
 " You're right," said he. " If ye t'ought I was doin' 
 that, I don't blame youse for wantin' to start t'ings my 
 way. But, say, we kin fix this up to suit. Les' go 
 in here," nodding to the open iron gate that led to the 
 little burial ground behind the church. " We kin talk 
 all we want and nobody'll hear us.'*
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 235 
 
 They walked about the tiny inclosure where lay the 
 parish dead, under the rank tufts of grass and the 
 weather-beaten stones; and there they told Jimmie of 
 Mary's request, and Rosie narrated the story of her 
 father's crafty handling of her to break one promise 
 and keep the other. 
 
 Young Larkin drew his breath, slowly, after all had 
 been said, and then expelled it with great force. He 
 held out his hand to Larry. 
 
 " It's up to me," said he. " I might a-knowed, old 
 pal ; but youse know how it is." 
 
 " It's all right," said Murphy, shaking his hand ; 
 " on'y ye might a-looked at it that way before ye 
 jumped me. But let it go at that, it's all to the good 
 now." 
 
 " But the promise," said Rosie. " That'll always be 
 there ; I can't break it ; I'd be frightened to." 
 
 " Gee ! " cried Larkin, impatiently. " Don't mind 
 that ; Mary was outa her head, see ? And the old ones 
 was a-workin' youse ; they was after Murphy's money, 
 see?" 
 
 But the fear was implanted too deeply in her 
 breast to be moved by this. Larry understood and
 
 236 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 pondered the matter, while Jimmie argued and Rosie 
 sobbed. 
 
 " Why, it's easy," said he, suddenly. " You needn't 
 break your promise, Rosie, if youse're afraid." 
 
 The others looked at him, hopefully. 
 
 " It was you what promised," said Larry. " I 
 didn't say a word, see? I'll lay down! I won't marry 
 youse; and if I won't, how kin youse go ahead, eh? 
 It lets youse out! That's what it does it lets youse 
 out!" 
 
 The simplicity of this made Larkin stare, and caused 
 Rosie hopefully to dry her eyes. Larry was vocifer 
 ously triumphant; he saw all made clear, and was as 
 happy as he desired them to be. 
 
 " I'll go round and bruise up yer father," said he. 
 " I'll talk to him like a Dutch uncle, I will. Him and 
 the two old ones '11 play light on the ghost game when 
 I get through. They'll see it ain't no use. Take a 
 walk with Jimmie, Rosie; don't go home till youse 
 t'ink I've left. I'll make it right, all right ! " 
 
 But tfhis was not the only incident of the morning. 
 Annie Clancy stood in the door of the grocery store ;
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 237 
 
 and as Goose McGonagle came along he naturally 
 stopped for a chat. The voice of Clancy could be 
 heard grumbling from the interior. 
 
 " What's the matter with yer father ? " asked Goose. 
 
 " Don't talk too loud," warned Annie, with uplifted 
 finger, " he might hear ye. He's been in an awful 
 temper ever since his half sister, old Miss Cassidy, 
 died- They say she left her money to the Church. He 
 thought he'd git it, and then he'd be able to pay you 
 know what." 
 
 The milkman nodded. 
 
 " I ought to," answered he, " I can't t'ink o' the mess 
 I'm in meself without t'inkin' o' that. But his temper 
 don't cut no ice with me, Annie, I'm goin' to talk to 
 him to day if I git t'run down or not." 
 
 " Annie ! " called Clancy, angrily. " Sure, what 
 keeps yez glosterin' be the dure? Come in at wanst, 
 an' tind till yez bit av wurk." 
 
 " He knows I'm here," smiled Goose. 
 
 " I must go in," whispered Annie, " good-by." 
 
 Goose started up the street upon his round, mutter 
 ing:
 
 238 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Clancy ain't so many, if he does run a grocery 
 store. Annie's willin' to call it a go, an' I don't see 
 Gee ! Here comes O'Hara." 
 
 The second-hand dealer had just come out of his 
 shop ; he wore his narrow-rimmed high hat and carried 
 his thick black-thorn cane. 
 
 " Good mornin' till yez, McGonagle," saluted he. 
 
 " How are youse? " responded Goose. 
 
 " I have no rayson till complain," said O'Hara. 
 Then he tapped his stick once or twice upon the pave 
 ment, and cleared his throat. " McGonagle," said he, 
 " yez will be after havin' the troifle av money that's 
 due me nixt week ? " 
 
 "Why, say, O'Hara, t'tell youse the trut' I don't 
 see how I kin git it. Bizness is so rotten bad, ye 
 know." 
 
 "What's that? Bad luck till ye, McGonagle, what 
 talk have yez ? " 
 
 " Don't git hot ! Youse (heard me speak me piece, 
 didn't ye? Well, that's jist what I mean. An' I can't 
 stand chewin' it with youse all day, O'Hara ; me cus- 
 tomers'll be waitin' for their milk. So long." 
 
 And with this he hurried off while O'Hara gazed
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 239 
 
 angrily after him for a moment, then started off toward 
 Clancy's. 
 
 " The bla'gard ! " muttered O'Hara. " The thafe av 
 the world till keep a daysint man out av his bit av 
 money ! " 
 
 He entered Clancy's and found the grocer alone, 
 seated astride a crate, sorting eggs. 
 
 " The top av the mornin' till yez, Clancy," said 
 O'Hara, politely. 
 
 " The same till yezsilf," responded Clancy. " Sure, 
 an' it's glad till see yez I am, this foine mornin'." 
 Then under his breath he added : " God forgi'me for 
 the lie I'm tellin'." 
 
 " I've jist luked in till ask if yez have the troifle av 
 money that's due me," said O'Hara. 
 
 " I have not the price av a can av beer in the house. 
 Faix an' I've jist paid me butter man who shud have 
 had his money last Chuesday, an' it's claned out I am, 
 entirely." 
 
 " An' might I ax yez, Mister Clancy, what's till be 
 come av me ? " 
 
 " Scure till the wan av me knows. Can't ye extind 
 the time?"
 
 240 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Divil raysave the day ! " And O'Hara turned 
 abruptly toward the door. " Mister Clancy, I will 
 have me money, principal an' intrust, or I will sell yez 
 out ! " He paused upon the threshold. " Iv ye are not 
 at me store t'morry at twelve be the day, I will have 
 Haggerty, the constable, down on yez. Mister Clancy, 
 good day till yez, sir ! " And he slammed the door 
 behind him. 
 
 " An' the divil go wid ye," exclaimed Clancy, sav 
 agely, as he resumed his work upon the crate of eggs. 
 
 " Ain't ye goin' to church this mornin', Pop ? " called 
 Annie, from an inner room. 
 
 " Faith an' I am," answered her father, rising hur 
 riedly, and slipping off his apron. " It's bad luck 
 enough I'm havin' widout missin' me juty. What time 
 is it, asthore ? " 
 
 " It wants on'y a few minutes." 
 
 Clancy put on his coat. " It wur a black day," he 
 muttered, as he started off, " when I borryed that 
 money av Malachi O'Hara. The owld villyan'll keep 
 his word, bad luck till him ; it's in a trench wid a pick 
 I'll be, afore trie week's out." 
 
 After leaving Rosie and Larkin, Larry Murphy
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 241 
 
 headed straight for O'Hara's ; but he had scarce gone 
 a half block when he encountered Kerrigan and Mason, 
 who had just paused before Owen Dwyer's door. 
 Mason grasped the young man's hand and shook it 
 warmly. 
 
 " I am delighted that you have made such a splen 
 did fight against McQuirk," said he. 
 
 " It ain't McQuirk, so much," said Larry. " Kelly's 
 the man I'm after." 
 
 " We're just going in to see Owen Dwyer, about the 
 delegates for his division," said Kerrigan. " Won't 
 you come in ? He'll want to see you, I know." 
 
 Owen had seen the trio from the window and had 
 opened the door in time to catch these words. 
 
 " Come in, Larry," said he cordially. " It's a stran 
 ger ye've made av yezsilf long enough." 
 
 Owen had asked him to visit them many times be 
 fore, but Larry had never done so because of the fear 
 that Maggie would think he was forcing himself upon 
 her, and this his pride would not permit. He was 
 reluctant to enter even now, but somehow there was 
 also a feeling of gladness in his being unable to refuse. 
 
 He sat upon the edge of the chair that Owen offered
 
 242 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 him, stole covert glances about the parlour and earnestly 
 hoped that Maggie was not at home. A glance at the 
 clock showed him that it was but shortly after eight, 
 and he wonderingly confessed to a sense of satisfac 
 tion in the knowledge that school did not begin until 
 nine. Owen settled his doubts by poking his head 
 through the hangings of a doorway, and calling: 
 
 " Maggie, asthore; can ye come here for a minyute? 
 Sure, it's company we're after havin' so airly in the 
 mornin'." 
 
 Maggie entered the room, obediently; she flushed a 
 little at sight of Larry, but managed to greet him in a 
 calm, even voice that betrayed nothing of what she 
 might feel. 
 
 She talked to 'him of neighbourhood events, he an 
 swering awkwardly and distantly, as he always did 
 with her. Her father had plunged into an earnest dis 
 cussion, with the others, of the coming convention, 
 and finally swept them out of the room to look at some 
 figures which he had compiled, bearing upon the com 
 parative strength^ of the opposing factions. 
 
 TKere was a short silence after this ; and, at length 
 Maggie said :
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 243 
 
 " I have wanted so to speak to you lately, but you 
 are such a stranger 1 " 
 
 A little thrill ran through Larry at these words. 
 She had thought of him, then ; and the fancied that he 
 caught a note of vexation in her voice. He pondered 
 this, confusedly, and did not reply. She con 
 tinued : 
 
 " I wanted to tell you how sorry I was at your great 
 loss. Mary was a sweet and good girl." 
 
 " That's right," said he, eagerly. " There ain't 
 many like her, is there ? " 
 
 " No ! " answered Maggie, gently. 
 
 " She was too good for me," said he, soberly. 
 
 Though Maggie did not agree with him in this, she 
 did not say so. And this is why: She had been a 
 constant visitor during Mary's illness, and the sorrow 
 that had grown so upon the sick girl toward the end 
 had not escaped her. Little by little she grasped the 
 causes of this and realized why Larry had asked Mary 
 to be his wife. She had laboured strenuously to per 
 suade the gentle girl that love alone had been his mo 
 tive, but without success. Though she had loved 
 Larry from the days of her girlhood and this Maggie
 
 244 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 had confessed to herself long before still her heart 
 was great enough to appreciate what he had endeav 
 oured to do; and all the more because it proved him 
 to be as noble as she had always believed him. 
 
 " I also wanted to thank you," said Maggie, " for 
 what you did last night. Daddy has a great deal of 
 money for him, you know invested in the City Rail 
 way Company's stock, and the loss of his savings, now 
 that he is old, would be bitter enough." 
 
 This was news to Larry and it startled him. The 
 proposed steal of the Motor Traction Company had 
 had very little to do with the fight he and his friends 
 had made. As he had informed Mason, Kelly's defeat 
 was his object and so long as he accomplished this he 
 had cared little for anything else. 
 
 But Kelly and his hate of Kelly suddenly shrunk 
 into insignificance, and the Traction Company began 
 to loom up dragon-like with Maggie as its prospective 
 victim. 
 
 " I didn't know that yer father stood to lose any- 
 t'ing," said he. Maggie's face fell; she had thought 
 that perhaps he had made the fight partly for her sake.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 245 
 
 He saw the change in her countenance and hastened 
 to add : " He'll come out all right, though ; McGlory's 
 against that job they're tryin' t'work." 
 
 "And do you think Mr. McGlory will secure the 
 nomination ? " 
 
 " Sure. They've worked a couple o' ringers on us, 
 but we'll win out in spite o' them." 
 
 The others re-entered the room at this point. 
 
 " The thing is as plain as day," said Kerrigan. 
 " There were only three votes in the past session that 
 held them down ; the figures show that they have de 
 feated two of these, and if this is the case and Kelly 
 is not beaten, they have a majority of one." 
 
 " An' that," said Owen, " is as good as a hundred 
 till do their darty wurk." 
 
 " Is it that close ? " asked Larry. " Gee ! we'll have 
 to hustle." 
 
 " They will seat these men, Daily and Levitsky, in 
 the convention, by hook or by crook," remarked Kerri 
 gan. " And in that case they will have a majority of 
 two." 
 
 " But the two-thirds rule," Mason interrupted.
 
 246 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " They must have two-thirds of the delegates to nomi 
 nate." 
 
 " The bunch with the most tallies always wins out," 
 said Larry. " If they show a lead in the runnin', 
 enough '11 flop over to make good for them." 
 
 After a time Larry and Kerrigan arose to go, while 
 Mason remained to talk with Owen. 
 
 "Don't forget, Mason," said Kerrigan, "that I'll 
 want to see you to-morrow about old Miss Cassidy's 
 will." 
 
 " God help uz all " ; said Owen. " All av the owld 
 neighbours is dyin' off. She wur a kind body, too, wur 
 Miss Cassidy, for all she wur an owld maid." 
 
 Maggie opened the door for the two young men 
 as they departed. She smiled as she said : 
 
 " You must come again, Larry," and then as an 
 after-thought, " And you too, Mr. Kerrigan." 
 
 Kerrigan looked at Murphy quizzically, as they 
 walked down the street. 
 
 " You're ace high there, Larry." 
 
 " OH, cut it out," said Larry, impatiently. But fie 
 was glad to Hear it said, nevertheless. 
 
 Goose McGonagle had covered his route quickly tHat
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 247 
 
 morning and by the time service was finished in the 
 church and the thin stream of people began to flow into 
 the street, he was standing on the step of Regan's cigar 
 store anxiously awaiting Clancy. 
 
 The grocer had stopped to discuss the primaries 
 upon the sidewalk in front of the church, and some 
 little time elapsed before he arrived at the point where 
 Goose was awaiting him. 
 
 " Hello, Clancy," saluted the latter, cordially. 
 " How's t'ings ? " But without pausing for a reply he 
 took the elder man by the sleeve and led him out to 
 the curb. " Say," inquired he, " have youse noticed 
 that I've been hangin' around your place a good bit in 
 the last two or t'ree mont's ? " 
 
 " I have," answered Clancy, bracing himself stiffly. 
 
 " Then I guess youse're onto the reason." 
 
 The grocer's looks were not encouraging and Goose 
 began to waver. But he pulled himself together, and 
 blurted out. " Say, do youse mind if me and Annie 
 gits Father Dawson to tie the knot ? " 
 
 " Is it yezsilf would take Annie till Father Daw- 
 son?" 
 
 " Sure."
 
 248 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Well, the divil himself niver witnessed sich a 
 cheek. An' might I ax what yez have till kape a wife 
 on?" 
 
 " Why, I ain't got much dough," admitted Goose, 
 ruefully. " But there's me milk route and " 
 
 " Arrah, go long wid ye ! There's a dale av money 
 in the milk business, Goose, me b'y, bud yez route '11 
 niver make ye rich. An' as for Annie, she'll stay at 
 home, an' help her mother wid the wurk, as she hav 
 always done. Now don't be after vexin' me ! " Goose 
 was about to protest ; " 'twill do ye no good." 
 
 And the grocer went on his way down the street 
 leaving the young man gazing despondently after him. 
 He did not notice the approach of Larry and Kerrigan 
 who had just emerged from Dwyer's; and Larry 
 slapped him on the back, remarking: 
 
 " Yer lookin' green around the gills. What's 
 wrong ? " 
 
 " I'm gittin' it in the neck, all around," answered 
 Goose, savagely. " They're all givin' me the dinky- 
 dink for further orders. I just now went against 
 Annie's old man, and he flagged me, cold ! "
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 249 
 
 " Oh, was that Clancy you were speaking to ? " 
 asked Kerrigan looking interestedly after the retreat 
 ing figure. " I've got something to tell him, but I'll 
 see him again. Say, you knew old Miss Cassidy, 
 Annie's aunt, didn't you, Goose ? " 
 
 " Sure," answered the milkman. " She was me star 
 customer, up till she died the other day." 
 
 " Well, she left a queer kind of a will." Kerrigan 
 hesitated a moment, and then continued : " Say, I know 
 how it is between you and Annie; walk down the 
 street with us and I'll tell you about it. It might help 
 you somehow." 
 
 As they went along, Kerrigan, with a wealth of 
 technical phrases, explained the peculiarities of the 
 document. A great part of the explanation was Greek 
 to McGonagle; but Larry grasped the points of the 
 matter, and by the time Kerrigan had finished, his face 
 was lighted with suppressed excitement. They paused 
 before the door of the Aurora Borealis Club in the 
 midst of a rapid debate between the two latter gentle 
 men ; finally Larry said : 
 
 " Then youse'll keep it quiet for a while ? "
 
 250 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Only until to-morrow afternoon," said Kerrigan, 
 decisively. " You'll have to work quick." 
 
 After the attorney left them, Goose turned to his 
 friend, and inquired bewilderingly : 
 
 " Say, Murphy, put me next, will youse. What kind 
 o' a graft have youse got? Hit it out, quick ! " 
 
 Larry leaned against the frame of Riley's show win 
 dow and laughed exultantly; McGonagle frowned 
 vexedly at his mirth, snapping his fingers with im 
 patience. 
 
 " Say ! " exciaimed the latter, as Larry continued 
 to laugh, " youse must be crazy. What's the matter, 
 anyhow ? " 
 
 Larry smothered his laughing, and took Goose 
 rapturously by the lapel of his coat, proceeding to put 
 into words the idea which he had conceived while Ker 
 rigan was speaking. When he had finished, Goose tore 
 himself away and executed a mad acrobatic dance 
 about the sidewalk, and wound it up by throwing 'his 
 arms about Larry and hugging him until his ribs 
 cracked. 
 
 " It's the slickest t'ing I ever run against," declared
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 251 
 
 he, with enthusiasm. "I always said you was foxy, 
 Murphy ; and if youse work this right, ye kin take the 
 front seat, and I'll never say a word ! " 
 
 After a few moments' consultation they separated 
 and Larry made his way toward O'Hara's. The freight 
 engines, as usual, were coughing up and down the 
 tracks, hissing and straining at their trailing loads. 
 O'Hara was repairing the fire brick in an old stove 
 outside; his sleeves were turned up and he was soot 
 to the elbows. 
 
 " I want to talk to youse," said Larry, as he paused. 
 
 " Yez are an early caller ! " exclaimed O'Hara, de 
 lightedly. " But, faith," poking him in the ribs, " I 
 t'ought yez'ed called long afore this, b'y. She's a 
 smart slip av a girl, Larry." 
 
 He led the young man through the store and back 
 into the kitchen. The sisters sprang up tumultuously. 
 
 " Larry, asthore," piped Ellen, " sure an' it's a glad 
 heart I have this day. Glory be ! bud yez are fitted for 
 wan another. Sit down; she'll be here this minyute; 
 she do be only gone as far as the church." 
 
 " I seen her," said Larry. " I was talkin' to Her."
 
 252 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 Bridget shrieked with mirth. " Lave the young 
 wans alone ! " cried she. " They'll see each other, niver 
 fear. Arrah, avic, it's the great b'y yez are." 
 
 " She told me," went on Larry, " all about it." 
 
 " About how foolish she wur? " questioned O'Hara. 
 " She's seen it, have she. Bud, niver fear b'y, niver 
 fear." 
 
 " It wasn't Rosie what was foolish, O'Hara, it was 
 youse. Didn't ye see that there was two ends to this 
 t'ing. Ye scared her, and then t'ought youse was all 
 to the good, didn't ye? But yer out o' line: ye can't 
 play me; I won't have it." 
 
 "What talk have ye, Larry?" 
 
 " Ah, ye know damn well what I mean ! Youse 
 t'ink yer a hot guy, O'Hara, but ye'll buy a gold brick 
 some day, le'me tell youse that. Ye'll go flat on yer 
 back wit'out a cent in yer pants." 
 
 " Divil take ye, have yez gone crazy ! " 
 
 " I'm tellin' ye what's right, ain't I? " 
 
 " Shame on ye, Larry Murphy ! " exclaimed Brid 
 get, " is poor Mary's dyin' words " 
 
 " Say, cut that out ! I won't stand for any o' youse 
 draggin' her into yer little game."
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 253 
 
 " God forgi' yez ! " cried Ellen. " Oh, God forgi' 
 yez." 
 
 O'Hara strove to look impressive. " Iv any wan 
 had towld me," said he, " that yez had no rayspect 
 for Mary, I would've towld him that he lied ! " 
 
 Larry laughed. " That's a slashin' good jolly," re 
 marked he. " It might have worked, too ; on'y I'm 
 next to yer little scheme," he paused a moment, regard 
 ing O'Hara, soberly. " Say," he resumed " I didn't 
 come to see youse on'y about that, but to do youse a 
 good turn if ye'll on'y let me." 
 
 " What have ye till say ? " inquired O'Hara. 
 
 " Come into the store," said Larry, with a glance 
 at the two old women. " This t'ing's private." 
 
 They re-entered the store. O'Hara closed the door, 
 while Larry seated himself upon the end of the counter. 
 
 " Clancy," began the latter, " owes youse money." 
 
 " He do," admitted O'Hara. " Six hundred dollars, 
 an' 'tis due the day." 
 
 " What d'youse t'ink his grocery'ed bring if ye sold 
 him out ? " 
 
 " About half av it, bad scram till him," said O'Hara, 
 viciously.
 
 254 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " McGonagle Owes youse something too, don't he ? " 
 
 " Yis ; I loaned him enough till buy his milk route, a 
 year since, an' divil the cint do I iver expect till see 
 av it again ! " 
 
 Larry crossed one leg over the other, and clasped 
 his hands comfortably about his knee. 
 
 " I kin put youse next to a way to collect every 
 cent, interest and all," he informed O'Hara. 
 
 The second-hand dealer's eyes snapped with interest. 
 But he said, doubtfully: 
 
 " How can yez do that ? Sure, nayther av thim have 
 a cint till bless thimselves wid ! " 
 
 Larry leaned forward and began to explain away 
 the other's doubts. He talked straight to the point 
 and in a few moments O'Hara brightened up wonder 
 fully. 
 
 " I'll see Clancy at wanst ! " exclaimed he. 
 
 " But there's somethin' else," said Larry. " There's 
 Rosie and Larkin ; what about them ? " 
 
 " Arrah, what have they till do wid it ? " 
 
 " Just as much as the others. Youse're got to say 
 ' yes ' to them or you'll slip yer trollev."
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 255 
 
 " Hell till yez sowl ! " cried O'Hara. " Is it a girl av 
 mine marry that dirty Derry spawn av the divil ! " 
 
 " Keep yer shirt on," advised Larry, evenly. " Don't 
 make any wild swings. Money's money, O'Hara; 
 and ye must make good or youse don't see a dollar." 
 
 O'Hara spluttered with rapidly evaporating wrath; 
 and at length he cooled down sufficiently to say: 
 
 " Yez are in the Church yezsilf, Larry ; an' ye know 
 that the clargy do be down on mixed marriages." 
 
 " Say," said Larry, getting down from the counter 
 and buttoning up his coat, " youse might as well git 
 yer money back by doin' what I ask ye to do. Rosie's 
 twenty-one, and she'll marry Larkin some o' these days, 
 anyhow. Speak quick ; is it yes or no ; I've got to see 
 the delegates afore the convention opens." 
 
 O'Hara hesitated for a moment; then he burst out. 
 
 " I'll not lose me bit av hard arned money till save 
 the trollop! Iv she wants till make her bed so, why 
 lave her lie in it, an' divil do her good wid it ! "
 
 Chapter XXIII 
 
 " He stood for Dooley, and for Dooley cast his vote, 
 I stood for Conroy, as did Hooly, 
 There was Pagan and O'Ragan, Flannigan and Hagan, 
 All bound to kick the pants off Michael Dooley." 
 
 BALLADS OF BACK STREETS. 
 
 /N the parlour of the Precinct Club, McQuirk was 
 just concluding an interview with the political 
 manager and lobbyist of the Motor Traction 
 Company. 
 
 " McGlory," said the lobbyist, " mus'n't think he's 
 too big a fish. Some other people that I know of will 
 give the administration as good a rake-off, and be 
 glad of the chance." He got upon his feet, as their 
 conference was over and shook McQuirk encourag 
 ingly by the hand. " Just send for him, and talk things 
 over. Alex's got good sense ; he'll see the point." 
 " I don't think he'd come," said McQuirk, " so I'll 
 
 go over and see him" 
 
 256
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 257 
 
 " All right," said the other, " do as you think best. 
 And, say, how's Conlin doing with the vote in his di 
 vision ? " 
 
 McQuirk compressed his lips. " Bad," returned 
 he. " They separated him from it, clean." 
 
 " I think," mused the other, " that Conlin's too short 
 for the police force. The examining board's mighty 
 strict just now, Mac." 
 
 The ward boss grinned. " He won't like it much," 
 said he. " It's funny," he went on, humorously, " how 
 much better tall men are at gittin' out the vote than 
 short ones." 
 
 The other laughed. " You're right, Mac," said he ; 
 " but let me say this, again, before I go : Whatever you 
 do, don't have a fight in your ward. Go into your 
 convention and find the man that's goin' to win 
 and stand good with him if we can handle him. The 
 administration wants lots of friends next session." 
 
 McQuirk found McGlory, dressed in his best, at the 
 stables in Murphy's Court, superintending the doctor 
 ing of a worn-looking horse. The contractor's greet 
 ing was stiff and formal.
 
 258 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Anyone got your proxy, Alex ? " asked the boss, 
 after they had exchanged some general remarks. , 
 
 " I'll go till the convintion mesilf," answered Mc- 
 Glory. " There do be too damn much of this proxy 
 business." 
 
 McQuirk brushed a fly or two from a raw saddle 
 gall on the horse's back, and reflected. 
 
 " I understand," he said finally, " that you're out 
 for the nomination." 
 
 " The young fellys want someone till stan' for it, an' 
 sure I'm willin' till try an' bate Kelly. I don't forget 
 what he done last illection, an' at the time, McQuirk, 
 yez said yezself that he played ye a bla'gard trick, an' 
 that yez'ed git even." 
 
 " Oh, hell ! " McQuirk waved his hand, deprecat- 
 ingly. " It don't do to hold grudges, Alex ; Kelly's a 
 good fellow." 
 
 " He's not good enough for me." 
 
 " You're makin' a mistake," said the boss. 
 
 The horse stretched his stiff old limbs in the sun 
 light at the stable door; McQuirk whistled softly; a 
 couple of dirty children from across the narrow court 
 stared at him, curiously.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 259 
 
 " Say," said the boss at length, " when's your con 
 tract out, Alex?" 
 
 " It have a few mont's yet till go." 
 
 " Think you'll get it again ? " 
 
 McGlory stiffened up and bent his brows at him. 
 
 " I have hopes av it," said he, soberly. 
 
 " Well, don't be foolish. Things happen, sometimes, 
 you know." 
 
 " Look here, Tom McQuirk, is it threatenin' me yez 
 are?" 
 
 " I never threaten anybody, I do things, you know 
 that." 
 
 " Ye threatened Kelly, an' ye done nawthin'." 
 
 " That's all right. You're not inside, Alex ; ye 
 don't know everything. Now think the thing over, as 
 ye go down to the hall ; and take my advice keep 
 your eye on your bread and butter ! That's all." 
 
 The crowd on Girard Avenue had been waiting for 
 over an hour for some sign of a stir, when a sudden 
 blare of brass instruments and a thundering drubbing 
 of drums broke forth, and into the avenue wheeled 
 the Emmet Band, Eddie Brennen at its head, splendid 
 in a scarlet coat and towering shako, his drum-major's
 
 260 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 staff whirling about his head like a metallic circle. 
 Hogan, the policeman, darted into the street with up 
 lifted club, to hold back the teams from the cross 
 streets. The throng ranged quickly along the curb; 
 from the adjacent alleys poured a horde of whooping 
 children; draymen pulled up their nags in order to 
 watch the passing cohorts. Everyone knew that the 
 gathering of the clans had begun. 
 
 It was the anti-Kelly faction, and they swung along 
 behind the drums like veterans. Those of them who 
 were to sit in the convention wore huge scarlet badges 
 upon their breasts. Larry Murphy, in all the glory of 
 a high silk hat, borrowed from one of McGrath's hack 
 drivers, marched at the head of the column, and his 
 aids, Nolan and Ferguson, were immediately behind 
 him. 
 
 " Be me soul ! " ejaculated the grocer, " bud young 
 Brennen kin twirl his bit av a stick, so he kin. An' 
 luk at the walk av Murphy ; suf e yez'ed t'ink he had 
 a mortgage on the City Hall ! " 
 
 " It puts me in mind," remarked Tim Burns ; " av 
 the owld days whin we stepped till the music oursilves, 
 Clancy, on Paddy's day, beyant on Broad Street."
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 261 
 
 " True for ye, Tim, an' we wid the axes on the 
 shoulders av uz, an' the bokays, an' the strings av 
 doughnuts till ate on the march. Faith an' the young 
 fellys know nawthin' av the harp an' the sunburst ; an' 
 it's withered in the hearts av most av the owld wans too, 
 I'm thinkin'. God luk down on uz ! Till think av all the 
 talk there wur av the owld land, then, an' the little 
 we hear av it now. Divil a green flag d'yez see hangin' 
 out av the windys on the seventeenth av March; an' 
 the Land League do be forgotten. The owld blood's 
 growin' thin, Tim thin as water!" 
 
 About the doors of the convention hall, the same 
 hall where the Aurora Borealis Club had held their 
 ball, the scene was one of extreme animation. The 
 groups of high-hatted, tobacco-chewing men, seemed 
 possessed by demons of movement and noise. They 
 laughed with the full strength of their chests, waved 
 their arms wildly and swore joyously, with the uncon 
 scious finish of experts. Kelly and his henchmen 
 had already arrived; he had been greeted as a hero 
 by his own faction and now stood in the hallway sur 
 rounded by a solid circle of supporters. Gratten Haley 
 who had been named for school director the night be-
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 fore in a convention held in a back kitchen on Second 
 Street, approached Owen Dwyer. 
 
 " Has McQuirk got here yet ? " asked Haley. 
 
 " I haven't seen him. Sure, Gratten, it's not at a 
 side issue like this he'd be, whin there's McAteer's 
 nomination for Congress till be looked after." 
 
 " That's where you make your little old mistake," 
 smiled Mr. Haley. " This is the only fight in town ; 
 all the others is cinched ; and Mac'll be on the ground 
 to keep the gang in line." 
 
 " An' tell me, Gratten; d'yez t'ink Kelly will win? " 
 
 " Ye can search me ! McQuirk says yes ; but I 
 wouldn't put me roll on it, at that. It runs t'rough 
 me that there'll be doin's this mornin', and if Jim 
 Kelly wins, it'll be a mix for yer life. And if he goes 
 under, he'll fall like a rotten wall ! " 
 
 " 1 hear the young fellys'll be contestin' Tim Daily 
 an' what's-his-name that kapes the policy shop. Young 
 Kerrigan do be after tellin' me that they got the papers 
 by a trick." 
 
 Owen was innocence personified; he knew that 
 Haley possessed information that would be of use. 
 
 " Oh, they'll contest 'em, all right," laughed Haley.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 263 
 
 " Here comes the kickers ! " shouted Martin Kelly. 
 " The marks is gotta band, too. Don't they look 
 gay?" 
 
 The anti-Kellyites had swept around the corner with 
 their band playing a " cake-walk " march, their flags 
 waving and themselves cheering lustily. O'Connor, 
 the undertaker, had just arrived in one of his own 
 hacks and now shook hands with his friends. 
 
 " The young fellas," smiled O'Connor, " bate the 
 divil whin they cut loose. Sure, here they are with the 
 Emmet Band till the fore, ready till nail Kelly's hide 
 on the back dure. Well, well, an' so Alex McGlory'll 
 go afore the convention ? " 
 
 " So I've heard," said one of his friends. " Just 
 to t'ink av ' McGlory an' clane streets ' as a campaign 
 cry." The speaker paused, delighted with the shout 
 that greeted his sally ; then he added " Here comes 
 Gartenheim, O'Connor ; sure this time a few years ago 
 yezsilf an* him wur at it, hard enough." 
 
 O'Connor smiled patronizingly, and reared his head 
 in his most dignified fashion ; Gartenheim, stout, rosy 
 and smiling was advancing toward him through a lane 
 of outstretched hands.
 
 264 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Gartenheim, how are ye? " 
 
 " O'Connor, I'm glad to see you ! " 
 
 And the ancient foes grasped each other by the 
 hand, while the gaping spectators swore soft oaths of 
 wonder. 
 
 The band had ceased playing; the marchers were 
 halted in the street and this reconciliation was in plain 
 view. Roddy Ferguson swung his derby hat above his 
 head, shouting: 
 
 " Gents, t'ree cheers for Gartenheim and O'Con 
 nor!" 
 
 A whirlwind of shrieks swept over the crowd, sus 
 tained until the veins of their necks swelled to burst 
 ing and their faces turned purple; sticks, hats and 
 flags were tossed wildly in the air. 
 
 The two gentlemen whose public burial of the 
 hatchet occasioned this outburst, bowed and smiled 
 genially and once more shook hands, which had the 
 effect of renewing the tumult. James Kelly and his 
 supporters gazed glumly on ; the delirious display was 
 not pleasant to them. 
 
 " Bloody wars," breathed Owen in Haley's ear, 
 " d'yez see that, Grattan ? They've made up."
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 265 
 
 " It looks bad for Kelly," admitted Mr. Haley; " and 
 he don't like it for a cent." 
 
 " Here's them two old guys doin' the love feast 
 stunt," sneered young Kelly, " right out in the open. 
 It's bin fixed to cop votes with; a blind man kin see 
 that. It makes me sick ! " 
 
 " We'll do that all right," said Goose McGonagle ; 
 " youse'll all be a sick lot o' ducks after we slam 
 youse a few." 
 
 The procession had broken ranks ; the members of 
 the band had blown themselves breathless and beaten 
 their arms helpless, and now dispersed into saloons ad 
 jacent to the hall to seek refreshment. The delegates, 
 by degrees, began to drift upstairs to the room where 
 the convention was to be held. Here a band, perched 
 in a little gallery at the back, discoursed music ; a flag 
 hung from every point where it was possible to drive 
 a nail; the platform stood at the far end holding an 
 array of chairs and tables. 
 
 Dick Nolan and Roddy Ferguson, who formed the 
 connecting links between the formerly hostile factions 
 of Gartenheim and O'Connor, were working desper 
 ately with delegates; they felt that it depended upon
 
 266 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 them to secure a solid vote from these two bodies, and 
 they spared themselves no effort. Neither the under 
 taker nor the contractor had been active in the canvass, 
 so their personal followings were not heavy in the 
 convention ; but it served to give the anti-Kelly faction 
 a slight advantage that they were compelled to exert 
 themselves to the utmost to sustain. Each man in the 
 hall with a ballot to cast was under pressure to vote 
 against them, and the pressure would be increased a 
 hundred-fold when McQuirk got upon the ground. 
 
 Gartenheim had Larry Murphy in a corner giving 
 him some fatherly advice; O'Connor stood listening, 
 with approving nods ; Kerrigan, red-faced and perspir 
 ing, came bustling up. 
 
 " Gentlemen," asked he, " who are you for, for chair 
 man?" 
 
 " Who do you want ? " asked Gartenheim. 
 
 " Well, I'd like to see Pete Comisky hold the office. 
 He's a straight man." 
 
 " Peter's all right," said O'Connor. 
 
 "Who do you say, Larry?" inquired Kerrigan. 
 
 " Grat Haley." 
 
 " Haley ! " Kerrigan stared at him amazedly.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 267 
 
 " Haley ! Why you're mad. Haley would rule 
 against us every time." 
 
 " He might if we let him. It's just like this. 
 Haley's got the chairmanship cinched ; no one else can 
 win against him; I've been over the bunch, and I 
 know." Larry took his cigar from his mouth and 
 pointed it at Kerrigan, impressively. " The chairman 
 ship's the first test o' strength. Make a fight on that 
 and lose, and youse might as well chuck up the 
 sponge, on the spot. We've got grafters on our side, 
 Johnnie, and you know it; if they see us shake they'll 
 fly the coop." 
 
 " That sounds good," admitted Kerrigan. " What 
 do you suggest?" 
 
 " We'll t'row our vote to Haley ; they can't see our 
 hand then ; and we'll hold all our people for the real 
 work." 
 
 " But Daily and Levitsky ! " remonstrated Kerrigan. 
 He'll seat them, they'll vote and they have no right ! " 
 
 " They kin seat all they want," determinedly, " but 
 they don't vote for Kelly." 
 
 " You're a bolitician, Larry," said Gartenheim, ad 
 miringly. "Dot's a good scheme, ain'd it?"
 
 268 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Say, Larry," said Roddy Ferguson, allowing a 
 crowd of delegates to precede him to the stairs, " I'm 
 goin' out to t'row a couple o' beers into this gang. 
 Look out for Nolan while I'm out, will ye? Don't let 
 him get near Mart Kelly." 
 
 "What's on the hooks?" 
 
 " That's all right; just keep an eye on him; we don't 
 want no trouble." 
 
 " There's McQuirk," said Kerrigan, as that gentle 
 man entered and shook old Kelly's hand with theatrical 
 warmth. A crush of delegates gathered about the boss, 
 who seemed in high good humour. He stooped over 
 and whispered something in Kelly's ear, and the saloon 
 keeper laughed uproariously, his face growing mottled 
 with excitement, his hands gesticulating madly. 
 
 " We have thim ! " vociferated the candidate, glow 
 ing upon his supporters like a spotted sun ; " we have 
 thim on the run, so we have. Begorry, McQuirk, it's 
 at school they shud be instead av playin' at 
 politics ! " 
 
 " Keep it quiet," advised McQuirk ; " keep it quiet, 
 and let's get down to business." He took Haley aside. 
 " How is it goin' ? " questioned he.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 269 
 
 "All to the good," answered Mr. Haley. "The 
 chairmanship's ourn. There ain't no one else but me 
 in sight ! " 
 
 The boss laughed : " The old man'll show 'em a few 
 tricks," said he complacently. " I think they expected 
 me to lay down, eh ? " 
 
 After a time everything was in readiness ; the tem 
 porary chairman mounted the platform ; the scribes of 
 the gathering took their seats and the convention came 
 to order. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said the temporary chairman, advanc 
 ing to the edge of the platform, " we are called to 
 gether this morning to name a man for the important 
 office of selectman. I feel that " 
 
 " Chop it off," advised McGonagle. 
 
 " Order ! Order ! " came from different parts of the 
 house. 
 
 The temporary chairman was an elderly man, little 
 known and with a colourless manner. He endeavoured 
 to go on with his remarks but the volume of interrup 
 tion steadily increased. 
 
 " We will proceed with the business of electing a 
 chairman," said he at length.
 
 2 yo THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 McQuirk was on his feet in an instant; Larry fol 
 lowed, also demanding recognition. 
 
 " McQuirk," said the chairman. 
 
 " I give you," said the boss, " the name of Gratten 
 Haley, of the nineteenth division, for chairman." 
 
 The supporters of Kelly leaped to their feet with 
 shrieking acclaim ; it was some moments before Larry 
 could be heard. 
 
 " I second the nomination of Mr. Haley," said he, 
 " and move that his 'lection to the chair be made unan 
 imous ! " 
 
 Dead silence followed. McQuirk looked dumb 
 founded; Larry smiled sweetly at him over the heads 
 of the intervening delegates. The vote was a rising 
 one, and the temporary chairman surrendered the gavel 
 to Haley. 
 
 McQuirk was dazed, but respectful ; old Kelly smiled 
 broadly and rubbed his hands gleefully ; young Murphy 
 moved among the opposition like a spirit of wisdom. 
 
 McQuirk once more arose. " Let's keep things mov 
 ing," said he. " There has been no protest against any 
 one sitting in the convention, with the exception of
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 271 
 
 Mr. Daily and Mr. Levitsky. We will now look into 
 their cases." 
 
 " I wouldn't," sneered McGonagle, " take too much 
 work on me shoulders, if I was youse. I'd let the chair 
 man do a little." 
 
 " Shut up." 
 
 "Fire him out!" 
 
 " I'd like," growled Goose, " to see any of youse try 
 to fire me out." 
 
 " Cheese it ; sit down, and keep yer shirt on ! " 
 warned Larry, leaning forward, " if youse make 
 trouble now, I'll put a muzzle on ye." 
 
 Johnnie Kerrigan was entrusted with the business of 
 protesting against the seating of Levitsky and Daily; 
 but Haley, as was expected, carried matters with a 
 high hand, and overruled him at all points. 
 
 " All right," said Kerrigan, " you can let 'em vote 
 if you want to, and I know you want to ; you can use 
 'em in your business." 
 
 The Kellyites were triumphant and voiced it until 
 the hall was filled with their clamour. 
 
 " We've got 'em burnt to the ground ! " declared
 
 272 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 Martin Kelly. " Why, the mugs capped the game for 
 us ! They must be rank suckers." 
 
 The roll was called amid much tumult; then Chair 
 man Haley hammered with his gavel for order; when 
 something like silence had been obtained, he said : 
 
 " Gentlemen, our object is to get done with the 
 business in hand as soon as we can. We will, there 
 fore, pass over all unnecessary forms and go into the 
 matter of nominating our candidate at once." 
 
 Mr. Haley had carefully rehearsed this little speech 
 during those moments when there was nothing doing 
 behind the bar over which he presided, and was much 
 pleased with the applause which it provoked. He 
 added : 
 
 " The chair recognizes Mr. Shulze." 
 
 Mr. Shulze arose amid much disorder on the part 
 of the insurgents. By virtue of his ability to deliver 
 a certain amount of goods each election Mr. Shulze 
 held a position in the post-office; he had a voice like 
 a megaphone, and a fixed set of gestures that resembled 
 the jerkings of an automatic doll. In tones that shook 
 the windows he placed the elder Kelly in nomination, 
 s.at down amid a whirlwind of cheers,
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 273 
 
 Johnnie Kerrigan got up to name McGlory ; he had 
 not spoken a dozen words before the contractor and 
 his son Jerry, rushed into the hall and beckoned the 
 speaker and Larry into an anteroom. The old man 
 was pale and agitated; Jerry acted like a man 
 dazed. 
 
 " What's the graft? " asked Larry. 
 
 " He's quit at the post ! " exclaimed Jerry. " He's 
 laid down like a dub." 
 
 " No ! " cried the two young men, aghast. 
 
 " I'm tellin' youse, ain't I. From a kid up," added 
 Jerry, bitterly, " I t'ought the old gent was an ace, 
 but now I find he's on'y a two-spot ! Say, I t'row up 
 the towel ; I'll never stack against the bunch again." 
 
 Kerrigan grasped the elder man's arm. " Why, Mc 
 Glory," protested he, " you're not going to shirk at the 
 last moment, are you ? " 
 
 " I'm sorry," said the contractor, " but I can't alkr.v 
 me name till be used." He was trembling under the 
 stress of the moment and looked appealingly from 
 one to the other. " Don't blame me too much," im 
 plored he. " I have too much at stake, b'ys. Sure iy I 
 make the fight, it's a ruint man I'd be,"
 
 274 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 There was a pause ; Jerry was viciously biting at his 
 nails; Larry was fighting visibly to keep down his 
 anger; from the main hall came the subdued roar of 
 many voices. 
 
 " Afore God ! " exclaimed the contractor, " I niver 
 t'ought till do the like av this ! But they have me on 
 the hip, divil take thim, and I can do no better." 
 
 " Let 'em do youse outa the contract," rapped out his 
 son. " Let the whole shootin' match go t'ell ! Youse 
 can do better'n scratch streets." 
 
 " Shut yer mouth," roared McGlory. " Don't be 
 stanin' there talkin' till me like that. Lose the con 
 tract is it, with Matthew Fitzmaurice hoi din' a paper 
 agin me beyant in his rale estate office? Divil a long 
 it's stay in his safe iv he knowed I'd no contract. Gawd 
 help yez for a fool ! Is it till the La Salle College yez 
 cud have gone, iv it hadn't been for the contract? An' 
 how many av thim young fellys wid the flowers in 
 their coats 'ed call till see yez sister av a Sunday night, 
 widout it ? Tell me that, ye igit ! " 
 
 " Ease up," soothed Kerrigan ; " I wouldn't make 
 any trouble between you for the world."
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 275 
 
 " Then this goes ? " said Larry. 
 
 " I have sorra another word till say," answered Mc- 
 Glory. 
 
 Larry turned to Kerrigan. " D'youse see anyt'ing? " 
 asked he. " Is it our finish ? " 
 
 " Not in a thousand years ! " retorted the young 
 attorney. " Find another man for the running ; I'll go 
 in there an' do some spell-binding while you canvass 
 the crowd. If Gartenheim'll swing in line for O'Con 
 nor, give me the word and I'll name him." 
 
 They left the McGlorys engaged in a wordy duel, 
 and rushed back into the main hall. McQuirk, the 
 Kellys and some others of their adherents were gath 
 ered in the doorway leading into the entry ; they greeted 
 the young men with a laugh. 
 
 " All to the bad, eh ? " sneered Martin. " Yer star 
 nag's on'y a sellin' plater." 
 
 "What'd I tell ye, boys," said McQuirk with the 
 easy assurance of a man who has won his fight. 
 " There's only one man. We've got the nomination 
 safe, ye can see that. Now don't be sore-heads; be 
 nice, clean boys, an' ye won't miss anything."
 
 276 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 Kerrigan hurried into the convention hall without 
 replying; but Larry turned on the boss like a sullen 
 bear. 
 
 " Don't josh us, McQuirk," warned he, " because we 
 won't stand for it. Youse people ain't scooped the 
 pot yet, so don't give yerself the glad hand." 
 
 " Come, come," smiled McQuirk, winking at his co- 
 labourers, " don't take it so hard. Alex McGlory 
 knows where he stands, and he shows good sense 
 when he gets out from under." 
 
 " Don't take me for a mark ! " flared Murphy, shov 
 ing his head forward, his jaw protruding, wickedly. 
 " We kin split the shootin' match wide open, McQuirk, 
 and afore we let youse git the bulge with Kelly, we'll 
 do it. If youse are wise, ye'll write that on yer cuff." 
 
 He rushed into the convention hall, hot with anger; 
 Nolan, Ferguson and others of his lieutenants were 
 quickly enlightened as to the state of affairs, and they 
 passed the word among the others that some one other 
 than McGlory would be named, at the same time work 
 ing zealously to allay the feeling of insecurity that these 
 tidings naturally aroused. 
 
 Kerrigan was speaking and the convention was giv
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 277 
 
 ing him its undivided attention. The youthful attorney 
 possessed that self-assured poise and explosive style 
 that captures such gatherings ; and then he was easily 
 the most popular young man in the ward, and his fath 
 er's saloon was a well-known place of resort. Most of 
 the younger men among the delegates had gone to 
 school with him, and though they, for the most part, 
 were day-labourers and Johnnie had his name painted 
 upon a ground-glass door in a down-town office build 
 ing, he had always kept up old friendships and clung to 
 old surroundings. As one of his friends said: 
 
 " Johnnie's a high guy, but he's as common as dirt ; 
 he don't have to put ice in his hat to keep his head 
 from swellin'. When youse stack up against him on 
 the street, he's always got the glad hand for youse, 
 and a cigar what ain't workin'." 
 
 It was this democratic quality that made him liked 
 and secured him attention from the delegates when he 
 arose to deliver the address that was to give Larry an 
 opportunity to select a new candidate. 
 
 These facts came to Larry as he paused for a mo 
 ment to listen ; and like one inspired he proceeded tq 
 consult Ferguson and Nolan,
 
 278 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Somethin's gotta be done, and done quick," said 
 he. " Now look here, if I go against Gartenheim and 
 ask him to turn in for O'Connor, what '11 he say? " 
 
 " He'll say, ' nay, nay, Pauline ! ' " exclaimed Fergu 
 son. 
 
 " Youse'll queer the game if youse do that," pro 
 tested Nolan. 
 
 " That's what I t'ought. And how about O'Connor 
 for Gartenheim ? " 
 
 " There's no difference," said Nolan. " If one was 
 ast to work for the other he'd git dead wise all of a 
 sudden and t'ink he was bein' worked for a good t'ing, 
 and havin' a con game slung into him from the start ! 
 It won't do ; take it from me." 
 
 " Then I've gotta bran' new graft ! " exclaimed 
 Larry starting up the aisle. 
 
 "What is it?" asked Ferguson, following him, his 
 hand upon his sleeve. 
 
 " Sit down and hold yer breath ; youse'll be wise 
 in a minute." 
 
 Larry said something to Kerrigan in a low tone. 
 Johnnie looked surprised ; he closed his remarks
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 279 
 
 abruptly and sat down, while Larry nodded to the chair 
 for recognition. Upon obtaining this he wasted no 
 words. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said he, " I'm goin' to put in nomina 
 tion a man that youse can all vote for." He paused a 
 moment and glanced around at the expectant faces ; he 
 raised both arms, with a sweep and shouted : " Mr. 
 John Kerrigan, of the I2th Division ! " 
 
 For an instant there was dead silence; then the 
 anti-Kellyites came to their feet with an ear-splitting 
 scream of delight. Kerrigan sprang to Larry's side 
 protesting excitedly ; men stood upon chairs and beat 
 the backs of their neighbours ; pandemonium reigned. 
 Kerrigan was ringed in by dozens of outstretched 
 hands ; his appeals for a hearing were drowned by the 
 clamour of his partisans. 
 
 James Kelly was stricken mute; a moment before he 
 had seen victory in his grasp ; now it had eluded him 
 and was dancing away in the distance. McQuirk 
 looked on at the scene of disorder, astonished at 
 Larry's act. He had expected to hear the name of a 
 man steeped in the factional differences of the ward
 
 280 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 a man easily beaten and now he was at a loss, for 
 here was one not only without political enemies but 
 with fast friends in every faction of the party. 
 
 " It ain't a half-bad move," said the boss to himself, 
 angry, but forced to admiration. " If I wasn't sure 
 about McGlory, I'd say the thing was fixed." 
 
 Haley hammered vigorously for order ; old Kelly and 
 his friends were gathered in a clump, shouting their 
 observations in each other's ears; Larry stood near 
 the platform, frantically endeavouring to attract the 
 chairman's attention, and turning every moment to 
 swear at his friends for their uproar. He saw that the 
 moment for action was at hand ; the surprise had been 
 sprung and had given his faction heart, and he de 
 termined to strike again while they were white hot. 
 Gradually the noise began to settle; and, though now 
 and then a cheer volleyed across the hall, his voice 
 could be heard : 
 
 " A vote," stormed he, " a vote." 
 
 The cry was taken up by a dozen voices. 
 
 " Vote! Vote ! " vociferated the insurgents. " Take 
 the vote ! " 
 
 This, at a nod from McQuirk, Haley proceeded to
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 281 
 
 do ; the secretary began to read off the names, and the 
 delegates answered " Kelly " or Kerrigan " as the 
 case might be. As the vote began, a concerted move 
 ment of a dozen young men, led by Larry and Mc- 
 Gonagle, was made toward the point where Daily and 
 Levitsky were sitting. 
 
 " Changed yer mind, Daily? " questioned Larry. 
 
 " Not on yer life," answered Daily, but with an un 
 easy glance about him. He saw in their faces that they 
 were ready for anything ; and that they were awkward 
 men to handle, he knew, partly from experience, partly 
 by hearsay. 
 
 " I t'ink youse'll turn in for Kerrigan when they 
 hand out yer name." Larry leaned carelessly upon the 
 back of Daily's chair, and spoke very quietly. 
 
 " It's just as easy to say Kerrigan as Kelly," put in 
 McGonagle, " an' I guess Levitsky'll say it, too, when 
 it's up to him." 
 
 " I wut like to oblitch your " began the policy- 
 writer. 
 
 "Ah, rats!" returned McGonagle, savagely. 
 " Youse'll chirp for Kerrigan, or the next stunt youse'll 
 do'll be at the morgue, stretchin' slabs ! "
 
 282 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Play light, Goose," advised Larry, " I t'ink they'll 
 be in line." 
 
 News of the state of affairs reached the elder Kelly 
 as he stood talking to McQuirk at the far side of the 
 room; and they hurried toward the storm centre to 
 prevent the coercion of their vote. Because of some 
 trifling hitch the polling of the delegates had stopped 
 for the time being, and Haley and the secretary 
 were wrangling with a cluster of men about the 
 platform. 
 
 A man rushed up the aisle and stopped McQuirk, at 
 the same time handing him a card. 
 
 " He wants to see youse right away," said the 
 Stranger. 
 
 " Go ahead over and talk to them, Kelly," said Mc 
 Quirk. " I've got to go out for a second." 
 
 " What's this," asked Kelly, upon reaching the spot 
 where Larry and his friends were gathered behind the 
 chairs of the two protested delegates. " What call have 
 yez till be threatenin' these two min ? " 
 
 " Who's threatenin' 'em ? " asked McGonagle, inno 
 cently.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 283 
 
 " You are, ye bla'gard 1 " exclaimed the saloonkeeper, 
 hotly. " You an' the likes av yez. Divil take me, bud 
 youse'll sup sorra for it, ye thaves av the world." 
 
 " Ah, go scratch yer head," elegantly advised Larry. 
 " Don't cut loose with any o' yer fireworks, Kelly ; 
 youse're carryin' weight for age and don't work fast 
 enough to mix it with this bunch." 
 
 " Youse'd t'ink," said Martin Kelly, coming to the 
 aid of his father, "that youse people run the shack, 
 and no other body has a look in." 
 
 His proximity and the sound of his voice had an im 
 mediate effect upon Dick Nolan ; his sister's shame and 
 young Kelly's brutality on the night of the ball had 
 burned themselves into his brain. 
 
 " Let me plug him," gasped Nolan, his face as white 
 as death, his whole frame shaking with an overwhelm 
 ing desire for revenge. He was struggling as he 
 spoke in the arms of Roddy Ferguson; but Roddy 
 dragged him away. 
 
 " Don't make a mess of it," implored Roddy. " If 
 youse jump him now ye'll put the whole snap on the 
 bum, maybe."
 
 284 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " What's eatin' Nolan ? " asked McGonagle, won- 
 deringly. 
 
 " He's leary on Kelly, youse can bank on that," 
 answered Casey. " From the cracks he made to me a 
 while ago, he's goin' to put him out o' business. I 
 don't know what he's sore for." 
 
 The commotion attracted Haley's attention and he 
 commenced to sound his gavel and cry for order. The 
 roll-call recommenced and just as Kelly turned to ac 
 quaint the chairman with the attempt being made upon 
 Daily, that gentleman's name was reached. 
 
 " Now then ! " grated Larry. The circle narrowed 
 about Daily as he arose to his feet. Martin Kelly at 
 tempted to rally his friends ; but the determined looks 
 of the cordon of young men and Daily's unpopularity 
 caused it to result in nothing more than a scattering 
 fire of protest. 
 
 Daily swallowed several times, and his voice was 
 somewhat husky, as he said: 
 
 " I've got this to say : As I was 'lected by the parties 
 against Mr. Kelly, I t'ink it's best for me to save me 
 reputation by votin' for Kerrigan." 
 
 " Youse saved a damn sight more'n your reputation,"
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 285 
 
 observed Murphy, as they turned away to give their 
 attention to Levitsky. 
 
 In the meantime McQuirk had hurried out into the 
 entry to see the person who had sent in the card. It 
 was he with whom he had had the conversation in the 
 Precinct Club a few hours before. 
 
 " Well," said the gentleman, " what do ye know ? 
 Did McGlory do the right thing? " 
 
 " Yes, and almost put them in the ditch. But they've 
 got their second wind, now, and I don't like the looks 
 of things." 
 
 " No? " The politician looked questioningly at Mc 
 Quirk, and then added : " They've fixed upon a new 
 man? Who is it?" 
 
 " Young John Kerrigan." 
 
 " Humph! He's well liked, too, isn't he? " 
 
 " He's about the last man I'd want them to push 
 forward." 
 
 The other reflected a moment, then said : 
 
 "You can win, though, can't you?" 
 
 A henchmen of McQuirk's rushed into the entry 
 and looked anxiously up and down. 
 
 " Of course," said McQuirk.
 
 286 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Tom ! " exclaimed the supporter, hurrying up. 
 " Daily's just voted for Kerrigan, and Levitsky's goin' 
 to do the same ! " 
 
 " I'll take it back," said McQuirk, coolly. " They've 
 got me hung up." 
 
 " For heaven's sake, don't let that happen ! " 
 
 " It's bound to unless " 
 
 "Unless what?" 
 
 " We drop Kelly and turn in for Kerrigan." 
 
 " How does he stand on the franchise business ? " 
 
 " He's against it." 
 
 "Then fight it out with them! If they split the 
 party we can elect Kelly on the opposing ticket as was 
 done last time." 
 
 " Not if I know it ! " said McQuirk, frowning at 
 the lobbyist. 
 
 " What ! I say, Mac, you're not gitting weak-kneed 
 at the last moment, are you ? " 
 
 " I'm ready to stand in and help your company out 
 as long as I can do it regularly. This is my ward and 
 the only way to keep it my ward is to be a regular. 
 I'm against split tickets, you know that. If young 
 Kerrigan can swing the convention, I'm for Kerrigan."
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 187 
 
 " But think of what this means ? This vote must 
 be had or we will fall flat." 
 
 " And I must carry my ward," said McQuirk. " If 
 I lose twice in succession you'll be makin' deals 
 with another man next election; I'll have lost my 
 
 grip." 
 
 Upon McQuirk's return to the convention hall his 
 adherents gathered about him ; he paid no attention to 
 them, but at once buttonholed the elder Kelly and drew 
 him aside. The first ballot had resulted in a tie and 
 the second had not yet begun ; Kerrigan, reconciled to 
 the situation, was receiving the noisy congratulations 
 of his friends; the band in the gallery brayed and 
 throbbed through a popular air. Suddenly a volley 
 of incoherent adjectives came from James Kelly; his 
 face was purple with wrath and he gesticulated with 
 the fury of one demented. No one caught the words, 
 but all saw that McQuirk was the object of his vitu 
 perations. 
 
 " There's a plank loose," prophesied McGonagle. 
 " It must be a come-back, he's makin' it so strong." 
 
 McQuirk broke away from Kelly's detaining clutch 
 and approached the group surrounding Kerrigan; the
 
 288 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 delegates, clearly seeing that something important was 
 about to occur, pressed about him. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said the boss, " above everything else 
 we must preserve unity. As things stand, I would 
 advise you all to turn in for Mr. Kerrigan." 
 
 The compact mass of delegates was torn as by a 
 tempest ; personal friends of Kelly stormed about Mc- 
 Quirk with clamorous denunciations; the opposition 
 in a frenzy of rapture, hoisted their candidate upon 
 their shoulders and began a march of victory about the 
 hall, while the band blared brazenly through the noise. 
 
 When at length comparative silence had been re 
 stored, the poll re-commenced. McQuirk's " advice " 
 to his followers had been rightly interpreted as an 
 order, and the name of Kerrigan seemed to be on 
 every lip as man after man responded to his name. 
 Upon its conclusion and Haley's announcing that Ker 
 rigan had won by more than two-thirds of the vote, the 
 uproar broke out afresh. Suddenly, however, it 
 hushed and all crowded toward the rear end of the 
 hall. There was a quick grinding of feet upon the 
 floor, a heaving of straining bodies, a growling of 
 curses between tight-shut teeth. In the centre of the
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 289 
 
 crowd, his face smeared with blood, fighting viciously, 
 was Martin Kelly. With the full, swinging strength 
 of their arms Nolan and Ferguson were battering at 
 him and all who sought to interfere; upon the out 
 skirts of the crowd the elder Kelly, white-faced, blue- 
 lipped, and gasping, desperately sought to break 
 through to the aid of his son. 
 
 " He's down ! " shouted a voice. 
 
 " Let him up ! " protested a second. 
 
 " Give him the leather ! " advised still another. 
 
 Larry and McGonagle and some others fought their 
 way through the press and tore Nolan and Ferguson 
 away. 
 
 A half hour later a patrol wagon dashed away from 
 the hall toward the nearest hospital bearing the bleed 
 ing, broken form of young Kelly. Upon the steps 
 stood his assailants in the custody of two policemen, 
 and with their friends gathered about them. 
 
 "Don't make no kick," said Larry. "The cops 
 game is too strong for youse. Go ahead with 'em." 
 
 " Make no resistance," advised O'Connor. " I'll try 
 if they'll take bail for yez in the mornin'."
 
 Chapter XXIV 
 
 " Some people's born with the notion that for sharp 
 ness they've got the rest o' the world tied hand an' 
 foot; and they are sharp, in their way but they don't 
 weigh much." CHIP NOLAN'S REMARKS. 
 
 " The cool shades of evening their mantles were 
 
 spreading, 
 
 'And Maggie, all smiling, was listening to me, 
 The moon through the valley her pale light was 
 
 shedding, 
 When I won the heart of the rose of Tralee!' 
 
 OLD SONG. 
 
 ^^fLANCY was reading the news of the conven- 
 f j tion in the evening paper behind his counter ; 
 the rush was over for the night, and he pulled 
 at his pipe contentedly, for O'Hara had failed to keep 
 his threat, and Clancy fancied that his creditor had 
 thought better of it. 
 
 " Sure, Young Murphy is the b'y for thim," said 
 Clancy, as he finished the account. It was a McQuirk 
 
 290
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 1291 
 
 sheet and lauded that gentleman's action to the skies. 
 Its story of the convention teemed with such phrases 
 as " Magnificent battle against organized greed," 
 " Opponent of municipal corruption," " Able friend of 
 the working class," etc. " But, divil take thim," con 
 tinued the grocer, " yez'd t'ink, from this, that Mc- 
 Quirk done it all." 
 
 He adjusted his steel-rimmed glasses and was about 
 to resume his reading when a step sounded upon the 
 floor and a shadow fell across the newspaper ; looking 
 up he saw O'Hara. 
 
 " Good avenin'," said the visitor. " I wur passin' an' 
 t'ought I'd drop in on yez." 
 
 " An' welcome," said Clancy, but his looks belied 
 his tongue. 
 
 " Yez towld me this mornin', Mr. Clancy," said 
 O'Hara, "that yez could not pay me the troifle av 
 money yez owe me." 
 
 " An' I towld yez the truth." 
 
 " On con-sider-rayshun av yez bein' an 'owld frind 
 av mine," said O'Hara, " I have daysided till give yez 
 back the note, widout the payin' av a cint upon wan 
 condition."
 
 292 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " Give me back me note ! " Clancy could not believe 
 his ears. 
 
 " Upon wan condition," repeated O'Hara. 
 
 "An'wat'sthat?" 
 
 " That yez give yez consint till Annie's marriage wid 
 young McGonagle." 
 
 Clancy looked thunderstruck ; he gazed at the other 
 with mingled wonder and anger. 
 
 " What call have yez till meddle wid me family af 
 fairs ? " demanded he, indignantly. " An' what rayson 
 have ye till be pullin' wid McGonagle ? " 
 
 " Sorra the t'ing hav that till do wid it. Give yez 
 consint, an' I will give ye a raysate for the money ye 
 owe me the minyute the marriage lines are wrote." 
 
 Clancy's objection to Goose was solely because of his 
 poverty, but a son-in-law with money could do no more 
 than pay off his debt, so the grocer figured it out, and 
 the reluctance with which he at last consented to 
 O'Hara's proposition was more assumed than real. 
 
 " The ceremony must take place t'morry," said 
 O'Hara. 
 
 " I have no objection till offer," said Clancy, resign 
 edly.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 293 
 
 C"T J HE door bell of Larry's home at the end of Mur- 
 phy's Court kept up an almost constant ringing- 
 next morning, and old Mrs. Coogan's breath grew short 
 through answering the calls. 
 
 First it was McGonagle and Larkin, dressed in their 
 best, with beaming faces and movements of suppressed 
 excitement. 
 
 " Everyt'ing's all to the velvet," said Goose airily. 
 " The girls have been up and dressed since five o'clock, 
 and Father Dawson'll do his turn at eleven, sharp." 
 
 " Say, Larry," put in Jimmie, " one bridesmaid's 
 goin' to do for both ; who d'youse t'ink it is." 
 
 " I don't know," replied Larry. 
 
 " It's Maggie Dwyer," said Jimmie. " Say, there's 
 a girl for yer life! She's got 'em all tied hand an' 
 foot." 
 
 " If there was no Annie," remarked Goose, " and I 
 had the drag with Maggie that youse have, why her 
 name'd be McGonagle in short order, le'me tell ye 
 that." 
 
 " G'way," said Larry. " Quit yer stringinV 
 
 " This is on the level," insisted McGonagle. " I've 
 heard it talked about for years. Everybody in the ward
 
 294 fHE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 knowed that she wanted ye, everybody but yerself. 
 But, say, youse seemed so dead leary about the t'ing 
 that nobody had the nerve to say anyt'ing to youse." 
 
 After the two young men departed, a perfect stream 
 of reporters began to call, all anxious to get Larry's 
 views upon the political situation; and when this had 
 subsided, Mason and Kerrigan came in, to talk over 
 yesterday and confer about to-morrow. 
 
 " Did youse see McQuirk since yesterday ? " asked 
 Larry, after some time spent in this fashion. 
 
 " No," answered Kerrigan, " but I received a note 
 from him late last night, asking me to call upon him 
 this afternoon." 
 
 Larry nodded. " I was at his house when he wrote 
 it," said he. " Youse don't need to worry any about 
 him ; he's right in line. He kin carry the ward, with 
 youse on the ticket, hands down. And that's McQuirk's 
 game, every time. As long as he's on the side that 
 wins he can make good, ye know, and any time they 
 need the ward in a deal they have to come to him with 
 the money." 
 
 " Owen Dwyer seems to think," said Mason, " that
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 295 
 
 the election is only a matter of the size of Kerrigan's 
 majority." 
 
 " That's right," said Larry. " In this ward, and in 
 all the others for that matter, the fightin's done at the 
 primaries; the guy what's named in the regular way 
 by the party what runs the ward, has got the election 
 cinched." 
 
 When he and Mason were ready to go, Kerrigan 
 said: 
 
 " I am glad that Nolan and Ferguson came out of 
 their matter all right. I know Cullen, one of the doc 
 tors at St. Mary's, and he told me that Mart Kelly's 
 condition, while painful, is not necessarily serious." 
 
 " O'Connor an' Gartenheim talked to.McQuirk," said 
 Larry ; " and 'McQuirk squared it all right at the front 
 office. They had to give bail but the case'll never come 
 to trial, because Jim Kelly won't push it; he knows 
 what Mart was done up for, and he dasn't." 
 
 " McGonagle tells me that things are all O. K. in 
 his matter," remarked Kerrigan, as they stood upon the 
 steps, Larry in the doorway. " I'll be on hand promptly 
 at noon to attend to my end of it."
 
 296 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 Larry closed the door after they had departed and 
 returned to the sitting room. He was glad that mat 
 ters political had turned out as they did but only be 
 cause it would prevent the loss of Owen Dwycr's sav 
 ings, and thereby please Maggie outside of that he 
 seemed to have lost all zest of the battle, all exultation 
 in the victory. 
 
 Maggie was in his thoughts, Maggie and Maggie 
 only. Since his talk with her the morning before, she 
 seemed to have grown nearer to him. He did not 
 dream that this was caused by a lessening of his sense 
 of inferiority by a gradual growth of faith in him 
 self, which had its conception in the hardly realized 
 fact that he had been the dominant spirit in a matching 
 of wits which, in result, meant not a little to her. 
 
 He only thought of her kind manner, her smile and 
 invitation to call again ; he only remembered Kerri 
 gan's half-jesting remark after they had left the house. 
 And then there were McGonagle's words; Goose was 
 a friend of his and would not deceive him. He had 
 said that Maggie was not indifferent ! Could this be 
 so? Had he been so blind, so full of self-pride as to 
 not see it? Could it be that the aloofness with which
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 1297 
 
 he had long secretly charged her had all been of his 
 own doing ? It is not often that a man wishes himself 
 in the wrong; but that, at this moment, was Larry's 
 most earnest desire. 
 
 " I'll settle it to-night," he said to himself. " I'll 
 brace up and give her a chance to flag me." 
 
 Half past eleven saw Larry hurrying toward Clan 
 cy's. Two of O'Connor's hacks were drawn up at the 
 curb before the grocery, from one of which McGon- 
 agle and Larkin were assisting Rosie, Annie and Mag 
 gie. Clancy and O'Hara were alighting from the sec 
 ond, which they had shared with the two bridegrooms ; 
 a flock of marvelling children were gathered upon the 
 sidewalk ; and the heads of their elders were popping 
 out of windows and doorways full of wonder and sur 
 prise. 
 
 Larry raised his hat and took the hand which Mag 
 gie offered him. 
 
 " I'm sorry," said she, " that I can't remain to see 
 the result of your planning. It is very clever ! " Larry 
 caught the look in her eyes and it said as plainly as 
 words that it was no more than she had expected of 
 him. A sudden tumult was raised in his breast and
 
 298 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 perhaps he pressed her hand a little; at any rate she 
 flushed and withdrew it quickly. 
 
 " I must get back to my class before the morning 
 session is over," she continued. " The principal would 
 only give me an hour's leave of absence." 
 
 " I'm comin' to see you to-night," said he, courage 
 ously. 
 
 He did not even ask her permission! She gasped 
 a little, in surprise, but laughed as though she 
 liked it. 
 
 " I shall be at home," said she. Then she kissed the 
 two girls. " Good-by, I shall run around this after 
 noon to see you both, and," with a sly glance at 
 O'Hara, " to hear of the fun." 
 
 When she had gone, Larry followed the others into 
 the house, Mrs. Clancy embraced Annie and sobbed; 
 then Annie and Rosie began to sob also, while Goose 
 and Jimmie looked uncomfortably at one another, each 
 with a feeling of guilt heavy upon him. 
 
 " Here is yez raysate, Mister Clancy," said O'Hara, 
 handing the grocer a slip of paper. " It's a man av me 
 word I am." 
 
 " Youse'll get your cash, as soon as the fortune
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 299 
 
 comes along, O'Hara," McGonagle informed him re 
 assuringly. 
 
 It was at this point that Kerrigan walked into the 
 room. 
 
 " It's a queer thing to do right after a wedding," 
 said the young attorney, after he had congratulated 
 the happy couples, " but the fact is, Mr. Clancy, I am 
 here to read a will. And as all the persons spoken of 
 in the document are present, I will, with your permis 
 sion, get down to business." 
 
 He took a neatly folded paper from his breast 
 pocket. 
 
 " The will," he continued, " is that of the late Hon- 
 ora Cassidy, spinster." 
 
 " Ah ! Ah ! " exclaimed Clancy, striking the table 
 with his fist ; " Now well know the rights av it. Faith 
 an' I knew Honora had money." 
 
 "So it's Honora Cassidy that yez meant?" said 
 O'Hara looking at Larry. Then he turned to Kerri 
 gan. " Sure, I wur acquainted wid her in Skibereen 
 whin I wur a young felly." 
 
 " I am aware of the fact," returned Kerrigan, dryly. 
 " The document reads this way :
 
 300 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 " I, Honora Cassidy, being in sound physical and 
 mental health, do make this my last will and testament. 
 Having remained a spinster up to this date and recog 
 nizing the emptiness and loneliness of such a state, I, 
 in this instrument, do all in my power to prevent my 
 half-brother's child, Annie Clancy, from following my 
 example. 
 
 " With this end in view I bequeath all my estate, 
 both real and personal, with Charles Mason as Trus 
 tee, to the man who marries the said Annie Clancy, on 
 the condition that the ceremony is performed within 
 thirty (30) days after my decease." 
 
 " Ha ! An' so yez knew av this, O'Hara ! " exclaimed 
 Clancy. " Yez knew av it an' played me the darty 
 trick till git yez money out av McGonagle ! " 
 
 " A stroke av business, Clancy," murmured O'Hara 
 soothingly, " A mere stroke av business, sir." 
 
 " But say, Kerrigan," put in Larry, with great in 
 nocence, " if Annie hadn't got married within the thirty 
 days ? what then ? " 
 
 " Then," replied the attorney, referring to the will, 
 " the estate would have gone to the only man who ever
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 301 
 
 made a proposal of marriage to the deceased and 
 whom she refused." 
 
 Larry had his eyes fixed upon O'Hara, who at these 
 words, started suddenly, and sat bolt upright. 
 
 "An' who wur that, Johnnie?" asked Mrs. Clancy, 
 who, womanlike, felt a great curiosity upon this point. 
 
 " Our esteemed friend, Malachi O'Hara." 
 
 " What ! " shrieked Clancy, leaping to his feet. 
 " D'yez mane till say, Goose, me b'y, that yez made the 
 owld harp do himself out av a fort'in ? " 
 
 "Not me," said McGonagle, modestly; "it was 
 Murphy." 
 
 O'Hara had slowly arisen, his dumpy form quiver 
 ing, his face crimson with wrath. 
 
 " It wur a conspiracy ! " exclaimed he, thumping the 
 floor with his cane ; " a conspiracy to defraud me out 
 av me possible roights ! " 
 
 ' 'Twur a nate bit av wurk," cried Clancy, enthusi 
 astically shaking his son-in-law by the hand. " An' I 
 forgi' yez for my part av it. Sure, yez are all great 
 b'ys together ! " 
 
 O'Hara continued to stamp about the room; Rosie
 
 302 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 wept on Jimmie's shoulder, frightened at her father's 
 anger. At last the second-hand dealer grabbed up his 
 hat and made for the door. 
 
 " Come home wid me, Rosie ! " commanded he. 
 " Don't be stayin' here till see yez father chated an' 
 robbed." 
 
 " She'll go home with me, after this," said Jimmie 
 Larkin, as he fondly kissed the tears from her cheek. 
 
 " Thin, the divil do her good av ye ! " O'Hara swept 
 the room with a stormy glance. " It's the law I'll have 
 on yez," foamed he, " Ivery wan av yez'll sup sorra 
 for yez divilment, raymimber that ! " 
 
 And he banged the door after him and was gone. 
 
 JTT was a beautiful night ; the moon was sailing 
 
 through the heavens attended by countless 
 
 myriads of jewel-like stars; the breeze rustled gently 
 
 through the street, and as Larry neared Maggie's home 
 
 he caught the soft notes of an old, old song. 
 
 Owen sat upon the step, enjoying the fineness of the 
 night, and as the young man came up he arose and 
 gripped him by the hand.
 
 THE RAGGED EDGE 303 
 
 u God bless ye, Larry," said he, with a subdued emo 
 tion rare in the Celt. " God bless ye for what yez done 
 for me and mine! I niver towld Maggie till the day, 
 but iv Kelly had won, it's find another home we'd had 
 till do, for ivery dollar I could rake an' scrape were in 
 that stock. I took a great risk, b'y, I see it now ; but 
 it wur all for her sake, Larry, all for her sake." 
 
 Larry entered, leaving the old man smoking peace 
 fully upon the steps. The hallway was dim, and he 
 walked softly to avoid knocking against things. But 
 a shaded lamp threw a soft light about the parlour, and 
 he paused in the doorway to listen to the faint music 
 and the words of the song. Maggie sat at the piano, 
 her back toward him ; she was dressed in white, cling 
 ing stuff that displayed the full charm of her fine fig 
 ure; her fingers touched the keyboard lightly, caress 
 ingly and she sang in a subdued, brooding way : 
 
 " Oh promise to meet me when twilight is falling, 
 
 Beside the blue waters that slumber so fair, 
 Each bird in the meadow your name will be calling, 
 And every sweet rose-bud will look for you there."
 
 304 THE RAGGED EDGE 
 
 She paused, her fingers still straying over the keys, 
 and Larry took up the song: 
 
 " In morning and evening for you I am sighing, 
 
 The heart in my bosom is yours evermore, 
 I'll watch for you, darling, when daylight is dying, 
 Sweet rose of Killarney, Mavourneen asthore" 
 
 She arose and slowly turned toward him. Her face 
 was rosy, her eyes shining with a light that was good to 
 see. 
 
 He advanced half way, then paused, his arms out 
 stretched. She understood, on the instant, and came 
 the remainder of the way ; then the strong arms were 
 around her and he had kissed her upon the lips. 
 
 " When shall it be ? " he asked, in a masterful way. 
 
 " Not for a long, long time," she answered. " Re 
 member Mary ! " 
 
 " I'll never forget her." His eyes were dim with 
 feeling. 
 
 " Poor Mary," whispered Maggie, softly. " Dear, 
 sweet, gentle Mary ! " 
 
 THE END
 
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