The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1890-04-18

murders TO him. ''She ups and she
seq, You amt never goin' to hear the
last, if you don't bloomin' well give
me my rights 'Shan't, SEE he. 'Yol
shall, she says; or my swell father'll
Jest knock tons of stuffin' out O. you.
I swear you shall Not Sloonlin'
shall, says he; and he outs with his
pistil and he corpses her, and then he
tries the same ON hisself, and misses,
and now lies in the horspital." Thus
would Mr.. Toms vary the language OF
the reporters, to Jerry's great solace-
ment. The friends did not understand
politics. Jerry explained his theories
thus: "One o. the blokes round Ber-
mondsey way comes to the yard when
l was a-havin' my bit O. grub, dinner :.
time, and he SEE, If you have a bit
left, mate, 1 don't mind havin' of it.
Amt bit since yesterday mornin'.' So
goes him halves, and then he SEE,
We'll be all right soon. ] amt had a
hover for q fortni't; but swell gent
don't know what they call him, but
he's one O. them what sends the per-
lice and the swaddies over the water
and things-and he sez we'll have
wotesp I SEE: Did the cove give you
no grub2 If he didn't give you no
grub, what's the good of his jorg"
and Jerry spoke no more. a4
And so the good days went on until
Sails boy was born. She used to look at
the baby by the hour, and here had q
mysterious yearning in them; her
cold face grew soft in its plainness,
and she acquired look of quiet pride
very different from her old dim neu-
trality. The youngster grew nicely,
and he was source Of much somber
glee to Jerry. The man used to light
up his pipe and smoke in the gloomy
front room, while his son sprawled
desperately round on the floor, and he
thought it was rum that he never knew
how pretty child was before. If he
strolled on to the pavement with the
baby in his arms, the costers and the
match girls used to chaf him as they
passed. "Wait till you ave's my lot;
you won't be so fond O handlin' OF
em." Amt old Jerry pleased with
hisself?" and so on. Sal liked all this
notice, and she liked to see her man
nursing her baby-she had position
in the world. She never kissed Jerry,
but she would slap him on the back
and say, You're proper old bloke.
1 rubbed your two shirts through
while you was a-holdin' the kid.
Come, then2" and then she would nuz-
zle her hard face to the baby's neck
in ecstatic abandonment. When the
youth tried to walk, he took the or
thodox two steps and came down.
After this he looked round for plau-
dts, and Jerry always gave a grunt
of laughter, while Sal smiled and
looked proud. The more the baby
tumbled, the more fresh and entranc-
ing Jerry found the performance.
'How he do flop, to be sureV' he OBJ
served again and again, and at length,
with look of triumph-the look OK
the successful authorize said: HE
can have his proper name, but, I'm
goin' to call him Flop. Seea" "AU
right" said Sal, and she humored the
mans within. AS for Jerry, he made
the lives of his chums burdensome by
explaining how this humorous con-
ception first occurred to him, because
even six times was not quite enough
for him to tell the anecdote to one au-
ditor. There are other parental bores
besides Jerry.
But the good days had to go. Jerry
got hit by a winch handle; he took no
notice at the time, and carried on the
usual dull round, till he was bothered
by a queer swelling on the hip, with a
slight pain, which was just enough to
prevent him from quite enjoying his
usual games with Flop. The trouble in.
creased, until he took day off AID
limped to the hospital. The case was
remarkable, and it was at last settled
that Jerry should undergo an opera
ton, which happened to be of terri
BILE character. Sal could not exactly
understand what had taken place, but
she trembled when she saw her mans
pale, yellowish face on the pillow in
that grim ward, and she covered her
eyes with her apron when Flop order
ed his father to come and have game
Jerry's life was saved. but he was not
good for much in the way of work
when he came out, and during his
second stay in hospital he died, and
Sal saw him put away. She sighed a
| little when the man said: Come,
ma'am," for she felt as if she should
stop there; and then she went along
carrying Flop, who tried to draw her
into talk. Sal stifed her means SO as
not to brighten the babbler, and she
put him down when they got clear Of
the vans. She moaned then for Jer>
ry had been kind, and never hit her.
and she was going to the room where
his pipe and his clothes lay. All the
evening Sal never spoke but once,
and that was when the neighbors
tried to comfort her; then she made
answer, 1T amt no good talkin', poor
old Jerry's gone, and he was q good
chap, and / got to work for the kid to-
morrer." She woke often in the
night, and when she did she patted
Flop's soft legs and whispered to her
self, "His fathers gone, and l got to
go to work to-morrer.
Sal grew fonder of Flop now, and
she used to take him with her to the
shed where she worked.
There was not much money to be
made at the yard, but Sal never missed
one hour of overtime that could be
got, So she made up the rent, and man
aged TO give Flop plenty of bread and
treacle, and sometimes a half pint of
milk. He was a sharp little fellow,