The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-02-09
THE WHITE CROSS.

The " lille CRUSS.
Some ons sail THAI John Murnsne was
ihe LATEST man in Connemara. Others
called hin surly dog, but l always liked
him. He had met With i'll luck and had
lost his heart. A bank holding his little
money had failed, his crops had failed.
too, his last pig had dicd--eyerythipg had
gone badly with him.
To make matters worse, he was t0 be
turned out Of his farm; had quarreied
With his landlord, my friend, Shane Des-
nond, who, in those days, was always at
war with his tenants Here, thought,
were the mak'ngs of a traaedy-a lawless
district, an uaruly peasa,,try and hated
landlord.
In November, when the days grew short
and the nights dark, there Was rumor in
the shebeen near Lcenane that some Of
1.-The boys were coming from Desmond s
estate in Claire. A fishing boat would
bring them to the k,ileries and take them
back without any ore being the wiser, and
their trip might mond matters.
One boisterops evening Murnane was
standing at his window watching his wife
trudging heavily up the mountain road.
He had spent hours that day at the she
been. AS he watched his wife he thought,
in muddling way, how pretty she was
when she was young, though now she was
plain little woman. He thought of the
time when he first caught her in his arms
down yonder where the Owen Errif runs
by the DEVILS Mother mountain. I love
ye, Molly Joyce. Tell me, now. are sc
iistgnin 20 me, mavOurnsen dheelish? !
love YEP
Though he knew that she was kind
little woman and that she love d him like
q dog, he had grown hard and cold with
her. Only that evening he had told hex
roughly to stop making hare op herself,
moping and poking about doing nothing,
and TO get out of that and spend the night,
at her fathers, and she. knowing the lit
tie use OF speaking to him, had gone ST.
lensly.
Then he walked up and down hi. cabin.
It looked wretched. The turf fire on the
hearth had smoldered, The whitewasbed
walls were blackened by smoke. They had
little on them but big crueifix. There
was little furniture left. He remembered
it bright and homelike. Now it would be
unr1ofed. He would be penniless unless
Desalon1 was shot that night.
For tie boat had come from Lescannor,
and when Desmond drove back from Car
rala ''tl,e boys" were to wait for him ca
the lower road If he came by the upper
road, Murnane would see him and was to
put light in his window. Then they
would change their ambush.
Murnane's thoughts were not clear. He
Ike, c thinking over and over again, Sure
'tv as no harm lighting a candle; twas
no business of his whatever the boys below
might do" The black crucifx on the wall
opposite was shown plainly by the moon
light. The face Of its figure was bent for
ward as If watching him. He could not
bear X. Placinga bench under, he reached
to the nail at the top and wreDched is out.
The moon was covered. The cross leaned
forward in the darkness. He turned HE
head away 10 shun the bent face, and,
cropping, tugged gut the nail ct the feet.
The cross seemed as Leavy as lead de
dared not look. Placing it III the corner,
face downward, ne covered it with cloth
Then ne stood again az the window
The moon shone out, and the wind lurchsd
drunkenly against the door.
There was a stain of rust on his right
hand, and he thought it was blood: rubbed
1t, but ii was dry; fels as If curse had
fallen on him. TheH came pause be-
tween the gusts, and lie heard tho ring OF
boots. 1T once he turned back 10 Ugh:
the candle, took it with a shaky hand,
then on the wall where the cross had been
saw dazzling white cross
he staggered with his eyes fixed on IL.
It was q miracle. a last warning. He
dashed the candle On the ground and
crunched it under foot into the e1Tthen
floor. The moon Was drowned by the
clouds and left the cabin pitch dark. The
wind crashed against the door again. He
unattached the door. it was dashed open.
He could not breathe; tried TO pun it to
nfter him, but could not So-ne unseen
hand seemed dragging IL The wind
swirled through the cabin and flung the
cloth from the PROSTATE crucifx-
The next morning was calm, with .
stainless sky. Molly came trudCing DOWN
the mountain road from her fathers farm.
All that night she had been crying AID
PRAYING. As she reached the door ot the
cabin she ssw hsr nan sitting by the
hearth with bis head bsr: forward ca bis
hands The crUcif1 was -onc.
It lad been fixed there when tie walls
had beer shining with fresh wnl,e~ash.
Now The? wee lIackered. but where il
had hung The Will remained white IN the
ehapc OF cross
is is Fo1. ashore he said, came 20
meet hsT and Grew her close It's hard
wor!i, is, nlasOGrnesn. hut well bear
God will .-Sstasr, Molly os=ar "--Is!s5s
Blsie
n.rit, -.-;b.os Alabama Ins!ssrs