The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-05-10
THE CONSCIENCE OF ALDERMAN M'GINN|S,
BY OCTAVE THANET.
Copyright. 1895 by octave Thanet1


tired. His wife had the coffee hot foi
him, and brought him in steaming
cup, without asking question. judith
Hunter had been out at service before
she married Billy, and she had learned
a good many things besides cooking
beef to turn.
Rily sat with his legs out and his
head sagging on his breast. 1t was a
spring day, but Iowa springs have
chilly nights following sunny days;
and the warmth of the fire, I'M the air
tight stove, was grateful to him. To
another observer it might seem plain
little parlor; and he might smile over
the mingling of the gorgeous chromos
that came with their garden seeds
NEATLY framed with brown paper and
two or three photographs of famous
pictures: but to Billy the fresh paint
and bright paper, the ribbon and lace
tides. the one plush easy chair and
tho glistening cabinet organ made il
d dream of luxury. They had eight
rooms in the house, If they include the
lcanto which was such a comfortable
laundry and summer kitchen for
Judith. It was very good house, in
deed, and the garden was so large that
Judith kept a tiny poultry yard. In
the summer it was beautiful to sit on
their own piazza and be shaded by
their tree Greatly a tree large enough
to shade1 and to look at the honey
suckle and geraniums and the green
rows of onions an parsley. No land
owner in town could be prouder yes
terday than Billy had been of his little
domain. Now, his handsome brow
wrinkled sullenly above his black eyes
and he gazed about him in dreary
stare, seeing and not seeing, like the
man taking fare well. He sighed be-
fore he drank the coffee. His wife, still
saving no word, smoothed the short
curls which his hat had matted on his
forehead He patted her hand. She
was a tall woman, as tall as he, and of
fine, supple figure. Her eyes were
very bright and her skin very clear and
she had delicate, irregular features
which changed SO prettily when she
talked that no one ever found fault
with their irregularity.
Its YOU that I'm thinking about,
Judith. you and the kid said Hunter,
he nodded his head towards the open
door through which one could see a
cradle rocker.
"We'n do, Billy" said Judith, "come
now, you eat a piece of pie; it'll do
YOU more good now than for break
fast; and I'll get you pipe. Are they
going to strike then?a
'.Well, as bad. They voted to send a
committee TO HOLSTER and ask him 10
submit their differences to an arbitra-
ton committee or they'll strike Mon
day HOLSTER won't listen to them.
Not to anybody, / guess, and not to-
Kobb and Luke Wigger, anyhow. He
sent Luke off a week ago; an the other
man is john Mellin, who's mild as
skim milk, and was put on to represent
us. He'll set there and get red in the
face and say, That's right, to whoever
speaks last
"But did you speak to them, Billy?
did you say the things you were going
TOPS
Billy's face grew red YES / did;
and ! wish / hadn't; / never made 4
speech before; but / felt 50 worked up
about this / thought ] could talk to
the boys, jest give 'em plain sense how
this here strike amt got a show on
Gods earth of succeeding; but-yon'l
say you got a fool for a husband, judy
II got up on my legs and got scared;
/ was jestag scared as fused to be when
Id play hockey, when ] was a kid, and
mt Father Mahan, and he'd be saying,
ia your mother sick, Billy Hunter,
that you're out Of schoolY could feel
my voice wabbling under me. and all
I could get out was some fool things
about q strike that failed was worse
than no strike; and then Robb, he got
1lp, so slick, and with such lot of fine,
big words aboutorganizedlabo and the
great union behind Us, and capital al
ready on the run; and he worked 'em
np about those new fellows land they
are a disgrace, they can't mango their
blast nohow! And they may be kill
ing somebody any day!) and he got the
hoys fighting mad, and he called me
his cautious friend-like / was cow
ardl And, then, they all hollered.
You see he's got such way with him,
q little, smiling white teethed Teller
ard smart as a steel trap, and there
amt anything on earth we working
men like like a Teller who can talk.
Cant he gee himself it's craZy?"
"He sees we've got 50, 900 in the treas
ulv. and how we've been cut down,
and cut down, this winter; and he sees
HOLSTERS got some big orders on,
now; and that's all he does see. If you
tell him HOLSTERS obstinate's the
devil, he Jest laffs and says he's heard
folks threaten to bite off their noses to
spite their faces before, but they don't
do it, all the same, and HOLSTER can't
bluff himl / don't think HOLSTERS so
bad as they make him out. But he's
got the devils own temper when you
git his mad up. They'd have struck
this very same night if it hadn't been
for young Fitzmaurice."
But he don't belong to the union,
said judith, who was now seated by
her husband, listening with absorbing
interest; 'show'd he get inY'
..Well. we've had him for a lawyer
cause he worked for nothing, and h
was poor boy that's worked up; ant
he certainly mas done well by MS. Well
be came in, in time to see Robb wip'
up the floor with me; and he made
e,n>ach. said he inst rot back to town