The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-04-21

~. .veetheart to come to him. Georee
knew two happy years and then hie w1e
died. Then he came to the wnafvea
But. as was said before. George was mo-
like the rest Of the freight hand!efss Wnaoo
or black. He never squandered biz mousy
IN The a,l-nieht saloon, and one Of the
hoxs aver saw him draw chalk marks %
stand pat at the square tables nst . !
close to tho papsred wall. When the soa
was dome. and the men had received tne4
Is or 20 cents an hour. George would sno
for them In the building back OF the 0gay
beer sign at the end Of the bridge Tne
strange part Of It all was that tne No
never asked George to buy" and that ~
surprise was expressed when he went away
without voluntarily clinking . few Of M
nickels on the musty bar.
But Georges popularity had something
behind it that meant much, very much -
him, and tina something Often Killed tn
sheer Of Q scoffer at his moods and ways
Every day when the men had toasd t.
and earned, the MONDAY rest 0eoTgo would
watch anxiously until . little form would
come into sight At the end Of the wharf.
He called her my Killarney Rose" and
In one way or another the boys came -
watch for her nearly - much - did George
not that she brought them anything to saS
in her little pail. but Just because sAs was
what she was-a wee bit Of purity, and
Georges.
Most Of them remembered her when a .
mite Of Q person she used % sleep on Q
shawl in q corner. while her big fAth9R
hustled freight to earn Tho whsssW1tha1 -
exc out an existence. They had watohsd
time add rtnkles to 0eorg6S fho0 and
stature 10 the Rose" the while Il beoughe
her childish nacefulnsss Of ngurA
So 1t came about that while most Of the
men bought coffee and beans from the old
woman near the bridge at 10 cents an order.
George would relieve Rose Of the tin pan
and. Offering her his empty hand, would lead
her to a spot where they at down and ate
together. It was Q plain dinner afWAyay but
to George II tasted sweet. for TIE cause az
his smile wa0 there.
And when work was ovsf for the night
she met him at the corner neal the ugly
beer sign m they went home together.
Wherever her littls feet led there George
followed, never wa he more eontentod
breast n pressing the little head with fts
hail Ind eoal-black syes to his
shoulder.
HIS 'Killarnsy Rose knsw the road down
the Mississippi - wen - George himself
and she knew naught Of the SHOWS Of win.
ter. Her laugh was . tiny edition q the
rough-looking mana md some Of the
blancs in their smilss.
M day not long ~ the "Rossfs was
from the end Of the wharf ct noon.
and George went away In Q hurry. He ala
not return. Next day . d~spgtation from the
men found him On the top Aooe Of IN old
sitting bsssds Q little figure
On . mattress In the eoEnse. GeorrSo
face was 20 drawn and hard that he meat.
strong sons Of work tame away quietly ana
stole quietly into the street Near the cor.
nsr they stood and felt IN Their pockstaI And
they didn't ut around The ehalk-marksd
table that night, for one Of their number
vas chosen to carry Q few blossoms to Roc
loves sake.
A week later George came back. But the
ymile was gone, the merry laugh wa mis-.
There was Q Wild look In his syea ana
wen the hardest among the men sorrovsA
when he sat down 1t the square tabis ana
rosa only to visit the dirty bar. He playsA
his FIRST crap game the day he returned
strange TO Say. was the lrst new man
the wharves to finish with money to H.
credit.
For awhile Georgs lived outside himsGlfs
hon the men finally Convinced him that Wss6
vas better than gambling. But his 9pff1e
vas broken. He could not labor without tAo
mile, without the happy eareleso lAu0AA
he loads felt heavier than sver before nj
,e could not take the old woman'D eoGoo
md beans at noon. Always be wa feeltn9
n the pocket Of hiD cotton shirt, and noe
han once Q rou0h-looking r~oustAbout WIRED
way Q tear as he saw George draw 1ogun
md lovingly fondls . curly lock Of ceab.
black hair.
On a cot in the City Hospital George Asara
Lights OUT sounded with . smile n ~
lace. Az he closed his eyes, he muttesU1s
Killarney Rose Il gone and I wxne =
her"