Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1904-05-12
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s A KERRY Z
8 COWARD s
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81 By M. Louise Cummlns IS
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"a Copyright, 1908, BY T. C. Mcclure 81
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Copyright, 1908. by T. C. Mcclure

| hung from his locked fingers swinging
backward and forward rLythmically
| between his knees.
His blue eyes, looking straight ahead,
held that blending of guilelessness and
| mysticism which is the birthright OF a
| religious people. Down to the end of
| his short nose Mikes face might have
| been a lit study of fifteenth century
monk, but his mouth belied all that
| apparently having been formed for no
| reason on earth but to whistle an Irish
| Jig, and the sight of 1t thus engaged
| was sufficient to cure one forever Of
| the idea that life was dull.
At present his lips puckered more
| than once. but only lone note, which
| seemed to have gone astray from the
| rest of the tune, issued from them.
Something began to grow in his eyes,
burning away their mysticism and re
vealing a substratum of quicksilver.
"Tisn't fair, be gob"'
| He stood up and faced the brick wall
| opposite, as though it was the president
| of the wire works himself.
"'Tis chances enough the workin'm man
has to take anyhow
His voice stopped as If broken.
| Crlnged into himself, he sank back on
| the Stag, torn between the conviction
| that twas fair and the Irishmans
| inherent adherence of informing"
An sure, Where'd be the use?" he
| soliloquized, his mental attitude SEEM
| ing to descend despondently with his
| body. Don't they know It's done, an
| every day too"
But an hour later when the foreman
| ordered him to replace large belt
| from shaftng to a commensurate
while the machinery was in motion
| Carney looked him quietly in the eyes
and refused.
His glance had measured the danger
| first 1t was a particularly ugly job.
crammed near the ceiling, compared to
which the belt he had replaced that
morning was us child's play.
You'll not do it,
Not while she's running I'll not do
| it."
The foreman's strong young hands
| closed and Enclosed at his sides. He
was ten years the Irlshman's junior,
with his record still to make. The
eyes which answered Mixes narrowed
to points of steel For a moment the
two men regarded each other with u
peculiarly still, fiat look.
You Kerry coward
The measured words were like the
hiss of escaping steel scalding the
Irishman's face All the fighting blood
of his race showed in the one Embossed
shaft of blue light that leaped from
his eyes. Like felled log the fore
man Went down.
Very quietly Mike picked up his be-
longings and left the shop. Not even
the certainty that he had lost his job
and the beating thought Of five small
mouths at home to be fed could quell
the fierce satisfaction in what he had
done. For an hour he walk ed, hug
ging it savagely to his breast Then,
as he assembled the steps of his tene-
ment, it seemed suddenly to ooze out
at his finger tips Nora's eyes while
she stood on the small piazza hanging
out clothes, were as mirrors from
which all the grim, bare facts attendant
on being ''out of n job looked back at
him with cruel distinctness.
Margaret Hartman leaned her arms
on the table and looked across the sill
yer and cut glass at her husband. Her
white face ana wide open eyes still
held the RIGHTEOUSNESS of one who had
recently been in the darkness of
great fear.
But the man." Hartman said, fin
gering his glass. II wish you had
found out his name, Constance"
Il know, dear; but Henry" - her
hand went to her heart; Hartman felt
reproached as he watched the added
pallor of her face-"oh, it was all SO
sudden, so awful, those mad horses
with the trailing harness aud wrecked
carriage, the fearful reckessness of il,
as they came down the street! And
then when baby left Anna and came
toddling unconsclously across to where
| sat on the piazza
There, dear, don't go over It any
more" Hartman came arc md the ia
BILE and put his hand on his wife's
shoulder.
'The man." she went on after a
pause, has been hanging about here
lately. l have fancied sometimes that
he wished to speak to you or me. When
l had baby safely in my arms | looked
at hlm-he had the kindliest blue eyes
and saw that he was very white
But when l asked him If he had been
hurt he said no, only a bit of bruise'
where the shaft Ggaze& his shoulder.
It was the quckness and GOODNESS with
which he did It, Henry, that stunned
me. And no sooner had he grabbed
baby than his mouth puckered in the
funniest way, and he sauntered up to
me whistling an Irish jig"
Hartman's brows drew together.
1T couldn't be-of course not
who dearT
Carney, my little Jig whistler And
that reminds me that | haven't seen
him around since | got home
The superintendent of the Letting,
ton wire works went quickly into his
library. moment later his wife
beard him calling I'D bis assistant nv