Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1914-05-22

All AuI AOAB OGulAN MuU lA1ltuGN AOl
the postmnn's ring at the doorbell, bul
In vain There came a newspaper
from his old home IN County Antrim,
Ireland. but beyond that there wai
nothing. Always before they had re
ceived some word from Larry In his
fnraway home, and. though the delay
might be attributed to the mails and
the heavy snowstorms reported In the
northwest. Dennis was heavy hearted.
MAY the blessed saint whose day
1t is protect him wherever he Isl' sigh
ed Dennis as he took a cup Of tea from
Molly's hand.
I'm sure we viii hear from Larry in
the morning." cried Molly hopefully.
Look, Uncle Dennis, al the sweet pot
Of shamrock brought home"
Dennis looked at her keenly.
molly, lass. aud do you not pine for
the real emeralds. the Jewels that
Larry promised7" he asked.
Molly laughed s%cornfully. Her cheeks
flushed rosily. and her blue eyes shone
with love for the absent l~over-cOusin.
Uncle Dennis, you make me asham-
edl Don't You believe I'd rather see
a lad who has two green eyes-eyes
the color Of that bunch OF shamrock
than all the jewels in the worldl
Those emerald yes Of Larry Flana-
gan's are the only jewels l would wear
against my heaTtT" She hung her head
in sudden sweet shame.
Dennis wrinkied hand was stretched
across the table toward her.
Then, Molly, LASS he whispered,
maybe itll come all right, for again
I dreamed the dream Of Larry coming
home. poor and needy instead Of rich
and
"Who wanted him rich, Uncle Den
nis1" cried the girl hotly. I'VE were
satisfied, you and l. We pleaded with
him not to go away and leave us. But
there; perhaps it was for the best, but
there is an ache behind 1t allF'
what is that1" Dennis lifted his
head.
1.-THE music OF the band. The knights
o. green are p%arading. Shall we go
down to the corner of the street and
WhtCu lueut Uncle OeQmS
Eyes. TTwasn't 30 many years ago
that 1 marched with 'em meself on st.
Patrick's day, and Larry-I hoped by
this time he would be back among
them. brave In a green and gold uni
form. Help me on with my Overcoat,
dearie."
So the old man, leaning on the arm
Of the slender, upright girl, went down
to the corner and with swelling heart
watched the passing OF the gallant
knights who marched in honor Of the
good st. Patrick.
AS the tail of the procession passed
out of sight Dennis Flanagan and his
niece turned toward home.
Molly knew that the old mans heart
was far away in Alaska with the be-
loved son, who was vainly seeking the
will o. the wisp, gold.
Tonight gold and the luxuries it
brings seemed a tiny thing to the girl
with the aching heart.
Again they were seated about the
glowing little stove In the sitting room
when there came a soft knocking at
the door to the porch,
Molly crossed the room and opened
the door only to fall back against the
Intel white Tipped and staring.
Uncle Dennis, Uncle Dennis, I'm
seeing vIsionsl' she sobbed, pointing to
the snow covered porch.
Dennis hobbled to her side and saw
the form of a man huddled on the door
mat
Poor soulT' he muttered, turning
the face toward the light, and then he
fell back, with a startled cry.
Heavens, Molly, it's our own Larryl
IT'S my dream come truer' he moaned.
Molly recovered her courage when
she realized that she was actually
needed to allay suffering. She rubbed
the cold face with snow and poured a
strong stimulant through the white
lips. After awhile Larry opened his
eyes. smiled, shook himself and slowly
staggered to his feet.
When he was safely inside, support
ed on either side by father and sweet
heart, he looked down at them from
tender green eyes that were rarely
beautiful.
Dennis and Molly looked at him hun
grily.
Larry, who had gone forth 80 gal
lantly to seek his fortune, who had
promised to bring back emerald sham
rocks to deck his s~weethearts breast
Larry was shabby and obviously poor
and undeniably hungry, for he was
thin and pale and worn.
But he was Larry. come home to
them ono more!
Clasped In his fathers trembling
arms. Larry soothed the old mans ex-
element, while Molly hurried TO and
fro making a pot Of strong coffee and
broiling a piece OF beefsteak.
When she had set the table with the
meal Larry's eyes beckoned her across
the room, and she came and stood be-
fore him.
molly, darling" said Larry In a low
tone, 'my fine promises are for moth
ing. l come home poorer than when 1
went away, and the emeralds l was