Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1916-05-29
eleventh EPISODE
The Saving of Dan 0'Mara

Young Peggy O'Mara was troubled
in mind. She had become suspicious
of her own father. On more than one
occasion of late that debt-harried
toiler from the Applewaithe works
had been visited by stranger who i'm
pressed the sophisticated young Peggy
as anything but attractive. And an
honest man, Peggy argued with her
self, finds no need for stealing up to
a house at night and closeting himself
with its owner behind the locked door
of cellar workroom So the spindle
legged daughter of Dan O'Mara, watch
ing for her chance, decided to investi-
gate.
But the girls chances for investi-
CATION were limited, for Peggy was a
hard-driven young housekeeper, with
bedridden mother to look after as best
she could. Late one night, however,
when Dan O'Mara had led his mystic
rious visitor into his cellar workroom
and locked the door behind him, the
girl slipped off her broken-toed shoes
and stole silently down to that under.
ground chamber of mystery.
There, with her ear to the keyhole,
she overheard enough to confirm her
darkest suspicious. She waited until
the mysterious visitor had stolen out
through the house, with a parcel under
his arm, and then once more made her
way down to her fathers workroom.
The door, this time, was unlocked. So
she entered noiselessly and crept over
to where Dan O'Mara sat staring at
the wall with unseeing eyes.
Pop, what're you thinkin' about ?"
suddenly asked a tremulous voice
close to his shoulder.
He swung about like shot.
What should l be thinkin' about? ?"
he demanded.
You're thinkin' about that man who
was down here ten minutes ago." was
the girls answer.
What MANI" equivocated the cul-
prit.
Chinatown Charlie"
And how'd you know he's called
Chinatown Charlie?" demanded rebel
lious-eyed Dan O'Mara.
Il know more'n that, pop" said the
girl with a gulp. 81 know that city
crooks ropin' you in for work never
thought you'd dol"
Work? What work."
There's a bunch of opium SNUG
glers got wise to the fact that the dye
works is bringin' in tons of that Kali
sow wood from China. And certain o
them blocks is goin' to come in hol-
low with secret marks, and you're
goin' to dig the opium out o. them and
hide it here until that hop runner for
Chinatown Charlie comes and carries
it away in laundry bag!"
Amt your mother got to have med
icine?" demanded her father. Amt
we behind in our rent? And amt the
that one-armed man had me machine
work taken away from me?"
But you'll have more'n your ma
chine taken away from you, pop.
You1l be queered with the company,
FOR tamperin' with stock, and then the
bulls II get wise and send you up the
river for smugglin'!"
I've thought that out. me gerll. I've
no love for goin' against the law, at
me time O. life, put guess we've got
| to take chances. We've got to, or go
under for good and all! For I'm think
| in your poor mother was right when
| she said there was no crime so black
| as the crime o. bein' poor!"
| "But they'd promised to raise your
| pay, over to the dye>works!' she re-
| minded him.
| Instead o. which they took off me
| machine and gave it to that one-armed
/ snitch who claimed I'd been workin'
i against the company by tryin to in
vent q chemical color that'd soon be
sendin their old logwood plant t the
scrap heap!'
Silent as Peggy O'Mara remained
on the subject of her discovery, she
brooded long and darkly on this heav-
Ter cloud that hung over her home and
her fathers good name. 1t haunted
her thoughts as she worked II filled
her blind young heart with spirit OF
revolt. 1t converted her into a di
minutive yet Ioweringbrowed Ishmael
tie. She hated the owner of the works
she told herself as she carried her ia
theirs dinner pail to the factory the
next day, and she hated the hard
voiced foreman of the shaft room. She
turned to stare belligerently toward:
Arson Applewaithe, the immaculate
son of the factory owner himself, as
he ushered into the room of whirrint
shafts and flying belts a small groul
of visitors.
Yet the Ishmael-like young face soft
ened little as she looked at one mem
Der of that approaching group. Fo
one fair-haired girl Of about twenty
dressed in black. whom young Apple
waithe piloted about amid the roaring