ANOTHER STORY
THE first Sunday in September was a day that Johnnie was never to
forget. Big Tom, Grandpa, Cis, and he--all were gathered about the
kitchen table for the noon meal when Father Pat and One-Eye came in, the
Father without his usual cheery greeting, though there was nothing
downcast in his look or manner. On the contrary, something of pride was
in his step, slow as that step was, and also in his glance, which
instantly sought out Johnnie. The face of the cowboy, however, was
stern, and that single eye, greener than either--or both--of the
Father's, was iron-hard and coldly averted.
As the hall door shut at their backs, the priest raised his right hand
in a gesture which was partly a salutation, partly a blessing. "Barber,"
he began solemnly (the longshoreman, having given the visitors a swift
and surly look, had gone on busily with his eating), "we've come this
mornin' about the Blake matter."
Startled, Big Tom threw down his knife and rose, instantly on the
defensive; and Johnnie and Cis, watching, understood at once that "the
Blake matter" was one known to the longshoreman, not welcomed by him,
though most important. "Oh, y' seen that guy, Davis, eh?" he demanded.
"Not one hour ago," answered the priest, quietly.
"Tuh!"--it was an angry sneer. "And I s'pose he whined 'bout me takin'
the kid?--though he could do nothin' for Johnnie. Sophie was dead, and
the kid was too little t' be left alone."
"Ye took the lad the day Albert Davis was half crazed over his wife,"
charged the Father; "--hurried him off without a word or a line! A bad
trick altogether! Oh, Davis guessed ye had the boy--the wee Johnnie he
loved like a father. But he had small time t' hunt, what with his work.
And at last he had t' give up."
All that told Johnnie a great deal. He shot a look at Cis. Barber had
taunted him often with his Uncle Albert's indifference--with the fact
that not even a post card had ever come from the rich man's garage to
the lonely little boy in the area building. But how _could_ Uncle Albert
send a post card to some one if he did not know that some one's address?
Barber kicked the morris chair out of his way. "That's the thanks I git
for supportin' a youngster who ain't no kin t' me!" he stormed.
Father Pat drew himself up. The red stubble on his bare head seemed
stiff with righteous wrath. "Then I'll ask ye why ye kidnapped the lad?"
he cried. "No kin t' ye, eh? And ye knew it, didn't ye? Then! So why
didn't ye leave the boy with Davis?--Because ye wanted his work!"
"Work!" repeated Barber, and broke into a shrill laugh. "Why, he wasn't
worth his feed! I took him jus' t' be decent!"
"Barber," returned the Father, firmly, "the tellin' o' a lie against
annybody is always a bad thing. But there's another kind o' lie that's
even worse, and that's lying t' _yerself_--that ye was thinkin' o' _his_
good when ye rushed him away, and not o' yer own pocket!" Then, nodding
wisely as he took the chair Big Tom booted aside, "_If_ ye wanted t' be
so decent, why didn't ye take the lad when his father and mother died?
Ha-a-a! He was too tiny t' be useful then, wasn't he? So ye let Sophie
Davis bring him up; ye let his uncle support him."
"Oh, all right," rejoined the longshoreman, resentfully. "I guess when
y've made up your mind about a man, there ain't no use talkin' t' y', is
there?"
"No use, Mr. Barber," answered the other. "And this very mornin', while
I've still got the breath and the strength t' do it, I mean t' tell the
lad the truth!"
"I been intendin' t' tell him myself," asserted Barber. "But up t' now,
it wasn't no story t' be tellin' a little kid--leastways, not a kid
that's got a loony way o' seein' things, and worryin' over 'em. And I
warn y'! Y're likely as not t' make him sick!"
The priest chuckled. "Y' ought t' know about that," he agreed. "Seein'
that ye've made him sick yerself, often enough."
At that, with a backward tip of his head, so that the wide hat fell off,
and with the strangest, rasping, strangling sound in his skinny throat
(his great, hairy Adam's-apple leaping, now high, now low), One-Eye
began to laugh, at the same time beginning a series of arm-wavings,
slapping first one thigh and then the other. "Har! har! har!" he
ejaculated hoarsely.
With a muttered curse, Big Tom walked to the door. "Go ahead!" he cried.
"But _I_ don't set 'round and listen t' the stuff!" Black, fuming, he
slammed his way out.
One-Eye pointed out the kitchen chair to Cis; and when she was seated,
got the wood box and set it on its side. "Come and roost along with me,"
he bade Johnnie, the single eye under the wet-combed, tawny bang smiling
almost tenderly at the boy.
When they were all comfortably settled, "Our good friend here got most
o' the information," informed Father Pat. "So, One-Eye, wouldn't ye like
t'----"
"Oh, not me! Not me!" the Westerner answered quickly. "I ain't no hand
for tellin' nothin'! No, Father! Please! I pass!"
"Johnnie," began the priest, "it's likely ye've guessed, after hearin'
all I said t' Mr. Barber, that ye was (what I'll be bold enough t' call)
stolen from yer Uncle, who wasn't ever able t' locate ye again."
"Yes, sir,"--with a pleased smile. His Uncle Albert was not more than an
hour away. That was the best of news!
"And ye noted me use the name o' Blake," continued the other. "Well, it
happens t' be yer own name."
"Blake!" Cis was amazed.
"Y' mean--y' mean my name ain't Smith," faltered Johnnie, who had, for a
moment, been too stunned by the news to speak.
"Smith was the first name Mr. Barber could think up," explained Father
Pat, "when he made up his mind t' take ye, Mr. Davis bein' gone t' the
hospital."
One-Eye burst out. "Never liked the name!" he declared. "Knowed a feller
oncet--Jim Smith--a snake! a bald-haided buzzard! a pole-cat!"
Johnnie was staring at the floor. "John Blake!" he said under his
breath. "O' course! Me! 'Cause it sounds all right, some way, and Smith
_never_ did!--Not John Smith, but John Blake!"
"Johnnie," went on the Father, "I told the dear two o' ye the story o'
Edith Cavell. And ye thought that story grand, which it is. But t'day
I'm tellin' ye another--one which, in its way, is equally grand. But
this time the story's about a man--a wonderful man, gallant and brave,
that ye'll love from this hour on."
"Please, what does he look like?" asked Johnnie, wanting a definite
picture in his mind.
"A proper question!--And, see! The old gentleman's asleep again! Good!
Wheel him a mite away, would ye mind, Miss Narcissa? He'll dream a bit
better if he isn't under me voice. Thanks!--Well, then, first o' all,
I'll have ye take note o' this man's general appearance, like. He was
young, as men go, bein' only thirty-one; though"--with a laugh and a
shake of the head--"ye think him fairly old, don't ye? Ha! But the
day'll come when thirty-one'll seem t' ye like a baby right out o' the
cradle! Yes, indeed!--But t' go back t' the man: thirty-one he was----"
"Was?" inquired Johnnie. "Is he dead? Or--or maybe now he's thirty-two?"
"He'll be thirty-one," said Father Pat, "to the very end o' time. For he
is dead, lad dear, though God knows I wish I could tell ye otherwise,
but we'll not be questionin' His mercy nor His judgment. And when all is
said and done, his brave death is somethin' t' give thanks for, as ye'll
admit fast enough when ye've heard.--Well, thirty-one, he was, and about
me own height. But not me weight. No, he was a lighter-weighing man. He
had sandyish hair, this gentleman, and a smooth face. His eyes were
gray-and-blue. And from what I hear about him, he smiled a good deal,
and was friendly t' ev'rybody, with a nice word and cheery how-dy-do.
His skin was high-colored like, and his chin was solid and square, and
he had a fine straight nose, and--but have ye got it all?"
"Yes, sir!" Johnnie scarcely remembered that any one else was with them.
"Slim, and light-haired (like me), and no whiskers, and kind of gray
eyes, and all his face nice. But I can't see it _'xac'ly_ as I'd like
t', 'cause maybe what I see and what he looked like ain't just the
same."
"In that case," replied the Father, "it's a good thing, I'm thinkin',
that I brought along a photograph!"
There it was in his hand. He held it (small and round, it was) cupped by
a big palm; and Johnnie, leaning forward, studied the pictured
countenance carefully. "That's right," went on the priest; "look at it
close--close!"
"I--I like him," Johnnie said, after a little. "And I'm awful sorry he's
dead.--But please go on, Father Pat. I want t' hear 'bout him. Though if
the story's very sad, why, I'm 'fraid that Cis'll cry."
"I won't," promised Cis. "But--but if the story tells how he died, I
don't think I'll look at the picture--not just yet, anyhow."
The priest laid the photograph, face down, upon the table. "It isn't
that Miss Narcissa'll cry," he argued; "but, oh, what'll we say t' this
young lady when she sees _us_ weep?--for, little lad dear, this is a
tale--" He broke off, then and there, as if about to break down on the
spot. But coughed, and changed feet, thus getting control of himself
once more, so that he was able to go on.
"This young man I'm tellin' about lived in Buffalo," continued the
Father. "Now that city is close t' the noble Falls that ye're so fond o'
visitin' with Grandpa. Well, one day in the Spring----"
"Scuse me! Last spring?" Johnnie interrupted.
"Eight long springs ago," answered the Father. "Which would make ye
about two years o' age at the time, if me arithmetic is workin' fairly
well t'day."
"Two is right," declared Johnnie, with the certainty of one who has
committed to memory, page by page, the whole of a book on numbers.
"But as ye were all o' four years old at the time," corrected the
priest, "eight springs ago would make ye twelve years old at this
date----"
"_Twelve?_"
"Ha-ha-a-a-! Boy scout age!" reminded the Father.
At that, Johnnie, quite overcome by the news, tumbled sidewise upon
One-Eye's hairy knees, and the cowboy mauled the yellow head
affectionately. When the Westerner set Johnnie up again, "So ye see Mr.
Barber shoved yer age back a bit when ye first came here," explained the
priest. "And as ye was shut in so much, and that made ye small for yer
years, why, he planned t' keep ye workin' for him just that much longer.
Also, it helped him in holdin' ye out o' school."
One-Eye's mustache was standing high under the brown triangle of his
nose. The single eye was burning. "Oh, jes' fer a good _ex_-cuse!" he
cried. "Fer a chanst! Fer a' openin'! And--it'll come! It'll come! I
ain't goin' t' leave Noo York, neither, till I've had it!"
If Cis caught the main drift of all this, Johnnie did not. "I'd like t'
be able t' send word t' Mister Perkins!" he declared. "Oh, wouldn't he
be tickled, though!--Cis, I can be a scout--this minute!" Then
apologetically, "But I won't int'rrupt y' again, Father Pat. I know
better, only t' hear what you said was so awful fine!"
"Ye're excused, scout dear," declared the priest. "Shure, it's me that's
glad I can bring a bit o' good news along with the sad--which is the way
life goes, bein' more or less like bacon, the lean betwixt the fat. And
now I'll go on with the story o' the young man and his wife, and----"
"There's a lady in the story?" asked Cis.
"A dear lady," answered the Father. "Young and slim, she was--scarce
more than a girl. With brown hair, I'm told, though I'm afraid I can't
furnish ye much more o' a description, and I'm sad t' say I've got no
photograph."
"Guess I won't be able t' see her face the way I do his," said Johnnie.
"She must've been very sweet-lookin' in the face," declared Father Pat.
"And bein' as good as she was good-lookin', 'tis not hard t' understand
why he loved her the way he did. And that he did love her, far above
annything else in the world, ye'll understand when ye've heard it all.
So think o' her as beautiful, lad dear, and as leanin' on him always,
and believin' in what he said, and trustin'. Also, she loved him in the
same way that he loved her, and we'll let that comfort us hereafter
whenever we talk about them--the strong, clean, fine, young husband, and
the bit o' a wife.
"Well, it was Spring, and they, havin' been kept in all winter, had a
mind one day t' visit the Falls. That same day was lovely, they tell me,
sunny and crisp. And she wore a long, brown coat over her neat dress,
and a scarf of silk veilin' about her throat. And he wore his overcoat,
there bein' some snap in the air.
"Quite a lot o' folks was goin' out upon the ice below the Falls, for
the thawin' and the breakin' up was not goin' forward too much--they
thought--and a grand view was t' be had o' the monster frozen floor, and
the icicles high as a house. So this gentleman and his wife----"
"My father and mother!" cried Johnnie. "Oh, Father Pat, y're goin' t'
tell me how they both got drownded!"
"Now! now! now!" comforted One-Eye, with a pat or two on a shoulder. "Y'
want t' know, don't y'? Aw, sonny, it'll make y' proud!"
Johnnie could only nod. The Father went on: "They went out upon the ice
with all the others, and stood gazin' up at the beautiful sight, and
talkin', I'll venture t' say, about how wonderful it was, and sayin'
that some day they'd bring the boy t' see it."
"Me,"--and Johnnie drew closer to One-Eye.
"Only a bit o' a baby, ye was, lad dear, safe at home with yer Aunt
Sophie, but big enough t' be put into ev'ry one o' their dreams and
plans. --So when they'd looked long, and with pleasure, at the fairy
work o' the frozen water, they turned and watched downstream. There was
a vast floor o' ice in that direction, all covered still with snow. At
the far edge o' the floor showed open water, flowin' in terrible
wildness, so that no boat ever rides safely in it, nor can anny man swim
through it and live.
"The rapids lay below there, but these were a long way off from the
sightseers at the Falls. They could see the tumblin', perhaps, and maybe
hear the roar. But what was under their feet was firm as the ground, and
they felt no fear."
"But--but was it safe?" Johnnie faltered. "Oh, Father Pat, I'm 'fraid it
wasn't!"
"Where they stood, it was," declared the Father. "But all at once, a
smart puff o' wind caught that pretty wisp o' veilin' from the young
wife, and wafted it away. And as quick as the wind itself after it she
darted; but when she was close to it, up and off it whirled again, and
she followed it, and he after her, and--shouts o' warnin' from all!"
Johnnie took his underlip in his teeth. By that power of his to call
before him vividly the people and places and things he heard, or read,
about, and to see everything as if it were before him, now he was seeing
the snow-covered flooring of the river, the hastening figure headed
toward danger, and the frightened one who pursued, while the sun shone,
and voices called, and the river roared below.
"There was good reason t' shout," continued the priest. "For by a bitter
chance the ice had cracked clear across 'twixt where the two were
hastenin' and where they had stood before."
Now Johnnie suddenly grew white, and his lip quivered out from its hold.
"But they must go back, Father Pat!" he cried, his breast heaving. "Oh,
they must go back!"
"They can't," answered the Father, speaking very low. "Oh, dear lad,
they're cut off from the shore. There's a big rift in the ice now, and
it's growin' each moment bigger, and they're on the wrong side o' it,
and--floatin' down river."
One-Eye slipped an arm about Johnnie, drawing the bright head to a
shoulder. "Are y' all right, sonny?" he asked huskily. "Can y' hear the
rest? Or----"
"Yes,"--but it was scarcely a whisper, and the flaxen lashes were
shuttering the gray eyes tight. "I--I ought t' be able t' stand just
hearin' it, if--if _they_ could stand the really thing."
"I don't want t' break the wee heart o' ye," protested the Father,
tenderly. "And so maybe we'll wait?"
"No, sir." Johnnie opened his eyes. "I'm goin' t' feel b-bad. But please
don't mind me. I'm thinkin' of Edith Cavell, and that'll help."
"God love the lad!" returned the Father, choking a little. "And I'll go
on. For I'm thinkin' it's better t' hear the truth, even when that truth
is bitter, than t' be anxiously in doubt." Then, Johnnie having assented
by a nod, "That rift grew wider and wider. As they stopped runnin' after
the veil, and turned, they saw it, the two o' them. 'Tis said that the
young wife gave a great cry, and ran back towards the Falls, and stood
close t' the rim o' the ice, and held out her two hands most pitiful.
But all who were on the ice had scattered, the most t' hurry t' do
somethin' which would help."
"Oh, they _must_ hurry!"--it was Cis this time, the pointed chin
trembling.
"Ropes--they got ropes, for there was a monster bridge below, which the
two will pass under before long, as the ice-cake floats that far. And
the ropes must be ready, and let down t' save 'em.--Yes, rods o' rope
were lowered, as fast as this could be managed, and as close as possible
t' where the men on the bridge judged the pair on the ice would go by.
There was a big loop in the end that trailed t' the river. But long as
that rope was, shure, it wasn't long enough, though the man was able t'
catch it--and what a shout o' joy went up!--and he could've slipped it
over his own head as easy as easy, but he would not do it--no, not
without _her_. But, oh, as he leaned to drop the big loop around her
(another rope was comin' down at the same time for him), she weakened,
and fainted in his arms, and lay there in the snow.
"He lifted her--quick! But before he could pass the loop over her head,
the current swept her on. Now there was still time for him t' spring
back and save himself--save her, he could not. But he would not leave
her lyin' there and save himself, and so--and so----"
"Oh, has he _got_ t' die?" pleaded Johnnie, brokenly.
"Johnnie," went on the Father, gently, "we're not on this earth just t'
have a good time, or an easy time,--no, or a safe time. We're here t' do
our duty, and this is how yer father thought. Lad, dear, some day ye'll
come t' a tight place yerself. And ye'll have t' decide what ye're t'
do: go this way, which is the easiest, or that, which is the hard path
o' duty, a path which'll take all the pluck ye've got, but the right
one, nevertheless--the fine, true way. And when such a time comes,
shure, ye'll remember what _he_ did that day----"
Johnnie's eyes were closed again. From under his shining lashes the
tears were beginning to creep, finding their way in long letter S's down
his pale cheeks. "I'll think o' what my father did!" he answered. "Oh, I
will, Father Pat! My fine, wonderful father!"
"Could he have chosen t' be saved, and leave the young wife there? O'
course, he could not--if ever he wanted t' have a peaceful thought
again, or the respect o' men and women. But maybe he didn't even think
o' all this, but just did the brave act naturally--instinctively. No, he
would not be saved without her. And--the ropes were both out o' reach,
now, and the ice cake was floatin' swifter, and swifter, and, dear!
dear! breakin' at one side.
"His wife in his arms, he faced about, holdin' the slim, brown figure
against his heart. He was talkin' to her then, I'll be bound, sayin' all
the tender, lovin' things that could ease her agony, though as,
mercifully enough now, she was limp in his hold, likely she could not
even hear."
"Oh, I hope so!" said Cis. "Then she wouldn't be suffering!"
"From the shore the people watched them, and from the bridge. But manny
could not watch, for, ah, 'twas a tragic sight. Some o' these prayed;
some hid their faces. But others shouted--in encouragement, maybe, or
just terror. Annyhow, the young husband, hearin' the calls, lifted his
face t' that high bridge. And 'twas then _he_ called--just once, but
they heard. And what he called was a single name, and that name
was--_Johnnie_."
Down went Cis's head then, and she wept without restraint. But Johnnie
was somehow uplifted now, as by pride. "I can see him!" he cried. "My
father! Just as _plain_!" He sat up straight again, though his eyes were
still shut. "I can see his face, smilin', and his light hair! Why, it's
as if he was lookin' straight at _me_!" Then trembling again into
One-Eye's hold, "But I can't see my mother's face, 'cause it's turned
away, hidin' on my father's shoulder. I can see just her back. Oh,
my--poor--m-mother!"
"He was thinkin' o' the baby he was leavin' behind," went on the priest,
"in that last moment o' his life. And if she was, too, then it's no
wonder the gentle thing couldn't lift her head."
"Oh! Oh, Father Pat!"--while One-Eye stroked the yellow hair he had
ruffled, and whispered fondly under that dun mustache.
"The ice was near the rapids now, so there isn't a great deal more t'
tell," continued the Father. "He put up one hand, did yer father, wavin'
it in a last salute--thankin', maybe, the men who had worked so hard
with the ropes.--O God o' Mercy, wast Thou not lookin' down upon Thy
servant as he gave his life cheerfully just t' comfort hers one minute
longer?
"The agony was short. The rapids caught the cake, which whirled like a
wheel--once. Then it tipped, breakin' again, crumblin' t' bits under
them, and they sank. There was just a glimpse, a second's, o' his head,
shinin' in the sun. Then they were gone--gone. God rest his soul--his
brave, brave soul! And God rest her soul, too!" The Father crossed
himself.
After awhile, having wiped his own eyes, he went on once more: "Behind
them swayed the rope as the men on the bridge slowly dragged it up and
up. And the people everywhere turned away, and started slowly home. Not
alt'gether sadly, though. For they'd seen a beautiful thing done, one
which was truly sublime. And later in yer life, lad dear, when ye hear
tell, manny a time, how this boy or that has had somethin' left t' him
by his father--land, maybe, or a great house, or money--then don't ye
fail t' remember what was left t' yerself! For yer father left ye more
than riches. He left ye the right t' be proud o' him, and t' respect and
honor him, and there's no grander inheritance than that! And the
sweetness which was yer mother's, along with the bravery o' yer father,
all are yer own, comin' t' ye in their blood which courses through yer
own veins. Inheritance! What a lot is in the word! Manny's the time I've
wondered about ye--how ye love what's decent and good--good books, and
right conduct, and t' be clean, and all the rest o' it. But now I
understand why. Come t' me, little son o' a good mother! Little son o' a
brave father!" The priest held out his hand.
As Johnnie came, Father Pat took from a pocket a leather case which,
when opened, disclosed--was it a piece of money? or an ornament? Johnnie
could not decide. But it was round, and beautiful, and of gold. Taken
from its case, it was heavy. On the obverse side it bore the likeness of
a man as old, nearly, as Grandpa; on the reverse, cut in a splendid
circle, were the words, _Greater love hath no man than this, that a man
lay down his life for his friends_. In the center, in lasting letters of
metal, were other words: _Awarded to William Blake._
"'Tis a medal," explained the Father, "and 'twas awarded to that husband
who would not save himself if he could not save his wife."
"Is--is that my father's picture?" Johnnie asked, under his breath.
"No, lad dear. 'Tis Andrew Carnegie, that--the founder of the Carnegie
Hero Fund. He was a poor boy when he came to America from Scotland. And,
Johnnie, dear, books was what _he_ loved, and when he was a little
telegraph messenger, he'd read when he could, in betwixt scamperin' here
and there with messages. He lived to make a fortune, and much of that
fortune he spent in buildin' libraries for those who can't afford to buy
their own books. And he did manny other things, and one o' 'em was--t'
leave an educational award t' the wee son o' a certain hero I could
name, so that the lad, as soon as he was big enough, could go t' school
and college. Now, who d' ye think I mean?"
Johnnie knew; yet it was all so sudden that he could not wholly realize
it. "Money for school, lad dear," repeated the priest. "It's been
waitin' for ye this long time. But Mr. Tom Barber didn't happen t' know
about it, and we'll not be sayin' a word t' him just yet. No; I'm
thinkin' the news would be the end o' the dear man--so much money in the
family, and him not able t' put his hands on a cent!"
When Father Pat was gone, One-Eye with him, he left behind, not a
sorrowing little boy, who blamed Fate for having robbed him of both
father and mother in one terribly tragic hour, but a boy who was very
proud. There was this about him, too: he did not feel fatherless and
motherless any longer, but as if the priest had, somehow, given him
parents.
"And, oh, wasn't it a beautiful story?" Cis asked, as they put the medal
in a pocket of the new scout coat. (The picture Father Pat had carried
away to have copied.) "Johnnie, I feel as if I'd been to church! It's
like the passing of Arthur--so sad, but so wonderful! Oh, Johnnie Blake,
think of it! You're twelve! and you can go to school! and you're the son
of a hero!"
"Yes," said Johnnie. As he had not done the work which he knew Big Tom
expected of him that Sunday, now he got out the materials for his
violet-making and began busily shaping flowers. "And I'm goin' t' be a
scout right off, too," he reminded. "So I mustn't shirk, 'r they won't
give me a badge!"