Part 22 (1/2)
”It is the floating population,--the here-to-day-and-away-to-iven credit And,--Mr Bremner, if you desire to act in kindness to the ers, who come in here, to run up bills for themselves personally
Not that they are enerally the other way round,--but they are notoriously improvident; inclined,--God bless the moment
”In many ways they are like children in their simplicity and their ardness,--and their lot is not one of roses and honeysuckle They o If they cannot pay, they can easily wait for what they want until they can, for they are well fed and well housed while in the caether
”There is a list, George May I call you George? It is so much more friendly”
I nodded in hearty approval
”It is not by anyyour near-hand neighbours You can trust them to pay their last cent: Neil Andrews, Semple, Smith, Johannson, Doolan, MacAllister and Gourlay
”Any others who lad to inforain”
”How often do you come in here, Mr Auld?”
”I try to make it, at least, once in teeks, but I ahan Poor, old, faithful, plodding Jake,--how I tried, at first, to extract the thorn from his flesh--the accursed drink! I talked to him, I scolded him, I threatened hi but death will ever separate them”
Suddenly his face lit up and his eyes seee?” he said, as if denying soht have we to think for a han of eternal happiness? He is honest; he does good in his own little sphere; he harms no one but himself, for he hasn't a dependent in the world He fills a niche in God's plan; he is still God's child, no e,--I am fully persuaded that my God, and your God, will not be hard on old Jake when his time comes; and, do you know, sometimes I think that time is not very far off”
We sat silent for a while, then the e,--have you hbours yet?”
”Only two,” I said, ”Jake, and Rita Clark”
He raised his white, bushy eyebrows
”So you have e hoht
”It's a queer world,--or rather, it's a good world with queer people in it One would expect to find love and harmony in the home every tiaret Clark is the gentlest, dearest, ood man in every way but one,--but in that one he is the Rock of Gibraltar itself, or, to go nearer the place of his birth, Ailsa Craig, that old milestone that stands defiantly between Scotland and Ireland Andrew Clark is imht and wrong; cruel to himself and to the woman he vowed to love and cherish Oh!--he searsup to his idea of what is right”
The white-haired old gentleman,--bearer of the burdens of his fellows,--did not confide in me as to the nature of Andrew Clark's trouble, and it was not for me to probe
”As for Rita,” he pursued, ”poor, little Rita!--she is no relative of either Margaret or Andrew Clark She is a child of the sea Hers is a pitiful story, and I betray no confidences in telling you of it, for it is coo a launch put into the Bay and anchored at the entrance to Jake's cove There were several ladies and gentleirl They picnicked on the beach and, in the evening, they dined aboard, singing and laughing until after ht
Jake was the only one who saw or heard theh they were gay and pleasure-loving, yet they seemed to be of a superior class of people
”He awoke before daylight, fancying he heard screaot up and, so certain was he that he had not been ot into his boat and rowed out and round The Ghoul,--for the night was cal was quiet and peaceful out there
”Nextthe shore, he cairl about four years old, clad only in a nightdress and roped roughly to an unrandfather, old Andreorked over her forher round
”All she could say then was, ”Rita, Rita, Rita,” although, about a year afterwards, she started to hu