way for her on th' dock, but she looked straight
beyant her nose an' held her way firm an' strong until she went out av
sight, lavin' O'Toole starin' after her.

"''Pon me whurd, Garnett,' he called, ''tis a most wonderful
thing, look!'

"''Tis a mother's love, ye haythen; 'pon me whurd, there's nothin' else
like it. See how th' news affected th' poor old crayther. It puts me in
mind av the time whin I had an old leddy t' look after me. 'Tis a rale
jewil av a thing, an' a man only has it th' onct.'

"'More's th' pity,' says Garnett. 'Sink ye, but ye sure are a tough one
to tell th' old gal on so short notice. But ye niver did have no
feelin's, ye bloomin' heathen.'

"''Pon me sowl, what cud I do else?'

"'O' course, 'tain't likely a rough feller like you could do any better,
but whin any wimmen folks come aboard agin, come to a man as is used to
thim. A man as can talk an' act in a way they likes. A man wid some ways
to him. A man--' Here he stooped an' picked up th' button th' old gal
had dropped.

"'Where did this come from?' he asked.

"'She had it in her mouth,' says O'Toole.

"'Well, it's one av th' buttons off a uniform that ain't healthy to be
wearin' around these parts just now.' An' then they both looked hard at
th' little thing.

"'D'ye s'pose it cud have been?' asked O'Toole.

"'Been what?' says Garnett.

"'Jameson, ye blatherin' ijiot. Jameson, th' same as left his wife,
a-comin' here huntin' for her. 'Twas so, fer a fact. He had it in his
mouth to kape us from knowin' his voice, an' by th' same tokin, I calls
to mind th' chokin' in his throat, the scand'lous owld woman he was.'

"'Stave me, but ye might have been right for onct in yer life, so bear a
hand an' let's stand away after him an' ketch th' old leddy an' see,'
says Garnett.

"They started off without listenin' to my hail, so I climbed down to th'
dock an' follows. It was evenin' now, an' th' street was crowded, but
they pushed along ahead av me.

"Ye see it ware Jameson, sure enough, an whin he heard his wife ware
dead, he wint up that street like a man in a dream. He forgot all about
his dress, an' his face ware hard set like a man thinkin' over th' past.
He had some five minutes' start av th' mates, an' whin a poor beggar
woman spoke to him he scared her half to death with his voice when he
asked her th' way to th' cemetery. Thin he remembered his disguise,
stepped into a doorway, pulled off th' dress an' hat an' flung thim to