Argosy, Vol. 1 (1882) — page 112: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE THIRTEENTH PENNY. the table and some bits of ginger cookies scattered about. Eagerly he scraped the crumbs into the palm of his hand and carried them to his mouth. “It’s Jane’s cookies; Jane’s, Jane’s!”’ was all he could say. By and by he got up and crept over into the dark corner of the room where the mattress lay. He knelt by the side of the tumbledown bed, looking cau- tiously about him. Then pushing his hand far into the mattress he drew out a small roll of papers. Carrying the package back to the table he untied the roll and spread out before him a number of green notes. It was money. As he counted the bills he looked closely at each of them and made sure of their value. They were all for large amounts. Several of them bore a “ C” in the corners and many had “ Xs” and “ XXs.” He was a rich man. | He was still counting the money when a noise on the stairs aroused him. He heard some one say, “ Just up here, Aunty,” and before he could scrape to- gether his money the lame boy hobbled into the room followed by Aunty Mc- Ginn. | The old peddler crouched low over his wealth, his arms outspread to hide the bills on the table. The white glow of the electric light without streamed down upon him; he was pale and frightened and his eyes stared wildly toward the door. He looked like the miser on the stage counting his money in his dark attic with the rays of the calcium light shin- ing upon him from the wings. He could not see the boy, nor Aunty Mc- Ginn, for it was black where they stood. “"Who’s there?” he shouted,. peer- ing into the darkness. “Me,” amswered the lame boy; “I’ve brought Aunty McGinn to see you.” a" As the boy spoke Aunty McGinn came slowly toward the table into the light. 103 “Go away, go away!” shouted the old man frantically, gesticulating his arms wildly; “go away, go away, I don’t.want no help.” But the good woman came up to the table and leaning over the wild old miser tried to quiet him. Almost at her first touch the mad- ness left him and he ceased his shout- ing and gazed up into Aunty McGinn’s face. “The lad said ye were sick,” she said, “en I came to see if I could do a bit fer ye "—but as she looked down into the face turned up to hers her look changed to a frightened stare and she cried out: “ The Holy Mother! the Holy Mother!” and threw her arms about the old man’s neck calling, “ It’s Jerry McGinn came back again !—it’s Jerry McGinn!—oh, it’s Jerry Mc- Ginn!” The next minute the old man and Aunty McGinn were wrapped in each other’s arms and swaying to and fro like two long parted lovers. ‘I knew it was you that baked them cookies,” said the old man, “I knew it was you; there never was any others like them.” “ En you’ve come back again to stay, en you've come back to stay,” was alt that Aunty McGinn could say while the tears rolled down her old, wrinkled cheeks. The Iame boy stood on his crutch near by and watched the two old peo- ple. He did not understand at all what it meant. But when they had all gone back to Aunty McGinn’s warm sitting- room back of her bakery he heard all about everything. How Jerry McGinn, her husband, had gone to sea many years before and how she had waited in vain for him to come back: how she had come to this country and made a living a baking cookies. ‘“ En who'd a ever thought,” she said as she finished her. tale to the little lame boy, “that them cookies would ha’ brought him back.” CONN ElOOO;KS eo inn