The Brick Moon, and Other StoriesHale, Edward Everett
Science
The Brick Moon, and Other Stories
Hale, Edward Everett
Short stories; United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
There is at last a joyful cry as the Swedish matron
and the riflemen recognize familiar faces. And Mike
smiles gladly, and brings round the stout bays with a
twitch, so that the end of the cart comes square to the
sidewalk. Somebody produces a step-ladder, and the
Swedish matron, with her bird-cage in her hand, descends
in triumph. Much kissing, much shaking of hands, much
thanking of God, more or less reverent. Then the cords
are cut, beds flung down, the giant boxes lifted, the
sons of Anak only know how. The money covenanted for is
produced and paid, and Mike mounts lightly to Nora's
side.
"And now, Nora, my child, wherr is the paper? For in
two minutes we 'll soon be therr, now that this rubbish
is landed."
And he read on the precious paper, "John McLaughlin,
99 Linwood Street."
Strange to say, the paper said just what it had said
two hours before.
"And now, my dear child, we will be therr in ten
minutes, if only we can cross back of Egan's."
And although they could not cross back of Egan's, for
Egan had put up a "tinimint" house since Mike had passed
that way, yet in ten minutes Linwood Street had been
found. No. 99 at last revealed itself, between Nos. 7
and 2,--a great six-story wooden tinder-box, with
clothes-lines mysterious behind, open doors in front,
long passages running through, three doors on each side
of a passage, and the wondering heads of eleven women who
belonged to five different races and spoke in six
different languages appearing from their eleven windows,
as Mike and Nora and the two bays all stopped at one and
the same moment at the door.
Mike was already anxious about his time, for he was
to be at the custom-house an hour away or more at eleven
sharp. But he selected a certain Widow Flynn from the
eleven white-capped women; he explained to her briefly
that John McLaughlin was to be found; he told Nora for
the thirty-seventh time that all was right and that she
must not cry; he looked at his watch again, rather
anxiously, mounted his box, and drove swiftly away.
He was the one thread which bound Nora to this world.
And this thread broke before her eyes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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