Everything went smoothly until noon, not a cloud in the sky, when,
looking across the tracks at that hour, I beheld coming toward us with
more or less uncertain step another individual, stocky of figure and
evidently bent on seeing Rourke--an Irishman as large as Rourke,
younger, and, if anything, considerably coarser in fiber. He was very
red-faced, smooth shaven, with a black derby hat pulled down over his
eyes and wearing a somewhat faded tight-fitting brown suit. He was
drunk, or nearly so, that was plain from the first. From the moment
Rourke beheld him he seemed beside himself with anger or irritation. His
expression changed completely and he began to swell, as was customary
with him when he was angry, as though suffering from an internal
eruption of some kind.
"The bla'guard!" I heard him mutter. "Now, be gob, what'll that felly
be waantin'?" and then as the stranger drew nearer, "Who was it tould
him I was here? Maybe some waan at the ahffice."
Regardless of his speculations on this score, the stranger picked his
way across the tracks and came directly to him, his face and manner
indicating no particularly friendly frame of mind.
"Maybe ye'll be lettin' me have that money now," he began instanter, and
when Rourke made no reply, merely staring at him, he added, "I'll be
waantin' to know now, when it is ye're goin' to give me the rest av me
time fer that Scarborough job. I've been waitin' long enough."
Rourke stirred irritably and aggressively before he spoke. He seemed
greatly put out, shamed, to think that the man should come here so,
especially on this peaceful Sabbath morning.
"I've tould ye before," he replied defiantly after a time, "that ye've
had aall ye earned, an' more. Ye left me without finishin' yer work, an'
ye'll get no more time from me. If ye waant more, go down to the ahffice
an' see if they'll give it to ye. I have no money fer ye here," and he
resumed a comfortable position before the fire, his hands behind his
back.
"It's siven dollars ye still owe me," returned the other, ignoring
Rourke's reply, "an' I waant it now."
"Well, ye'll naht get it," replied my boss. "I've naathin' fer ye, I'm
tellin' ye. I owe ye naathin'."
"Is that so?" returned the other. "Well, we'll see about that. Ye'll be
after givin' it to me, er I'll get it out of ye somehow. It's naht goin'
to be ch'ated out av me money I am."
"I'm owin' ye naathin'," insisted Rourke. "Ye may as well go away from
here. Ye'll get naathin'. If ye waant anything more, go an' see the
ahffice," and now he strode away to where the Italians were, ignoring
the stranger completely and muttering something about his being drunk.
The latter followed him, however, over to where he stood, and continued
the dispute. Rourke ignored him as much as possible, only exclaiming
once, "L'ave me be, man. Ye're drunk."
"I'm naht drunk," returned the other. "Once an' fer all now, I'm askin'
ye, arre ye goin' to give me that money?"
"No," replied Rourke, "I'm naht."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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