Read Ebook: The rag pickers by Leslie Madeline

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Ebook has 503 lines and 20496 words, and 11 pages

Leaving Pat to watch by their rags and coal till the carts came round, they walked briskly on, for the man had determined to take advantage of the opportunity and go through a street where a partly-burned house was being pulled down, in hope of getting some half-burned sticks of wood.

The gentleman who owned the place happened to be there, and seeing that Bill was sober and looked extremely destitute, he told him he might carry away as much wood as he could until dark.

"Now we wont have to starve, will we, daddy?" cried Dilly, jumping up and down in her joy.

"No danger of that, I hope," said the gentleman.

Mr. Hogan put his hand quickly to his breast, and turned away suddenly without saying a word.

"Come, little girl, you shall tell me all about it," continued the stranger kindly. "Don't you have enough to eat?"

"Oh, yes," she said, "and when I go home I shall have some porridge in my pretty cup. I've got a new baby, too. He's real funny, but he can't open his eyes yet--he's too little."

Before Dilly had finished her story, her father had gathered a large pile of wood, and tied it together with a cord he found in the street. This he took on his back, and then turning to the gentleman said, "I have five mouths to feed, and if ye could recommend me some work better than picking rags, I'll bless ye as long as I live."

Then turning to Dilly, he said, "Come child," and adding, "with your leave, sir, I'll be back soon," walked rapidly away.

The last load had been piled up against the wall, and the family were about retiring to their rest, when a knock was heard at the door, and Dilly sprang joyfully forward to meet her acquaintance of the afternoon. A young lady accompanied him, whom he introduced as his daughter.

"Father told me about the little girl with her new baby," said the lady, smiling, as she patted the child's head, "and I came to ask her to go to sabbath school. I am getting up a class for myself."

"We were Protestants in the old country," said Mrs. Hogan, "and I'd be thankful indeed to have her go, but it's yourself'll be loth to take her, I'm thinking, when ye know she owns no clothes but what she has on this minute."

"Oh, I'll make her some clothes," urged the lady, "if you'll let her come, and the boy, too! Only you must promise to keep them clean for Sunday."

"I'm so glad," said Dilly, dancing about on her toes. "I'll be ever so good, I will."

"I am sorry to see you looking so feeble," added the lady, turning toward the corner where Mrs. Hogan lay with her infant at her breast.

"Thank you, miss," replied the woman, gratefully. "If I had a lighter heart, I'd be better at once, though the poor baby is only two days old."

"I wish to have the yard, where you saw the wood, cleared of the burnt rubbish," remarked the gentleman, who had been a smiling witness of his daughter's success, and of Dilly's delight. "If you can do no better, I will give you employment there for a few days."

Mr. Hogan gratefully accepted the proposal, saying, "I shall be glad, sir, to do anything that is honest. It is a hard business to fill five mouths with what one can earn by rag picking."

THE COUNTERFEIT DOLLAR.

PAT, however, continued in his old employment. He was entirely different from Dilly, who was a favorite with all the children, on account of her loving heart and cheerful temper. Pat was both selfish and sullen. He was ready to quarrel at the least offence of his companions. When the rude boys saw him come alone to the field, and select a spot for himself to clear, they said, "Now for some fun!"

They watched their chance when he had made a pile of coal and another of rags, and came up toward him as if for a friendly chat. Suddenly they threw themselves down, thus overturning all his work and obliging him to commence again.

Pat sprang to his feet and doubled his fist, screaming with anger.

"Come, now, be still, will ye?" cried one of them. "What harm have we done ye, anyhow?" At the same time he winked to his companions, to carry on the sport.

Pat saw the glance. He flew at the lad; and the affair might have become serious, had not an older man who was quietly at work near by interfered. He had witnessed the whole proceedings, and told the boys they had no business with Pat's lot, any way.

He separated them with some difficulty, and then returned to his work.

Pat had been pleased when his father told him he might work alone, and have all he could earn; but now he found it not so pleasant. Though he would not have confessed it, he missed Dilly's cheerful voice and sunny smile. The morning seemed very long, and by the time he sat down to eat a crust of bread which he had brought for his dinner, he had half determined to go home.

A few days before this, a party of ladies and gentlemen came into the field to watch the men, women, and children at their work. They stopped near the lot his father had selected and began to talk with a couple who were busily engaged in sorting rags. Pat had been near enough to hear what was said.

"You have a large pile of rubbish there," said one lady. "Do you make much by it?"

"And sure, ma'am," the woman answered, "we get a living; but it's a hard way."

"Tell us how you manage," said a gentleman.

"It's jist this way, sir," interrupted the man. "We comes here and takes each our own lot, striving, of coorse, for the best, sure. Then we sets ourselves to work to find what we can. Sometimes there's very little, and then again, there's more. My woman and I first picks out all the coal, putting it in one pile, and the junk in another, like this."

"But what can you do with those rotten pumpkins and potatoes?"

"And sure, that's a fine chance for us, ma'am. We live out of the city a bit, and kape a cow and a pig, besides a horse and a hen; so it's bad luck, indeed, if we don't find something to feed them all with."

"You are better off than I thought," rejoined the lady, smiling. "I suppose you own a cart, too, and carry your treasures home in it."

"Indeed, we do, ma'am; and that is it carrying off junk. We hires it out to our neighbors to carry their coal home, and their rags to the junk store. Ye'd laugh, ma'am, when we gets home, to see the craters jump into the cart to get their supper."

"You seem to make a very good living," remarked one of the gentlemen.

"We don't complain, sir," answered the man frankly. "We're not beholden to the city for a penny since we first landed in the States."

"Do you ever find anything of value money or jewels?"

"Feth, sir, and that's seldom. I wont deny we do find a little money."

"Well, I hope you'll make a good day of it to-day," said the lady, turning to another group.

Ever since he had heard that money was occasionally found with the other rubbish, Pat had been eagerly searching for some. This was why he had been so pleased to be alone. Every bit of broken glass or shining paper upon which the sun shone was eagerly seized and carefully examined.

After the rude boys left him to his work, Pat slowly went on sorting his piles again. He was quite discouraged, and wished he was anything in the world but a rag and coal picker. Suddenly he rushed forward to pull a pile of rubbish nearer to his seat when a torn envelope fell at his feet. He was just about to throw it away when it occurred to him to see whether it contained anything. He put in his soiled fingers, and to his astonishment pulled out a bank-bill--a one dollar bank-bill!

His first impulse was to secrete it,--glancing around to see whether any one had been watching him,--and then to go on rapidly with his work, as if nothing unusual had happened to him.

His heart beat faster than ever, as he remembered how much a dollar would buy!--a pair of boots, or a new jacket. Yes, he had seen a jacket at the secondhand store costing just one dollar.

Once, to be sure, he did think how poorly his mother was dressed; and how much good the money would do her; but, no; he would keep it himself. He had found it, and it was his.

As night approached he sold his coal and junk to the man who owned a cart and could more readily dispose of them, then hurried away to procure his new jacket before he went home.

The shop was already lighted when he reached it. He pointed to the jacket, which he was pleased to see had not been sold; tried it on, and it proved a very good fit. He buttoned it tightly to his chin, and found it exceedingly comfortable. Then he took the envelope from his pocket, and detaching the bill passed it to the merchant and was walking off, when the man called out, angrily,--

"Here, you young rascal, you just take that 'ere coat right off! Your money aint worth one copper! It's counterfeit."

"Counterfeit!" stammered Pat, ready to cry. "What is a counterfeit?"

"Don't you think to try any of your dodges on me," screamed the man, "I've cut my eye-teeth, I tell you. Take it off, I say, or I'll have the police here."

"I don't know what you mean," faltered Pat, beginning to sob. "You said 'twas a dollar, and I give you a dollar."

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