Barney

“ On that Monday,--that eventful and ever-to-be-remembered Monday,--I saw as I approached that Barney was holding forth in the spell-binding manner I knew, to another listener,--a young fellow, I thought at first. But as I came up, his listener emptied a chatelaine purse upon Barney's tray, and my surprised glance from the jingling shower of silver to the face of the impetuous donor showed me that it was a young girl,--a gallant, boyish-faced girl, whose eyes were shining into Barney's with the enthusiasm of a hero-worshipper. ”

“ At sight of it Barney's heart sank. The look of the thing was all too familiar. Before the yellow one had commenced to read aloud from it Barney had repeated to himself the words he knew were coming.
"'Gray eyes,'" read the brigand, "'brown hair, and a full, reddish-brown beard.' Herman and Friedrich, my dear children, you have stumbled upon the richest haul in all Lutha. Down upon your marrow-bones, you swine, and rub your low-born noses in the dirt before your king." ”

“ I knew Barney when he was a boy, and a more sober, adventure-seeking young rascal you never saw. But by then all the frontiers had dried up, it was between wars, and the only adventure Barney could find was in the bottom of a bottle. ”

“ Barney might never have suspected her, if he had not become a detective. In his social set, a boy is so busy concealing the guilty secrets of his conscience from his elders that he has no time to develop his own perspicacity. He is so diligent in hiding that he does not sharpen his eyes for what others have hidden. But after Babbing had lectured him, whimsically, on the necessity of knowing when a man was lying to him, he had begun to watch and study the utterances he met with. ”

“ As Barney waxed eloquent, picturing the perils and privations, the discouragements and defeats, the toils and triumphs of missionary life, the lustrous eyes grew luminous with deep inner light, the beautiful face, its ivory pallor relieved by a touch of carmine upon lip and cheek, appeared to shed a very radiance of glory that drew and held the gaze of the whole company.
“Oh, what splendid work!” she cried. “How good to be a man! But it's better,” she added, with a quick glance at Barney and a little shy laugh, “to be a woman.” ”

“ BARNEY'S INVITATION
[April, 1782]
Come all ye lads who know no fear,
To wealth and honor with me steer
In the Hyder Ali privateer,
Commanded by brave Barney.
She's new and true, and tight and sound,
Well rigged aloft, and all well found—
Come away and be with laurel crowned,
Away—and leave your lasses.
Accept our terms without delay,
And make your fortunes while you may,
Such offers are not every day
In the power of the jolly sailor.
Success and fame attend the brave,
But death the coward and the slave,
Who fears to plough the Atlantic wave,
To seek the bold invaders. ”

“ Barney saw him sit back irritably; he saw Jaccard, suddenly remembering his client, glance about sharply. Then Barney gazed at the forward row at the darkened end of the room where he believed his mother to be. But either he was mistaken in supposing her there, or this demand was not the one to draw her from concealment. No one moved, and no one spoke but the Voice which announced:
"All the while a spirit has been beside you; a man; a fine-looking man, middle-aged, with dark hair and brows; strong, blue eyes; looking down, not at you, but beside you on the right. ”

“ When he could endure it no longer, he fled again; but this time, to escape the New York police, he went tramping; and Hudson Street heard no more of him.
Barney’s manner accepted such a father as a natural fact of life, without any emotional embellishment or indignant comment. The woman put down her sewing, and poured him another cup of tea, and eyed him in silent pity. She was a capable-looking young housewife, of a prettily maternal aspect; and Barney’s face and hands needed washing.
The man showed his sympathy by asking: “What do you intend to do? How do you expect to make a living?” ”

“ Honest Barney felt his heart deeply moved by all this, and, sooth to say, his natural cheerfulness and lightness of spirit completely abandoned him at the contemplation of the awful anguish which pressed them down. There is nothing which makes such a coward of the heart as the influence of such a scene. ”

“ Barney drove his spirited horses with perhaps less than his customary dash, a chastened dignity taking the place of the exuberant confidence which generally distinguished him. The bracing air, the rapid motion, the feeling of controlling destiny that a man has when he is driving a tandem, all failed to raise his spirits, as might have been expected; for the very fact that he was driving alone emphasized his disappointment, and made this world the hollow mockery it sometimes seems to the most cheerful of us. ”

“ Barney saw various sea animals and fishes upon the bed of the sea.
It was an awful thing to think of.
Only the clear, transparent wall of the ice separated the chamber of the berg from the waters of the ocean.
Barney shivered as he reflected upon the possibility of that wall of ice breaking through and letting in the waters of the sea.
It would mean death to him.
This made the Celt feel a bit uncomfortable, and he began at once to look about for a way out of the place.
By the best good fortune he discovered an upward passage and at once took it. ”

“ Across the valley, the Catskills shouldered one another to look over the ridge at the farms that had been marching up through the forest, along the river, nearer and nearer, year by year. At the foot of the ridge lay the summer hotel, above Careyville, in a pine grove. The single upper window in its central gable watched Barney like an eye. ”

“ II At seven o’clock, with a little electric lamp in his pocket, he was climbing the hill road behind Findellen, munching crackers and cheese that he had bought from a grocery store, and keeping an occasional eye on the corrugations of the automobile track, to make sure that it was still with him. The road slanted obliquely up the side of a ridge that was too steep to be cleared for farming, and Barney could see nothing but bushes, trees, and undergrowth. ”

“ Suddenly Barney glanced up and saw his grandmother's stick whirling over his head. Her eyes were fastened eagerly upon the window, and her lips trembled as she strove to speak.
"What d'ye want, granny?" he asked.
Then at last it came out, quick and sharp, and in a convulsive gasp,—"Who air all that gang o'folks a-comin' yander down the road?"
Barney jumped up, threw down the fiddle, and ran to the door with the children at his heels. There was a quiver of curiosity among them, for it was a strange thing that a "gang o'folks" should be coming down this lonely mountain road. ”

“ Nothing could have looked less like the hiding place of a criminal mystery.
Darkness had settled down on peace, and the moon was rising on it, when Barney issued unexpectedly from the bushes and began to scuffle noisily up the road again to attract the collie. He had his coat over his arm, and when the dog came barking at him he swung the coat at it, and retreated trailing it, and flicked it into the dog’s mouth when it pursued him. As soon as the collie had a fighting hold on it, he began to yell shrilly: “Here, you! Lea’ me alone! Here! Leggo, will you? Here, you! Call off yer dog!” ”

“ For a minute Barney studied him.
“I believe in my sowl,” says the Man without Childher, mighty rayproachful, “you’re only a fairy! But if that’s what you are, you must have charms and spells. Now, turn yourself into a purty, harmless infant this minute—have red hair, like the Mulligan childher at that—or I’ll break every bone in your body!”
There was blazing anger in the King’s eye and withering scorn in his woice.
“Ignorant man,” he cried, “don’t you know that betwixt cock-crow in the morning and sunset the Good People can work no spell or charm. ”

“ As Barney fled from the courtyard he heard the rattle of hasty footsteps upon the rickety stairway of the inn.
Choosing an alley rather than a street in which he might run upon soldiers at any moment, he moved quickly yet cautiously away from the inn. Behind him he could hear the voices of many men. They were raised to a high pitch by excitement. It was clear to Barney that there were many more than the original three–Prince Peter had, in all probability, enlisted the aid of the military. ”

“ Then it was just as Job Perkins had told me! The rivalry between the Barney twins was fostered by their rich uncle. I had no comment to make—it wasn’t my place. But Mr. Barney seemed to wish to talk to somebody, and perhaps because I was so near his own age (he could not have been twenty-three yet) and came from people who were more like his own class, he warmed toward me for the moment. Perhaps, too, I am a sympathetic listener.
“Alf and I,” said Mr. Barney, thoughtfully, “have always been more than brothers. We’ve been friends. There’s a difference. ”

“ To all appearances Barney was a man greatly to be envied, but, alas! how little does the public know the inner life of even its greatest favourite! All may be fair to outward view, while within sits brooding care. Barney had a secret trouble which he confided to no one, and it caused him serious mental dissatisfaction. He had told Edna Sartwell that she had blighted his life, and he fully believed this at the time he made the gloomy statement. ”

“ She screamed, and the next moment dashed, damp, chill, dishevelled, into the vestibule.
At the bang of the great door young Barney, pale under the box-office gas-light, raised his head and looked through the little window, trying to see who was outside, but the darkness was almost that of night, and Sybil, catching her breath in gasps, said: "I beg your pardon, Mr. Barney, I—I have just run in here for shelter—it's awful outside! Don't you know me? I'm Miss—Miss—" She stopped, in confusion. A tall man was stooping to peer out over Barney's shoulder. ”

“ The curtains were drawn back, the entranced assemblage rose to its feet, and, gathering about the host, congratulated him upon the success of his afternoon. Barney received these felicitations with exuberant gratification, and the young Earl, finally emerging from behind the scenes, clothed and in his right mind, but a trifle breathless, accepted modestly his well-earned share of the compliments, for, let cynics say what they will, true merit is always sure of appreciation in the great city. ”

“ You overdo it,” Babbing said, without looking up. And his merely professional tone of matter-of-fact advice sobered Barney as suddenly as if he had said: “I understand, of course, that you have found your smile very effective, but it does n’t deceive me. You ’re not so bland a child as you pretend, and I shall not treat you as if you were.” ”

“ Before his arrival Hope had played favourite classics for the amusement of her sisters during the evening, but Master Barney had little patience with such a tame performance. He preferred to hear popular street ditties, coached Hope in the airs in a loud, cracked treble, and insisted on a chorus, as often as not throwing in a step-dance by way of improvement. From time to time one of his sisters would offer a mild protest: “Don’t, Barney—don’t!” “Barney, be quiet!” Whereupon Barney would give a louder stamp than before, or, by way of reply, elegantly wave a foot over the head of the protester. ”

“ Before the enemy were clear out of sight, the practised eye of Barney caught a sail which he knew to be bearing down upon him. He saw that resistance was out of the question; but that if he managed the affair adroitly he might escape. It was now that he was called upon to exercise that firmness of mind, coolness and contempt of danger, and quickness of resource in time of need, that ever distinguished his character, and showed him to be a man of no ordinary talents. ”

“ I am always ready, so that whenever you says the word, Barney's your boy.”
“Presently,” said Dashall, “for it would be hard to make you start upon a full jorum.”
“Why I must say,” continued Barney, “I never likes to leave a foaming quart behind me;” and catching hold of the pot of heavy wet, he roared out,—
“What a hearty blade am I,
Care can never touch my heart; Every trouble I defy, While I view the foaming quart.” ”

“ It was Barney he rode, and Barney could be trusted to pace along decorously with the reins twisted twice around the saddle-horn, so Billy gave no thought to his horse but put his whole mind on the figures. He was not much used to these things; beyond keeping tally of the stock at branding and shipping time and putting down what details of his business he dared not trust to memory, a pencil was strange to his fingers. ”

“ Barney liked him so much! They used to talk together; he will know best what was in the boy’s mind, and be able to help us.”
“I’ll bring him up,” said Steve, and turned straightway to the door. He, too, was eager for a man’s advice—a calm, masculine judgment—to temper the discussion with these distracted girls. Relief was apparent in his manner when he followed the Hermit into the dining-room five minutes later, and summoned his sisters to meet him.
“Barney has gone!” said Philippa simply as she put her hand into the one outstretched to meet it. ”

“ Half-an-hour passed by, fraught with the deepest suspense and anxiety to the waiting party in Number 10; then Philippa’s step was heard running up the stairs, and in she came, white no longer, but smiling, rosy, abeam with complacency.
“Where is Barney?” cried four voices eagerly; and she seated herself before the fire, crossed her hands on her lap, and regarded her audience with the prospective satisfaction of one who knows that she is about to make a sensation.
“Barney,” she said slowly, “is enjoying himself so much that he refused to come away! He is invited to stay for the evening. ”