McCarthy

“ As he charged through the awed and terror-stricken mob and out past the concealing corner of the blacksmith-shop in his futile search of hate, he came into view of his house on the hillside.
The agonized scream of a woman rent the air and attracted his attention. His wife had seen him at last, and had seen in his arms the little figure. Suddenly, and in view of all those who looked up from below, she tottered and fell her length on the veranda.
McCarthy paused in his march, then turned and gazed at those around him. Gazed unspeakingly. ”

“ He sank back into his chair. Percy Darrow nodded twice and smiled.
CHAPTER VII A WORLD OF GHOSTS A deathly stillness had all at once fallen like a blanket, blotting out McCarthy's violent speech. The rattling typewriter in the next room was abruptly stilled. The roar of the city died as a living creature is cut by the sword—all at once, without the transitionary running down of most silences. Absolute dense stillness, like that of a sea calm at night, took the place of the customary city noises. In his astonishment McCarthy thrust a heavy inkstand off the edge of his desk. ”

“ Then I could produce your confession at the last extremity to save young McCarthy. I promise you that I shall not use it unless it is absolutely needed."
"It's as well," said the old man; "it's a question whether I shall live to the Assizes, so it matters little to me, but I should wish to spare Alice the shock. And now I will make the thing clear to you; it has been a long time in the acting, but will not take me long to tell.
"You didn't know this dead man, McCarthy. He was a devil incarnate. I tell you that. God keep you out of the clutches of such a man as he. ”

“ The rest of the town agreed with Valmore, and McCarthy, knowing this, sunned himself in the town's displeasure. For the sake of the public furor it brought down upon his head he proclaimed himself a socialist, an anarchist, an atheist, a pagan. Among all the McCarthy boys he alone cared greatly about women, and he made public and open declarations of his passion for them. Before the men gathered about the stove in Wildman's grocery store he would stand whipping them into a frenzy by declaring for free love, and vowing that he would have the best of any woman who gave him the chance. ”

“ McCarthy’s reminiscences, they recall the latter, not simply in subject matter, but in tone and treatment. They are pervaded by the same geniality, quiet dignity, pathos, tenderness, humor, and unfailing optimism. ”

“ Halfman shook his head reprovingly.
“Why, for my part, I should like to learn why in all this great gap of time nothing has been done to help one side or the other. If the gentry of Harby have made no effort to relieve us, neither, on the other hand, has our leaguer been augmented by any reinforcements. If my lady has been surprised that Sir Blaise Mickleton has made no show of coming to her succor, I, for my part, am woundily surprised that the Cropheads of Cambridge have sent no further levies for our undoing.” ”

“ Mike McCarthy and Sam were friends. For years the man had idled upon the streets of the town, loitering about, boasting and talking. He had sat for hours in a chair under a tree before the New Leland House, reading books, doing tricks with cards, engaging in long discussions with John Telfer or any who would stand up to him.
Mike McCarthy got into trouble in a fight over a woman. A young farmer living at the edge of Caxton had come home from the fields to find his wife in the bold Irishman's arms and the two men had gone out of the house together to fight in the road. ”

“ She sighed heavily at the thought, and moved slowly towards the door at the end of the hall beneath the gallery. Halfman, unheeding her, had turned to the table and was intently poring over the large map that lay there together with a loaded pistol. Thoroughgood gave orders to the men.
“Garlinge and Clupp, go scour the pikes. Tom Cropper, find something to keep you out of mischief. As for you, Gaffer Shard, you may rest awhile.”
The old man shook his frosty head vigorously. “Nay, nay,” he piped, “I need no rest. My old bones are loyal and cannot tire in a good cause. God save the King.” ”

“ Every one of us is certain that Edwards has bribed Williams and that he has lined up this big politician, Barney Baldwin, and now they've dished up this story about McCarthy to try to drive him out of the game. Are you game to stand what the crowd will do to you to-day, Kohinoor?"
"I'll play," replied McCarthy grimly.
"Better stuff your ears with cotton if we're losing," advised the manager. "This crowd will turn on you in a second and accuse you of more than the paper did, if you make an error or two. It will be worse if you stay out of the game. ”

“ A sullen crowd of players climbed into their 'bus under punishment of the jeers of the crowd that gathered to see them start back to their hotel. McCarthy, with his shoulder and head aching, but with his heart aching worse, sat with his chin drawn down into the upturned collar of his sweater, refusing to be comforted. The Bears were in second place, half a game behind the Panthers, and he, McCarthy, had lost the game. Williams was smiling as if pleased and McCarthy blazed with anger.
CHAPTER VII McCarthy Meets Helen
"Come to the hotel parlor at eight this evening. I wish to see you." ”

“ McCarthy was blamed for the sins of Bulger, and came to his honors by-and-by with tempered enthusiasm and increased humility. A certain newspaper had opposed him with cruel vindictiveness. It told of his humble origin, and called him “Pegleg McCarthy” and “the son of a washwoman” and “a man of vaulting and unwarranted ambitions.” These were the poisoned arrows of a rude time, and they scarred the soul of McCarthy and helped to make him a fighter.
Meanwhile I sat one evening in the shop with Pearl and Barker. ”

“ McCarthy was vain.... He must be praised if one was to get along with him.... Make him think he was a king. His Majesty, Newton Justine, sounded very well as a title. All he needed now, then, was a crown. If necessary for peace in the family he would praise him, although it was not to his liking.
Jean Baptiste had little patience with people who must be praised. In his association he had chosen men, men who were too busy to look for or care for praise. ”

“ The drinks, as you Yankees say, are upon me!"
"By the way," he added to McCarthy, as McAllister filled the glasses, "would you be so obliging as to describe the individual who so thought [Pg 140] fully notified you in regard to the loss of the jewelry?"
"Rather stout, well-dressed man, fat face, gray eyes," answered McCarthy, lighting a cigar. "Looked somethin' like this gentleman here," indicating the clubman. "Spoke with a kind of English accent. Nice appearin' feller, all right."
"By George! Wilkins!" ejaculated McAllister.
"Damn!" exploded Uncle Basil.
"The nerve of him!" muttered Barney. ”

“ Got on a light suit"——
"It must be McCarthy," whined Williams. "He's always with Swanson. They're looking for me. I wish I had kept out of this."
"Listen," ordered Edwards coldly. "This fellow McCarthy is the one we want. If we can get him out of the way it'll be easy and I can get even with that big, fat lobster, Baldwin, for trying to double cross me. Jack, you go out there and get in a mix-up with them and take a poke at the little fellow that'll keep him from playing ball for a week. Is the bartender a friend of yours?" ”

“ The girl smiled and McCarthy, stuttering in his effort to reply, managed to mutter good-night as she passed into the next car.
"It's a pink Kohinoor now," said the relentless Swanson, as he observed the flushed face of the recruit. "All fussed up, isn't he?"
"Oh, cut it out," retorted McCarthy, striving to cover his embarrassment by ball field conversational methods. "A fellow might be expected to be a little bit embarrassed with a lot of big stiffs like you standing around and never offering to introduce a fellow." ”

“ He sprang after M'Carthy as he spoke, followed by his companion. The third man stepped a pace or two to the right, and levelling a long double-barrelled pistol, deliberately fired, when McCarthy's first pursuer fell; the second man, however, with that remarkable, quickness of wit which characterizes the Irish, in their outrages as well as in their pastimes, suddenly stooped, and taking the dreadful dagger out of the hands of the wounded man, continued the pursuit bounding after his foe with a spirit of vengeance and ferocity, now raised to the highest pitch. ”

“ The chat among themselves and with Mrs. Finnerty was not, as is the case in romances, either mysterious or awful. On the contrary, it was light and pleasant, and by no means calculated to heighten McCarthy's fears; who, to say truth, however, although resolute and full of courage, would as lief been spending the evening with his friend the proctor.
“Well, Vread,” said one of them, “any news in the mountains?”
“News in the mountains!” exclaimed Vread, “well, indeed, that's good.”
“Any deaths or marriages among the grouse, eh?” ”

“ N.J. McCarthy, she had not told all, nor had she referred to any woman in particular. She was not a scandal monger. But she knew as all Chicago knew, that in so far as the parties in question were concerned there was a friendship [Pg 188] between Mrs. Pruitt and the Reverend that was rather subtle, and had been for years. And it was this which caused the two mentioned to dislike each other with an unspoken hatred.
But Mrs. McCarthy trusted Orlean's going eight hundred miles west to file on a homestead, and what might come of it, to Mrs. Pruitt rather than to herself. ”

“ They walked down the street toward the depot, and while she held nervously to his arm, his mind was concerned with his thoughts. It occurred to him that he should take his wife back to the claim right then. He felt that if she went to Chicago there would be trouble. He began slowly to appreciate that in dealing with Reverend McCarthy he was not dealing with a man; nor a near man. He was not dealing with a mere liar, or a thief, even—he was dealing with the lowest of all reptiles, a snake! Then why did not he, Jean Baptiste, act? ”

“ The Grand Constable rode at the head with the Lords of Lau, of Riviere, and of Nantoillet, and somewhere at the tail rode the five released rascals and babbled beneath their breaths as they rode. For the order to keep silence did not count until the gates of Paris were reached and began to turn on their hinges to let Villon's adventurers forth. Every man of the ruffians had a stout sword swinging at his girdle; every man of them sported a steel cap upon his head; every man of them felt his heart pulsing with rare emotions and his brain busy with strange thoughts. ”

“ Noel bowed and sped on his errand. Katherine requested:
"Have I your majesty's leave?"
Tristan and Olivier withdrew themselves discreetly apart, under the shadow of the gallows, that building of all human buildings which was most dear to their hearts and most sacred in their eyes.
Louis came very close to the pale girl and whispered:
"Are you so hungry for your devotions that you cannot waste some worldly words on me? Are you still angry with me for the trick I played on you?"
Katherine's pale face flushed a little as she answered:
"It is wasted spirit to be angry with a king." ”

“ In the headiness of their brawl none of the party had noticed how the door had opened again and how a man stood at gaze in the doorway. A slender man of middle height, in travel-stained riding-habit of black; a man with a comely, melancholy face and sad eyes; a man who seemed very weary. He wore a jewelled George. For a moment the new-comer stood unheeded, then he advanced into the room. Sir Rufus heard him, turned, and cried, “The King!” Evander sent his sword back into its sheath. Brilliana knelt in reverence. ”

“ McCarthy sat amidships near the dog, pushing further into the sea of knowledge with his grammar and dictionary. We went on with a steady stroke, and a light breeze behind us. It was a cloudless day, and the cool, crystal floor of the river chasm tempered the heat of the sun.
“I am in pursuit of history,” Mr. McCarthy remarked soon.
“Well, if you get acquainted with history, by-an'-by history is apt to get acquainted with you,” Mr. Pearl remarked.
“I have here a pack of white cards,” Mr. McCarthy went on. “Every one contains a fact. ”

“ You may travel over Europe till your heart and foot-soles ache,
You may meet wid many a warrior, but don't make a mistake,
The wondher of the wurruld, and of pathriots wide-awake,
Is the Parthy that is "led" by poor McCarthy.
The way they "pull together" fills a man wid shame and dread;
They're all in love wid Erin swate—or lasteways so 'tis said—
And the way each proves his passion is by breaking 'tother's head,
'Tis that that plays the mischief wid McCarthy.
Chorus.
For Dillon goes for Healy'S chump,
And at O'Brien aims a thump,
And Redmond hits all round with anger hearthy ”

“ At seventy the heart may be young and the toil-worn hands willing, but youth's store of strength is gone.
That day witnessed McCarthy's first falsehood, and he loved the truth. After he had made an excuse that they might quit work earlier, knowing how tired they must be, he told them there wasn't room for them to sleep in the mess-house, so had cots placed for them in his own cabin. It was pretty bold, because there were ten empty bunks. It only proved, though, that Hugh was planning other arrangements, and when he planned, as his foreman once said: “Something always happened.” ”