Page 34 of The Irish Gypsy
"Take this to old Tommy Ferguson, the nightwatchman at the mill down the street. For two shillings he'll popthis in the furnace. Tell him it's a dead dog."
Kitty took the package and started off downthe street. She saw the string and felt the newspaper, but herthoughts would not penetrate the wrapping. She turned her mindinstead to Christmas, which was only a week away. Old Tommy wasjust inside the mill yard. She looked up at him, held out thebundle in one hand and the money in the other, but no words wouldcome.
Old Tommy relieved her of her burdens."Another dead dog, eh?" he said with a broad wink and ambled offinside.
The week passed quickly and great excitementfilled the children's hearts on December 25. Kitty and Doris washedeight grubby hands and four little faces. Kitty ran a dinner forkthrough the girls' hair and they were off to the Queen StreetMission for the charity Christmas dinner. Each child was given ameat pie, a toasted raisin cake and a mug of tea. Then Mr.Poppawell, the revered benefactor, came in to hand out thepresents.
"Did everyone get a meat pie?" he asked,beaming.
"Yes, Mr. Poppawell."
"Did everyone fill a brown paper bag underthe table to take home?"
"Yes, Mr. Poppawell," they chorusedinnocently.
"Well, you can all empty them out, that's notwhat you're here for!"
All the children lined up and Mr. Poppawelland his helpers started to hand out the presents.
"Do you see that pretty girl over there?" heasked his assistant and indicated Kitty. "She's spent all morninglooking after five of them. Save that big box for her. She lookslike a good girl, and I bet she never gets much."
Kitty was handed the large box. With shiningeyes she lifted the lid and looked into the face of a wax doll. Herthroat constricted, and a bluish tinge appeared around her mouth.She shook her head woodenly and tried to hand it back, but theypressed it upon her with fond insistence.
After she had taken the kids home, she walkedthree miles until she came to a field. She scratched out a shallowgrave with a stone and buried the baby in its cardboard coffin.There were no flowers to gather, so she broke off two low branchesand placed them in the form of a cross on top of the littlemound.
By spring, Kitty drooped and yearnedincessantly for a bit of green Ireland. The long, hard winter hadmade her frail. The roses were gone from her cheeks, leaving aghostly pale shadow of herself behind. Her grandad was worried."Terry, on Sunday I want you to take your sister up on the moors.Get you both out in the fresh air and sunshine to blow the cobwebsoff you."
So they took some bread and cheese and abottle of water and went up on Belmont Moors.
"What do you want to do?" asked Terry, eyeinga pretty stretch of water known as the Blue Lagoon.
"I want to run along the top of the stonewalls," said Kitty eagerly.
"Well, that's pretty daft. Dangerous, too!"said Terry, laughing.
"I know, but these stone walls remind me ofIreland. If it gives me pleasure, why should I not do it?"
He lifted her atop a stone wall and she ranlike the wind, never missing a step where the stones had tumbledand left treacherous gaps. She came to a hawthorn tree in blossomand stood inhaling the heady fragrance as if she never would haveenough. She looked down from the tree and was surprised to see ayoung couple lying in the tall grass. When she realized they weremaking love with passionate abandon, she ran back to terry as fastas she could.
"We'd better go back that way. There's acouple in the grass up there."
"Oh, what were they doing?" Terry asked.
"What do you think they were doing?" sheasked flatly.
"Oh, that?"
"It's disgusting! She actually looked likeshe was enjoying it, too."
"Well, you know Kitty, there's not muchprivacy in these little houses. What is a young couple to do whenthey're in love and have nowhere to go?"
Her eyes slid sideways to him. "Have you everforced a girl to do that?"
"Most of 'em don't need forcing. There's alot of girls like it, you know. In fact, they say there's somethingwrong with the ones who don't."
This was a novel idea to Kitty, and sheturned it over and over in her mind. Perhaps the girl had beendoing it for money, but she quickly rejected that idea. When a manoffered a woman money he wanted it then and there; only loverswould have taken the time to find a beautiful setting for theirmating.
As summer wore on, Kitty was given some moremachines to mind in the spinning room. At first she thought shewould never be able to keep up with the voracious machines, but shewas bright and quick, and soon it seemed she'd been doing it for alifetime
