SECTION 23.
During these days of torment, Hal did not go to see "Red Mary"; but
then, one evening, the Minettis' baby having been sick, she came in to
ask about it, bringing what she called "a bit of a custard" in a bowl.
Hal was suspicious enough of the ways of men, especially of
business-men; but when it came to women he was without insight--it did
not occur to him as singular that an Irish girl with many troubles at
home should come out to nurse a Dago woman's baby. He did not reflect
that there were plenty of sick Irish babies in the camp, to whom Mary
might have taken her "bit of a custard." And when he saw the surprise of
Rosa, who had never met Mary before, he took it to be the touching
gratitude of the poor!
There are, in truth, many kinds of women, with many arts, and no man has
time to learn them all. Hal had observed the shop-girl type, who dress
themselves with many frills, and cast side-long glances, and indulge in
fits of giggles to attract the attention of the male; he was familiar
with the society-girl type, who achieve the same end with more subtle
and alluring means. But could there be a type who hold little Dago
babies in their laps, and call them pretty Irish names, and feed them
custard out of a spoon? Hal had never heard of that kind, and he thought
that "Red Mary" made a charming picture--a Celtic madonna with a
Sicilian infant in her arms.
He noticed that she was wearing the same faded blue calico-dress with a
patch on the shoulder. Man though he was, he realised that dress is an
important consideration in the lives of women. He was tempted to suspect
that this blue calico might be the only dress that Mary owned; but
seeing it newly laundered every time, he concluded that she must have at
least one other. At any rate, here she was, crisp and fresh-looking; and
with the new shining costume, she had put on the long promised "company
manner": high spirits and badinage, precisely like any belle of the
world of luxury, who powders and bedecks herself for a ball. She had
been grim and complaining in former meetings with this interesting young
man; she had frightened him away, apparently; perhaps she could win him
back by womanliness and good humour.
She rallied him upon his battered scalp and his creaking back, telling
him he looked ten years older--which he was fully prepared to believe.
Also she had fun with him for working under a Slovak--another loss of
caste, it appeared! This was a joke the Minettis could share
in--especially Little Jerry, who liked jokes. He told Mary how Joe Smith
had had to pay fifteen dollars for his new job, besides several drinks
at O'Callahan's. Also he told how Mike Sikoria had called Joe his "green
mule." Little Jerry complained about the turn of events, for in the old
days Joe had taught him a lot of fine new games--and now he was sore,
and would not play them. Also, in the old days he had sung a lot of
jolly songs, full of the most fascinating rhymes. There was a song about
a "monkey puzzle tree"! Had Mary ever seen that kind of tree? Little
Jerry never got tired of trying to imagine what it might look like.
The Dago urchin stood and watched gravely while Mary fed the custard to
the baby; and when two or three spoonfuls were held out to him, he
opened his mouth wide, and afterwards licked his lips. Gee, that was
good stuff!
When the last taste was gone, he stood gazing at Mary's shining coronet.
"Say," said he, "was your hair always like that?"
Hal and Mary burst into laughter, while Rosa cried "Hush!" She was never
sure what this youngster would say next.
"Sure, did ye think I painted it?" asked Mary.
"I didn't know," said Little Jerry. "It looks so nice and new." And he
turned to Hal. "Ain't it?"
"You bet," said Hal, and added, "Go on and tell her about it. Girls like
compliments."
"Compliments?" echoed Little Jerry. "What's that?"
"Why," said Hal, "that's when you say that her hair is like the sunrise,
and her eyes are like twilight, or that she's a wild rose on a
mountain-side."
"Oh," said the Dago urchin, somewhat doubtfully. "Anyhow," he added,
"she make nice custard!"
