"No, no, Mrs. O'Rafferty, I'll never see his face again. He's gone off in one of those American ships, believe me, and he'll be kilt or drownded or something by this time."
This was too much for Terry. Darting forward, he sprang upon his mother with a suddenness that would have startled a far less excitable person, and clasping her tight about the neck, cried,—
"I'm nayther kilt nor drownded, mother darlin', but as well as I ever was. See if I'm not."
Poor Mrs. Ahearn! The shock was really more than she could stand, and she fainted dead away on the door-step, with Terry and Mrs. O'Rafferty doing their best to hold her up.
But she soon regained her senses, and then ensued a scene of rejoicing such as only a crowd of warm-hearted Irish folk could accomplish. Terry was violently kissed by the women and clapped on the back by the men, and pulled this way and that way by the boys, until there was hardly any breath left in his body: and he was mighty glad at last to escape with his mother up to their own room, where they could have a quiet talk together.
A happy pair were they that night, and when Black Mike came in from his tavern it fortunately happened that he was in one of his rare amiable moods, and greeted his returned son with a show of affection that filled the others' cup of joy to the full.
It was only natural that Terry should feel considerable nervousness in regard to appearing at Drummond and Brown's, and this would have been greater still but for his timely encounter with Mr. Hobart, who would therefore be ready to make the way easy for him.
As it happened, the first one he encountered on entering the office was Morley, who of course knew nothing of his return, and who had been cherishing in his envious heart the hope that he might never see him again. He made no attempt to disguise his disappointment.
"Humph!" he grunted. "Back again like a bad penny," and turning his back on him went into another part of the office.
This was pretty hard for Terry to bear, particularly in view of his sensitive state of mind; but by a great effort he controlled himself, and kept back the hot words that rose to his lips. He had learned a better way than to return evil for evil since he last saw Morley, and he was resolved to live up to it.