“Glory be!” ejaculated Burns; “an’ the nace so good till him.”
“Sure, Mary wurn’t his nace,” said Clancy.
“Wur she not! Faix an’ that’s news till me, so it is.”
“I heard me father say,” said Jerry, “that Mary’s grandfather put up the coin to bring old man Murphy over here, and start him in the tea biz. That was a good many moons ago; and when her folks lost all their gilt and she was left alone, old Larry sent to Dublin for her, and he’s took care o’ her ever since.”
“Begorra, the owld fox had a heart in his body for all! Bud scure till the wan av me iver give him credit for it. God save uz,” resumed Mr. Burns, after a pause, “what a power av money he made at the tay peddlin’.”
“He uster be a great old geezer, didn’t he?” remarked McGonagle. “I kin remember him as plain as day in his old plug hat, an’ he wuz hot after the needful, too.”
“There do be a good profit in tay,” put in the grocer, who was now sitting up, having his hair brushed; “but how he iver made all av the property he’s left, be peddlin’ it from dure till dure, gits the better av me.”
“He had a head for commerce, sure,” put in O’Hara. “It wur himself that cud lay out a dollar till advantage; an’ divil the bate av him did iver I see for buyin’ chape an’ sellin’ dear.”
“He was a winner if he cud beat youse at that game, O’Hara,” laughed McGlory.
“Nexd!” cried Schwartz, as Clancy got out of his chair. Malachi took the vacated place, a frown wrinkling his brow. The grocer, thinking of the hard bargain which O’Hara had driven when he had gone to him for money, some time before, winked at Jerry, delighting in the cut; and Schwartz, as he drew some hot water from the copper tank upon the stove into O’Hara’s shaving mug, grinned widely.