Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 85, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 April 1910 — O'DONOVAN’S SOCKS. [ARTICLE]

O'DONOVAN’S SOCKS.

“And here’s what I heard when I arrived; “ ‘l’m afraid he i? sore hurt,’ said Mrs. O’Donovab, ’and 1 wish the doctor would soon affiv&j the poor man he lies so peaceful and quiet, though I have no doubt he’s teen fatally hitten.’ “ 'Don’t f r »t yourself, Nora,’ consoled Mrg. O’Donovan’s Oldest sister—and—l forgot to mention that I am her oldest brother —and besame and betwixt us. while O’Donovan and I never had a walloping together, we’d given ’ach other many a hard lookin’: “And, of course. I was was sad for Nora ah’ the poor man in thl3 hour cf their sad catastrophe. ‘How did it happen?’ I asked. “ ‘Sure, Michael, I don’t know, ’cept twas a case of pure innocence; for thats what he told me and said no one’s to blame.’ “'Pure innocence!’ I asked, naturally enough, ‘and what did he mean by that?’ “ ‘Well,’ said Nora, ‘before he becoom disconscious the poor man said that he and O’Rouke went out together to chop down the old tree in front of old man Wilson’s house. So they chopped away, they did. never thinkin’ that Ihe tree begins to fall toowards Denis. “Chop th’ other may,’’ he sez to O’Rourke, and O’Rourke gets flustered, and in tryin’ to chop the other way what does he do but chop down on poor O’Donovan’s fut.

V “It didn’t hurt me much,” said the poor man to me, “but whin I looked down at the fut and see a big arterial sproufling red and ragged I knew that I wud die from the bleeding. So O’Rourke and two other ones carried me _ home, and now, Nora, dear, for yourself sakes an’ the children, git the doctor so .quickly as you can.” An’ he muttered before he went off in his thrance: “Remember. It’s a case of pure innocence with O’Rourke.” ’ “ ‘An’ where’s O’Rourke?’ I asked Nora. ‘“Sure, he’s outside in the kitchen keenin’ already. Hedl never forgive himself.’ “An’ then in eomes th’ doctor, an’ looks at O’Donovan. ‘Th’ man’s eves are closed,’ he says, as he feels of his wrist, ‘but his pulse is all right. What seems to be the aiJLment?’ “‘Oh,'dochtor,’ says Nora, ‘look at his feet; O’Rourke broke an arterial with his ax. They were chopping a tree.’ “So the dochtor uncovers O’Donovan, and there he was with his shoes on and all. Of course I got near to the dredful examination. O’Donovan had a tig slot across bte right boot where O’Rourke had landed the ax, ind out of it was some terrible red stuff protruding. “ ‘lt’s awful,’ said I to the dochtor, such a gasp in his fut.’ “.‘lt’s not,’ said the doohtur, ‘you’re a lot of fules, that’s nothin’ but a torn red woolen sock. The man is all right; he’s a victim of imaginary.’ “ ’Dear me,’ said Nora, ’those are ‘he red socks I knitted for him last week.’ “With that O'Donovan sits up. Then I’m nct*!dlt,’ he says. “’You’re not,’ says I, as O’Rourke ’ame into the room with an ’och lone,’ ‘but you and O'Rourke ought to be for a couple of amadhauns.’ “ ‘Well,’ said O’Donovan, ‘the divil ■i bit did I ever lj.now that I had those red sbeks on.’ ' “And that’s the kind of a ‘brother-in-law that one sometimes have.”