[Illustration:  Independent as A king.]

“Do you moind, Tim,” she said, “when Keely O’Burke trated his new wife to a ride on a hand-car?  Soon as your eyes lighted on him you shouted like a house-a-fire, ‘Number Five will be down in three minutes!’ Didn’t Keely clane lose his head?  But between you, you pushed the car off the track in a jiffy.  And Mrs. O’Burke’s new bonnet was all smashed in the ditch, an’ the bloody snort of Number Five knocked you senseless.  Who would have thought that boost of the cow-catcher was jist clear good luck?  And you moped about with a short draw in your chist, and seemed bound to be a grouty old man in the chimney corner that could niver lift a stroke for your childer, ah’ you didn’t see the good luck, you know, Tim—­but when the prisident sent the bran new cow with a card tied to one horn, an’ Connor read it when he came home from school:  ’For Tim Magan, who saved the train.  Good luck to him!’—­wasn’t it all right then?  Now you are as good as new, and our mocley is quiet as a lamb, and if I was Queen Victoria hersel, she couldn’t give any sweeter milk for me.  She’s the born beauty.”

Well, Connor was his mother’s own boy for making the most and the best of everything, and he saw several items of good luck this day.

First:  The river had risen so near the school-house that the desks and benches were moved up between the tracks and the school dismissed; therefore there was perfect freedom to enjoy the excitement of the occasion.  It was as good as a move or a fire.

Second:  There was so much danger that the track might be undermined that all trains were stopped by order of the Railroad Company; therefore his father was at liberty.

Third, and best of all:  Larry O’Flaherty, who lived up Bald Face Creek, had lent him his skiff for the day.  The boys had had an extatic time the evening before, hauling in drift-wood.  Though the coal-barges had bright red lights at their bows, and the steamboats were ablaze with green and red signals, and blew their gruff whistles continually, yet it was hardly safe to go far from the shore at night because the Ripple was so near.  When the river was rising the drift was driven close to land, while falling it floated near the middle of the river.  Connor could see the flood was still rising, and there were possibilities of a splendid catch, for it was daylight, and they could go where they pleased with Larry’s boat.

Father and son pushed out into the river.  Connor felt as if he owned the world.  Short sticks and staves were put in the bottom of the boat.  Both fishermen had a long pole with a sharp iron hook at the end with which, when they came close to a log, they harpooned it.  Bringing it near, they drove a nail into one end, and tying a rope round the nail, they fastened their prize to the stern of the boat.  They took turns rowing and spearing drift-wood; and when the log-fleet swimming after them became large, they went to shore and secured it.