Mrs. Mullarkey gathered him up in her arms and kissed him.

“Good-by, Jerry.  You’ve brought good fortune to this family and put food into the mouths of my children and clothes on their backs when I couldn’t see where they were to come from.  You must love your mother hard for all the time she has been without you—­and your father, too.”

“I will,” Jerry promised and squeezed her neck very hard and kissed her.  Just then Danny came tumbling breathlessly downstairs and thrust a little cloth sack, which was very heavy, into Jerry’s hand.

“Here are my marbles,” he said.  “All thirty-two of them.”

“I don’t want them,” said Jerry.

“Take them with you, Jerry,” Mother ’Larkey urged him.  “It will help Danny to remember some things which he mustn’t forget.”

Jerry consulted his mother’s eyes.  She nodded her head and he took the marbles.  Then he shook hands with Danny and Chris and Nora and kissed and hugged Kathleen, leaving Celia Jane till the last, because she was still sobbing.

Celia Jane did not feel entirely forgiven because Jerry seemed to avoid her and she abased herself before him.

“I—­I’m s-s-sorry, Jerry.  I’ll n-n-never do it again.  You ain’t mad at m-m-me any m-m-more, are you, Jerry?”

“No, I ain’t mad at you,” Jerry assured her.

“Then will you m-m-marry me when we are g-g-grown up, Jerry?”

Jerry flushed uncomfortably at that and felt that Celia Jane was taking an unfair advantage of him, so he did not answer.

“W-w-will you, J-J-Jerry?” Celia Jane besought him.

“No,” said Jerry at length.

“Why w-w-won’t you?”

Jerry felt himself flushing still more hotly from head to foot, partly at the smile he saw his father and mother exchange and partly at Celia Jane’s importunity.

“Because,” he said.

“I’ll g-g-give you my silver ring if you will, Jerry.”

“No,” said Jerry more firmly.

“Why won’t you, J-J-Jerry?”

“Yes, Gary,” interposed his father with a dancing, twinkling light in his eyes, “why can’t you promise it to oblige the lady?”

“‘Cause,” Jerry informed him gravely, “when I grow up I’m goin’ to marry Kathleen.”

Jerry was somewhat dumfounded at the burst of laughter which followed his announcement.  They did not know, he thought, that Kathleen had given him her old, adored rag dog of her own free will.

“The darling!” cried Mother ’Larkey, after she had stopped laughing.  “But there is plenty of time to change your mind yet.”

“Then you must be very kind to Kathleen, always,” said Jerry’s mother.

“He has been,” said Mrs. Mullarkey.

Kathleen looked up at Jerry and gurgled.

“Never mind, Celia Jane,” consoled Nora.  “He’ll be in the family, anyway.”

Celia Jane was greatly cheered by that consolation and brightened visibly, much to Jerry’s relief.  She kissed him good-by, throwing both arms tightly about his neck in her impetuous fashion.