That crucifix with the name of
Michael Conners on it was given to your father on his marriage day by
the priest that married him. Here's the mate to it that he give your
mother on the same day,' an' I picked up Mona's rosary lyin' on the bed
an' showed him the cross on it. They was as like as two peas, only on
the back of hers was carved the name of Mona Conners.
"Well, we had to break the news to her gently, an' it's the happy woman
she was for the next few days in spite of all the pain she suffered.
She'd just lie there holdin' Gerald's hand an' gazin' at him an' makin'
him tell over an' over again of how he'd been saved from the wreck. He
was only a wee lad of three at the time, but he could still remember of
his father standin' there on the deck of the sinkin' ship an' holdin'
him in his arms. He could still hear the words his father spoke to him
an' feel the father's hand slippin' the rosary over his head an'
claspin' the little fingers around the cross as it lay on his breast.
Michael had passed him to a sailor an' he was lowered into one of the
boats, where a kind-hearted woman took compassion on his loneliness an'
cared for him. They'd been picked up by a sailin' vessel bound for
France, an' the woman who first cared for him, took him with her from
France to America an' finally adopted him. She brought him up, educated
him, an' at last he became a priest of God.
Pages:
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72