rk. "I knew it must come
soon--but that doesn't make it one bit easier!"

"How is she?" Denis asked.

"Slipping away--and calling out for you."

Denis waited to hear no more. He ran up the stairs to his mother's room.
Here he found Father Healy, Molly, Kathleen, and the nurse who had been
with Desmond O'Connor. At his coming they left the room, whispering each
one a short welcome as they passed him.

Mrs. Quirk turned her head, and her thin, white face broke into a sweet
smile.

"Come to me, Denis. God is good to send you. Sure, I am blessed above
all women. Himself is with me, the Divine Redeemer, and His Blessed
Mother, and the angels. Father Healy has been praying over me, and now
you have come to say good-bye. Sit beside me, and take my hand. Don't be
crying. I am just passing to God. Don't forget to say a prayer for me."

She paused in distress, while Denis took her hand, and sat on a chair,
the tears rolling down his cheek. After a few seconds she spoke again:

"Don't be fretting because the world is hard, boy. All will come right,
and there's a good wife waiting you--one that will be true to you."

"Don't be worrying yourself about me. I shall always land on my feet,"
he answered. Then, after a pause, he added: "You have been perfect as a
mother and as a woman. There is nothing to regret on that score."

"Many things undone, and many that might have been done better. But God
is good and merciful, boy. He doesn't expect too much."

Thus they spoke together for ten minutes. Then Denis saw that she was
exhausted. He rose to call the nurse, but she held his hand for one
minute.

"Promise me that you will marry Kathleen," she whispered.

"I am already married," he answered.

"You will be set free--I am sure of it. Promise me, Denis."

"I promise to do that if it is ever possible."

"God bless you and keep you. May the Sacred Heart prevent you from sin,
and Mary, the Mother of God, pray for you," she said, in a low, broken
voice.

A few hours later the end came to her peacefully, and the soul of
"Granny" Quirk passed the narrow gate that leads from things seen to
those that are apprehended by faith. With a smile on her face she passed
the portal, confident in the mercy of Almighty God.

After the funeral the question of Kathleen O'Connor's future came up for
discussion. After various solutions had been suggested by Father Healy,
Dr. Marsh, and Denis, old Samuel Quirk calmly settled the matter.

"K