He smirked and took another sip of his beer. �There are always the girls.�
�There are some good ones here then?� Archie smiled leeringly.
He nodded and set down payment for the drinks. �Good enough for my purposes. There are some fine looking ones. Mary White, Molly Donovan, Kate Connolly . . .�
A red haired boy sitting nearby frowned as he overhead, but kept his eyes on the table in front of him as the two Englishmen pushed their chairs back and stood unsteadily.
Archie laughed and replied almost too loudly. �You�ll have to introduce us.�
The boy frowned more as the two men left the pub. Trying to be as discreet as possible, he paid his tab and followed them out. He shoved his hands in his pockets and hunched over slightly as he walked, keeping a safe distance behind. They had reached the edge of town, not far from the pub, and were walking down one of the lanes. He was only going home, surely he couldn�t help it if they happened to be going the same way, and if he overheard their conversation . . . well, it could hardly be helped. He stayed just off the road as he followed, listening to the snippets of drunken conversation that drifted back to him.
�Katy, her name is Katy, and a fine wench she is.� John laughed as he spread an arm out and stumbled over a few dance steps. �Quite the dancer as well. A bit more prudish than the other girls though.�
�Oh, now don�t buy into that, John. All these Irish whores like to pretend to be proper. They enjoy it more when they have to fight.� He smirked. �I say to just take the girl and have your way with her. She won�t be complaining by the time it�s over with, I promise you.� He laughed at his own crude talk and John joined in.
�Teach the little slut a lesson about being coy with me.� John chimed.
The boy felt his face redden in anger and he clenched his fists as he listened, but kept to the fields, aware of what would happen to him if he was caught striking an Englishman. It�s just drunken talk, he told himself, Nothing�ll come of it. �I meet her sometimes. Up by the shore, a mile or two from her home.� John chuckled lowly. �She should be there tonight.�
Archie looked at him eagerly. �Maybe we could both go meet her. The more the merrier.�
�Mmm, show her a good time.� John thought it over for a while and smirked. �Do you think she�ll scream?�
Archie laughed. �Yeah, but give her a few minutes and she won�t be screamin� for help anymore.�
�Just for more!� John joined in laughing as Archie jokingly began to imitate moaning noises.
Neither man saw the boy jump out into the street, overcome with hate, until Archie was on the ground, blood spurting from his nose. The boy laid into him with punch after punch until John came at him with a punch from behind. He tried to roll away but was met with kicks from both men. John pulled out a decorative-looking knife but the boy kicked at him and, off balance from a little too much drink, he dropped it. The boy quickly grabbed it as Archie dove down for it and he held it up as the large man fell on top of him with a grunt. The boy stared at the look of shock etched on Archie�s face and squirmed out from under him, staring at his bloodstained clothes and hands.
John Wilcox flipped an errant curly, black strand of hair out of his eyes and pulled out his pistol, slamming the butt of it against the boys head to knock him unconscious and then kicked him once for good measure.
When Colum Connelly woke up, his head was pounding unmercifully, his body ached all over, and he was lying on a dirt floor, behind bars. He held a hand to his head and started to slowly sit up.
�Looks like he�s awake now..� He heard a voice say from the other side of the bars. �Are ye sure ye can handle him? He might be dangerous.�
�Don�t worry. I took care of him once, didn�t I?�
Colum looked over to see the Englishman, John Wilcox, looking at him coolly.
�If you say so . . . � The officer walked over and unlocked the door to Colum�s cell, letting Wilcox in. He walked over to Colum and glared. �You damn apes never do learn your place, do you?�
Colum stared at him for a moment, uncertain of how to react.
Wilcox sneered. �It won�t do you any good, you know. You�ll just hang for it. But don�t worry.� He leaned in closer. �I�ll be only too happy to comfort your sister over her loss.�
Colum narrowed his eyes and threw a punch at him. �Ye�ll not lay a hand on her, ye bastard!�
Wilcox grabbed his arm as he tried for another hit and twisted it behind his back. �I�d recommend you teach this one some discipline!� He yelled at the jailer. He stepped out of the cell with Colum firmly in hand and the guard nodded. �Seventy-five lashes for that.�
Colum had been in and out of consciousness for two days before his fever finally broke. He vaguely remembered the events of the past few days. He remembered being crammed into the black maria with the other prisoners, on the way to a bigger town. He remembered the stink of them, and the smothering feel of so many people in such a small space. He remembered the strain on his back as he hunched in the small space, far too tall to stand straight, but not having enough room to sit. Mostly, he remembered the stinging pain of people brushing against his back. Last of all was the rough group of the men who hijacked the black maria, their faces darkened with boot black. They knew, as he did, that he and the others had little chance of escaping, but he stumbled through the bogs, weak with fever, until he drew near to home. So near he could smell the peat smoke from the chimney. It was the last lucid memory he had: struggling his way through the spongy ground as the dawn began to turn the sky rosy, only a hill between him and the small cottage on the other side. Then he was falling as a hacking cough racked his body.
He seemed to remember having seen his sister�s face in the days that followed, but he wondered if it was just a dream as he woke to silence and semi-darkness, his cheek resting on cold limestone. He tried to sit up to look around, but moaned as pain flashed through his shoulders and back and he lay still again.
It was then that he heard the scuffle of feet and a hand rested on his arm softly. �Colum?�
He blinked his eyes and waited for them to adjust before he made out the tell-tale fiery red hair of his sister. �Katy�� His voice came out in a raspy whisper.
She brushed his hair away from his eyes. �Shush now. Ye�ve been out for days. We were worried for you, especially out here in this cave. It was no place for you to be, sick as you were, but what else could be do with officers out looking for you?�
He took a drink she offered to him and closed his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts. �Where are we?�
She bit her lip and pulled her shawl around her shoulders a little more tightly. �Tory Island. Uncle Dermot found you laying out in the field. Gran did all she could to help you, but we knew they�d come looking for you, so Uncle Dermot and I brought you out here on a boat to hide you. It was the best we could do.�
�Thank you, Katy.�
He shuddered slightly and she pulled a blanket over him. �Are you cold?�
He closed his eyes. �It hurts.� He murmured quietly as he drifted back to sleep.
Colum glanced into the mirror at the long red welts along his bare back. They still hadn�t healed, but some of the pain had gone away. He pulled his sweater back over his pale, sinewy shoulders and winced. With one more glance around the small, plain cabin that was to be his home the next few weeks he left and made his way out through the narrow maze of corridors to the deck.
The green shores of Ireland were fading into the distance, soon to be replaced with endless blue ocean. There by the railing he spotted long auburn hair and walked toward his sister. She gripped the cold metal as he approached and stared, stubborn as ever, at her fading home, refusing to let the tears fall.
�Katy,� he said softly, �Come back below decks. Ye�ll catch your death in this weather.�
She did not so much as look at him, but replied in her firmest voice, �No.�
There was no arguing with the girl at times like this, that much he knew. He gave a stiff nod of acquiescence and turned himself back on his way to the cabin. He brushed his light red hair out of his face and shook his head as he navigated the hallways back into the bowels of the ship. A long trip this one would be, make no mistake of it.
Katy watched wearily as Colum crossed the street, walking back toward her. He sat next to her on the steps to a building and she frowned at him. �Ye shouldn�t have left me alone. Look at all these people. What if we were separated? It�s such a big place, we�d never find each other again.�
He looked at her solemnly and held out a bit of bread. �I just thought ye might be hungry, that�s all. Ye�ve hardly eaten a thing all day.�
She hesitated, but took the bread and slowly began to eat it. �Thank ye.�
He rubbed his arms and glanced around. �This isn�t such a bad place, is it?�
�I don�t like it. I don�t like the way they look at us. They don�t like us.� She frowned and looked at the other people on the street.
�They don�t know us. We may as well give it a chance.� He stood and offered a hand to help her up. �I�ll start looking for a job first thing tomorrow.�
She frowned and stood up, refusing his hand. �What about me? You�ll leave me alone?�
He glanced at her in surprise. �No, of course not. I wouldn�t leave you alone.�
�Oh? So ye plan on taking me with you?� She wiped at her eyes and started walking quickly away.
He sighed and followed. �If you want.�
She walked a few more steps and then stopped, turning on him. �And where will we stay? It�s getting dark, Colum, and we don�t have a place to stay.�
�I-I�ll find a place.� He looked down at the street and shoved his hands in his pockets. �I�ll take care of you, Katy.�
She stomped a foot childishly. �If you�re going to take care of me, why didn�t you let me stay at home?!�
�But, you offered to come. I didn�t make you.� He looked at her, shocked and confused.
She sniffed and shook her head. �Was I supposed to let you come over here all alone? What sort of a terrible sister would I be if I let you do that?�
�You wouldn�t be a terrible sister at all.� He replied softly.
�What would you know about it?� She fixed a glare on him. �I�m stuck in this terrible, strange place with no place to live and it�s all because of you!�
He frowned and shook his head, his voice taking on a warning tone, �Katy . . .�
�And don�t you deny it! None of this had to happen. None of it! Ye were drinking and ye lost yer temper and killed that poor man! Ye killed him and ye could have killed Mr. Wilcox, a perfectly decent man. What were ye thinkin� of?!�
His eyes flashed in anger and he took a step toward her. �What was I thinkin� of? What were ye thinki� of, meetin� that tea sippin� bastard behind all o� our backs?!�
She gasped and slapped him. �Don�t you dare speak that way! He�s more of a gentleman than ye�ll ever be, an� it�s none of your business!�
He grabbed her hand and scowled. �My sister�s honor is my business. Imagine how people would talk if they knew ye were meetin� him out on the hills somewhere.�
�I don�t care about their talk!� She jerked her hand away and stepped back.
�Well ye should! Or ye should at least have a little more concern for yerself. Do ye have any idea what could have happened to ye, alone with that man? Do ye have any idea what he could have done?�
�Nothing. He never would have hurt me.�
�Oh, would ye think for once in your life, Katy! He didn�t give a damn about ye!�
She teared up, but kept herself from crying. �Oh, aye? And how would that be any different from you?� She shook her head and ran off.
He sighed and curled up in the entrance to a nearby alley, pulling his jacket around him. She would be back soon, surely. She just needed to cool off. Running after her would just make things worse, so if he just stayed put and waited, well then, she�d be back in no time. No time at all.
January 9, 1906
Dear Uncle Dermot,
We�ve made it here. I�ve found a place to stay and a job for now. It�s so different. I miss home, and I miss everyone there. Have you heard from Katy? We were separated and I�m worried about her. I�ll write again when I can.
Love,
C.
Journal
January 14, 1906
I�ve found a place to stay. It�s not home, but it�s a roof over my head. I�ve joined a gang called Black Watch. I couldn�t bear to tell the family where I was when I wrote home. I hope they�ve heard from Katy. I�m worried about her. I thought I saw her the other day. I was sure it was her. But she left before I could talk to her. I hope she�s safe, where ever she is.
February 1, 1906
I know where she is, finally. She�s joined the Pack Hunter gang, our rivals. She�s done it on purpose too. I didn�t think she was so mad at me. I wish she wouldn�t be. I can�t stand to be on opposite sides, and I�m worried about her with all of those boys. I don�t trust them. I hope she gets over this soon.
January 8, 1907
Well, we�re in Hoboken, New Jersey now, staying in lodging houses. The gangs disbanded, and Katy started to come around. She at least agreed to come here with me. She was upset about leaving some boy though. I hope she doesn�t get her temper up again. I love the girl, but I just don�t know how to stay on her good side, and it breaks my heart to not have my sister to talk to. She�s all I have over here. I think this new place will be good for us both. The people are nice, and it�s less dangerous. I�ve even found a job here. I hope we can make a new start here. A better start.