Past One at Rooney's (Henry)

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Past One at Rooney's
1908
Summary of the Short Story
Microsummary: A man named Cork McManus meets a girl named Ruby Delamere at Rooney's, a tough bar in New York City. They form a connection and plan to get married, but their plans are interrupted by a police raid.

On the lower East Side of New York, Eddie McManus, known as Cork McManus, found himself in a dangerous situation after a fight with a rival gang member.

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Cork McManus — young man; member of a gang; tough, street-smart.

With the police searching for him, Cork decided to lay low until his friend Tim Corrigan returned from Europe to help him out of the mess. One night, unable to resist the temptation of a drink, Cork ventured into a bar called Rooney's, where he met a girl named Ruby Delamere.

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Ruby Delamere — young woman; works in a bookbindery; defiant, suspicious, sullen.

Cork and Ruby quickly became enamored with each other, despite their initial attempts to deceive one another about their true identities. As they sat in the bar, the police raided the establishment, and Cork feared that he would be arrested for his earlier crime. However, Ruby bravely stood up to the police officer, claiming that Cork was her boyfriend and that they had been together for a year. The officer, recognizing Ruby as a local troublemaker, let them go.

As they left the bar, Ruby tearfully confessed her true identity as a woman of ill repute, believing that Cork would no longer want to be with her.

I guess I might as well say good-bye here... You won’t want to see me again, of course.

However, Cork revealed his own criminal past and told her that he still cared for her. Determined to start a new life together, the couple approached a nearby house with a brass nameplate reading "Reverend Jeremiah Jones." Despite Ruby's protests, Cork insisted that they get married, and they rang the doorbell to begin their new life together.