A sturdy, cheery, capable Irishwoman, she carries on the business with an increasing success, which arouses the jealous opposition of some rival stevedores and walking delegates of the labor union, which she has refused to join.

The story tells how, with marvelous pluck, Tom meets all the contemptible means which her enemies employ in order to down her, they resorting even to the law, blackmail, arson, and attempted murder.

In all her mannish employments her mother-heart beats warm and true, and her little crippled Patsy, a companion to Dickens's Tiny Tim, and Jenny the daughter with her own tender love affair, are objects of Tom's constant solicitude.

The author has given a refreshing view of a soul of heroic mold beneath an uncouth exterior, and a pure life where men are wont to expect degradation.

"[6] The Standard Union wrote that the novel "shows the same appreciation of character, the same quaint and original humor, and the same tender touch which has marked the literature already given by Mr. Smith to the world.