| Show I His Chums Baby Dy F C Krnomor Hilly Temple had just pulled Into the city after an absence of nearly four years out west As he swung up the street with his suit case In his hand dodging In and out of thin crowds It occurred to him that about the first little pleasure he would stake himself to would be to go out and drop In on Jim Hudson his roommate room-mate at the time he left the city And just > a couple of months ago ho had earned that Jim had become the doting dot-Ing parent of a cute little youngster that had come to occupy his time nights Huh thought Hilly to himself Itll be funny enough to see old Jim all house broke That alone ought to get a good hand but to see him carry lug a little Jim around and doing tho fond patent act will get the big laugh Wonder If ho remembers how he used to roast babies when we used to room together Jim came to the door and greeted his old chum warmly Then he Intro ducal him to Mrs Jim She sized up as a mighty pretty stylish little woman of the jolly j chumwlfo klnd lust the sort of a girl for Jim Hilly thought Now Ive got a treat for you spoko up Jim suddenly If you dont think weve got about the cutest little youngster youve luld eyes on for many a month Ho hurried back Into their little bedroom bed-room and came out with a floridfaced little bundle 1 that ho held up proudly proud-ly for his old pal to admire and get all excited over Hilly laughed Ho couldnt help It Ills thoughts of the contrast between Jims present and former attitude on the baby proposition would have ought a grin to the face of a gargoyle gar-goyle Jim frowned What are you laughing laugh-ing at he asked In a sort of superior supe-rior don make a monkeyoutofyour self tone Let us all In on the Joke Somehow he didnt seem IIko the same old Jim Then his little wife sort of looked puzzled too as If she just couldnt figure out how a laugh could possibly dovetail In just there Billy saw that ho would havo to hedge But then what was he going to say The baby certainly wasnt much to look at It seemed foolish to speak of a baby being nice looking anyhow and they all look so nearly I alike at that age It elIt seems like a largo baby stammered Billy It looks like a smart im1 too for Its age How old Is It anyway Jim After that they all became more at ease Jim started In to tell of the babys fine points of superiority over other babies All this didnt Interest Hilly at all He hadnt planned on talking baby all evening when there was so much reminiscent stuff to go over He tried to switch to something else I wonder won-der whatever became of old man Stewart Stew-art Jimthe fellow that used to live across the hall from us who was so crazy about draw poker Jim shook his head This kid just laughs and plays like this all the time ho said Huh You ought to see him when he gets his bath though Thats whats fun for him Billy tried to crank up and get afresh a-fresh start I suppose those youngsters young-sters that used to live on the floor beneath us have grown up to be pretty goad sized boys by this time boys or girls whichever they were Didnt they use to make a racket though Weve never been up with this boy a single night announced Jim more or less Irrelevently Well once or twice Edith took him over Into our bed when ho was a little fretful ho had a little attack of colic a month or so ago I guess any of us are a little peevish and grouchy when weve got the tummy ache eh Hilly Billy nodded and then tried to put a new cylinder into his machine and open up a different tuneanything to get away from the model progeny dope You ought to have been with moon mo-on my California trip last summer Jim says Billy I thought of you many a time Well have to stick pretty close to home for a few years until this little tyke gets a little bigger and huskier says Jim Why we havent even been to a theater since this chap came Of I course we havent wanted to We liavu fun staying home hero and watching watch-Ing his little stunts A youngsterll do something new every day at his age I tell you what you want to do you want to como out some morning and see him get his bath Hilly said he thonght that would be great But by and by ho diplomatically excused himself and went back downtown j down-town promising to como back again soonI I dont believe Mr Temple cares much about babies remarked Sirs Jim after Hilly had gone fOh noo admitted Jim apologetically apologet-ically mebby not Of course hes never been around em much Billys a queer sort of follow anyhow |
