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Show ??f fte I The Baby's Part 1 I I J$ By Frances Boone Mitchell & t 2 (Copyright, by Sliortstory I'ub. Co.) "I shall havo to ask you to hold baby until I can get some milk. Poor little angel, ho Is about starved." "Hut I I " Ann stnmmered nnd then gazed helplessly nt tho squirming piece ot Immunity, bo hastily nnd unceremoniously un-ceremoniously deposited on her Inp. Tho womnn hnd vanished. "Weill" Ann gasped for want of anything else to say, and Ann was seldom at a loss for words. "Rather abrupt, don't you think bo?" Ann smiled swcotly at tho man opposite, his foro-hcad foro-hcad creased Into two straight lines of nnnoyance. "Of nil tho confounded confound-ed limits, she was tho leador" he growled. "If I only knew whoro sho went or how sho looked I would go nfter her and make her tako tho in-fernnl in-fernnl " "Don't cnll tho poor llttlo thing nntnes, Dick! See, you havo mndo him cry." Something surely had. Tho deserted Infant was testing the capacity of an unusually vlgorouB pair of lungs. "Poor little tootsle It's hungry, bo It Is, but Its muvvcr will bo back In just a mltnito with some nlco milk for tho poor llttlo starved fellow." Ann cooed softly and soothingly sooth-ingly deftly she turned tho Infant ncross her knees nfter the tlmo Immemorial Im-memorial method of pacifying young humanity. "Llttlo chap Is hungry-yes, hungry-yes, ho is." Ann's voice was full of deep, vibrant caresses. Tho long, straight lines faded from Richard's forehead little, deep ones appeared nround his mouth. Ho watched Ann from under half-closed lids decidedly this was a now and altogether wonderful wonder-ful Ann. "ny Jove, sho Is a wonder," ho breathed under his breath. He was almost glad It had happened. "Sho's grit clear through," ho murmured. "Euchred!" ho yelled, springing to "So You Are the Eloping Couple?" hU feet. "Ann! Ann! tho train Is moving and" "Hush, Dick, he's ubout nsleep." "Hut tho woman the tin In Is moving,' I toll you." The trnln wna suroly moving how long It had been In motion, neither know. Ann had been absorbed In her efforts to quiet tho now sleeping baby, and Richard lost In admiration of Ann. "Dick, what shall wo do?" Ann spoke nfter a long sllenco spent In Btnrlng at tho swiftly moving landscape. "Pitch the thing out of tho window" tho masculine olemont growled. "Ho sorloim, Dick what shall wo do? It's only a fow minutes until wo reach Went worth." "(ilvc It to Bonio ono else," Dick sugr gosted, brightly. "There is no ono In the car to glvo It to." Leave It on the seat then." "It would fall off." "Pin It on, then." "Dick, how ran you bo so heartless?" "Well, wo can't tako It off with us," he said doggedly. "Tom Is going to meet us wo enn't lot him boo It confounded lubber ho sees n Joko In everything wo would nover hear tho lust of It. Wo will hnvo to leave It on the train." "Richard .Manning, wo won't leavo 'he poor lit fin thing on the trnln, by Itself It i iiist bo properly cured for by some ono." 'That some ono Isn't going to bo us. Its mother won't claim It. Sho's lesuitt'd It." "You know better, Rich-'iid." Rich-'iid." Ann, when dlBpleased, had n vury decisive way of saying Richard. Klchurd realized Hint It was tlmo for him to do something practical; nt tho same time ho must uppoaso Ann. "Of course sho will claim It," ho agreed. Rather out of tho ordinary, Isn't ho?" cvriatnly his mother will claim him, Riclmnl." Ann was not easily up-pfiised. up-pfiised. liy Jom', tho conductor Is coming. We will lnvo It to him." "(iood lio), Dick." Dick smiled. Ann wtiB appeased. In a few words ho explained their sudden uud unexpected acquirement of tho baby. "Describe the womnn." Tho man of tickets spoke gnillly. "Wo can't, you nee I ah looking t Ann," Dick floundered helplessly. Tho con ductor looked expectantly nt Ann. Ann blushed. "I can't. I was" "Looking at this young man," tho conductor supplemented, grimly. "However, the mother of tho child will probably wlro to tho next station." "Hut wo get off there something must bo done nt once " Dick spoko desperately. "If that's tho ense, so much tho bet-, tor." Tho conductor spoko more nf-fably nf-fably ho saw all tho responsibility vanishing from his shoulders. "Your wife can take charge of tho baby, until un-til its mother reaches thore, on tho train following this It's only 20 minutes min-utes later." "Hut sho Isn't my wife yet, you see," Richard spoko desperately. "Wo arc or we're to bo married there." Ha straightened his shoulders, as It he defied the entire world to try to stop that ceremony. "You seo, Ann's father " Tho conductor collapsed Into tho scat across tho nlslo and roared with laughter. "So you aro tho eloping couple you aro Major Deerlng's daughter?" ho spoko to Ann, between paroxysms. "There Is an olllclnl searching through the train for you ho Is In tho next cnr." Richard moved over beside Ann; his face several shndes pnlcr. Ann forgot the sleeping bnby and clutched Dick's coat sleeve. "Ann " Richard gasped. "You will not tell." Ann looked nt tho conductor as If to measure her antagonist. Tho conductor looked soberly at Ann. "I suppose I will havo to" ho said. "Hut you must help us; pnpa wants mo to marry a horrid old friend of his and there'B Richard " sho paused, as If tho fact of Richard's existence made further explanation unnecessary. "Papa's friend Is rich, no doubt, and Richard Is not, I suppose." Tho conductor spoko as If ho wcro weighing weigh-ing Richard In tho balanco nnd Richard Rich-ard was found wanting. "Richard has his law practice; ho will make plenty for us " Ann flared then changed tactics. "PIcaso help us," sho said. No one resisted Ann when she snld please. Ann's "Please" was a word of art Ann rcnllzed It. Richard smiled; ho knew tho battle was won. A smooth-faced Individual came down tho nlslo. Ann nnd Richard braced themselves. Ann kept her eyes on tho conductor In Ann's conquering con-quering way. "You won't find your parties In this car, Jenkins." Tho conductor aroso as ho Bpoke. He turned to Ann. "Thnt's a lino llttlo chap bo suro to tako good caro of him," ho said. . Ann smiled her thanks. Ann's smile wns dazzling. "I Biipposc you nro right, Flinch," Jenkins spoke undecidedly, but If It wasn't for that bnby that couple per-tnlnly per-tnlnly fit tho description. Jenkins looked searchlngly nt Richard. "Ho Is about 25 tnll clean-shaven gray eyes brown, curly hnlr." Ho counted each Item off on his fingers. Tho description fitted Rlchurd. It wns Ann's turn deop blue oyes light, wavy hair slender medium height-brown height-brown dress brown lint. That certainly cer-tainly fitted Ann. Ann boro tho scrutiny scru-tiny nnd enumeration better than Richard: sho was absorbed in watching watch-ing tho baby's sleepy offorts to get a pink, chubby hand In n mouth fully a slzo smnllcr thnn tho hand. "Hut tho bnby" Jenkins sworo softly soft-ly under his breath. Ann's father had offered an alluring rownrd to tho party par-ty who stopped tho runaways. Jon-kins Jon-kins wns not romnntlc; his was a grasping nature. "Yes, tho baby eliminates them;" Flinch spoko promptly and decidedly. .Ho stood so that Jenkins could pass out llrst. "You will reach your station In about ten minutes; I am suro you will find your messngo all right," ho said pointedly to Richard. "Wo uure will but It will bo nil right anywny," Rlchnrd spoke promptly. prompt-ly. Ann smiled at him npprovingly. "HIcbb tho bnby," sho said, Boftly, as she gathered It up In her nrms nnd kissed a tiny, dimpled hand. "Same here," Richard echoed fervently. fer-vently. "Hang TY.-)i and what Tom says." |