The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1878-10-31
Mrs. Atkinsop's Baby.
MAX Adeler, in New York weekly. !


sent home a folding crib, with the Stats
| made in two pieces and hung upon
hinges. When they opened their crib
and put the mattress in it, Mr.. Atkinson
omitted to fix securely the catches that
hold the Stats. Mr.. and Mrs. Atkinson
went to bed early that night, and about
eleven o'clock, while they were asleep,
the baby got awake and began to kick
vigorously. The result was that the
Stats slowly descended, and deposited
the mattress and the baby on the floor.
The baby, being particularly wide
awake, crawled out into the room, and,
seeing light in the entry, went through
the door just as Mr.. Atkinson's aunt,
Miss Boggs, was coming up stairs to bed.
She picked the baby up, and finding
that its father and mother were asleep,
she carried it up 20 her room on the third
story, determined to take care of it dur
ing the rest of the night. -5-l@..n-...ls.i
About an hour later Mrs. Atkinson
awoke, and thought she would glance
over at the crib to see how the baby was
getting along. Ne sooner had she done
so than she jumped from the bed in
alarm. The baby was not there! The
bottom seemed to have fallen out of the
whole contriyance.l Her first thought
was that the baby was lying under the
mattress smothered to death. She pulled
the mattress aside, but there were no
signs of the baby.
Then, wild with alarm, she shook
Mr.. Atkinson. and told him to get up.
Atkinson growled out. in a sleeply tone:
"The paregoric bottle is in the closet;
90 and get it Yourself" dIt Ia
Alcpzo !p shrieked Mrs. Atkinson,
"you don't understand. The baby is
ponel Its pone-stolen- kidnapped
murdered, maybel Oh, what shall 1 do?
what shall do?'
Now be calm. oJuIia.o said Atkin-
son. getting out of bed don't get hys-
the tbt,is.i bed.p n' ' ''' . N
aNo. It isn't: no. it's not thereln ,ex-
claimed Mrs. Atkinson. upon her hands
and knees, 81 p
aPossibly.o said Alopzo, beginning to
feel uneasy. "he has crept into the
closet: let us look.n
0Tbis is horriblep' said Mrs. Atkin-
SON, clasping her hands.
"Do you Think asked Mr.. Atkin-
son. "that he could have crawled into a
Sureau fUn ,Sy drawer wv S' and nulled + to. after
bimY'
"Certainlv notp' said Mrs. Atkinson.
"Yon know he couldn'tn
az think / hear him now. He has
fallen out of the window!" said Mrs.
Atkinson. as faint wall floated ,up from
the back yard.
aNo it's only Mrs. Magruder's cat
vowling on the fence % reniied Atkinson
as he closed the sash. "Have YOU
looked into the bath tub in the next
room7 Perhaps he has gone to take a
BATH
9Drowned! / know it! Pm sure of
itP' yelled Mrs. Atkinson, rushing into
the bath room. -
x He's not here, u said Atkinson.
"Could he have gone down stairs and
fallen into the sugar bucket in the
pantIyT
"We must search the whole house for
him. said Mrs. Atkinson.
So they began the hunt. They looked
everywhere. In the clothes hamper, in
the kitchen cupboard, in the parlor, in
| the pantry, and even in the cellar, but
without avail.
"He couldn't have g,ne up stairs"
said Mr.. Atkinson, because he can't
climb the steps,"
"No; he must have been stolen!
He has been stolen by burgiarsl l
shall never, never see him again
never!"
"Don't give way, Julia. Be calm.
will go at once for the police"
Mr.. Atkinson dressed himself hur-
riedly, and dashed down stairs and out
into the front street. BE met a police
man almost at the door, and in frantic
accents laid the case before him. The
policeman sounded an alarm, and soon
| had six other policemen at hand. They
entered the house, and proceeded te
/ examine the fasteniDgs. Everything
was right, and one of the policemensaid
ain my opinion the burglar is in the
house yet"
"We'll go for him." said another. Sc
they drew their revolvers and proceeded
to search the building. Presently
Mr.. Atkinson heard the report o1
pistol in the kitchen. He rushed
down. ~ $3.50.
81 think I've killed him." said
policeman Jones. Bring light!
quickp
: aAnd killed the baby, toop shrieked
Mrs. Atkinson. tf
" By George, I forgot about the baby,
said the officer. -"
Then the light came, and they found
that policeman Jones had shot his dog
which had followed him into the house
Then policeman Smiths pistol went OF
accidentally, and the bullet hit tht
, kitchen clock, which at once struck nin'
hundred and eighty-one, and the con
fusion and racket 50 unstrung Mrs. AT
.. kinson's nerves that she went int
Mysteries and emitted successive yells o
I a terrific character. This brought Mis-
Boggs down from the third story i
great alarm. g-
"What ON EARTH is the matter
: Natter sad Atkinson. Don
t you know that burglars nave proke