The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1880-10-29
"But / don't believe she'd buy car

v
81 don't care! If I could find baby
that didn't belong to anybody, I'd take
it home, and when mother once saw it
she'd keep it."
On trudged the two little girls. They
were going nowhere in particular.
Anna, the oldest. loved to stroll off to
the new and prettier part of the village,
and as Ella was Annals devoted fol-
lower, she went on unquestiOningly.
Suddenly both children stopped and
listened. Its a babyr' said Anna, en-
Enthusiastically.
at is, sure's anything! And the poor
little things crying! Let's find it,
Following the sound, the children
turned down side street, and then saw
that the sobs and cries proceeded from
a pretty little baby carriage on the piaz-
"a of the second house. ~
.sPoor little thing! Let's go and
speak to her." said Ella. The baby, at
sight of the two little sunbonnets,
stopped crying and smiled, stretching
out her hands.
.sOh, the dear little thing! Let's
wheel her little" Back and forth
the children rolled her. and baby,
soothed by the motion, dropped into an
other doze.
ELLA" said Anna, Il mean to take
this baby homer
s'Oh, Anna! 'Tain't yoursr'
Anna had some uneasy questionings
of her own, but she stihed them. 81
don't care! The folks here don't want
her, or they wouldn't leave her crying
out on the stoop. She's a fondlin',' l
do b'liever'
Ella had never heard of foundlings,
but Annals tone carried conviction
with it. "Anyhow we can just give
her little ride aud bring her back.
You see if anybody cared. they
wouldn't let us do this. You just lift
the front wheels, and I'll get her down
on the sidewalk. There! Amt she just
lovely? And what pretty carriage"
eff they don't want the baby, any
how they wouldn't give US the car
riage."
II tell you we're only going to show
her to mother, so hold your tonguep'
All, Annals voice was not often as
sharp as that, and somehow though
they had the baby and the beautiful
carriage, the children were not half as
happy as they expected. 1t was long
walk home, for they lived at the very
other end of the village, and by the
time they had reached the little cottage
baby was awake and beginning to feel
hungry, giving impatient little cries,
and looking piteously into the strange
brown eyes that looked out of the
white sunbonnets. instead of the bright
blue ones she longed to see. 10 crown
their perplexities mamma was out
when they arrived home, and when
they lifted baby out of her carriage she
cried aloud from fright and hunger.
"Oh, dear! If mother only GOMEZ
sighed Ella, while Anna began to wish
she had no: been so very sure the baby
was a founding clothes did not
look as if she were neglected.!
In the midst of baby's loudest screams
Mrs. Reed came home, and heard with
CONSERVATION of what her little girls
had done. The first thing was to make
the poor little stranger comfortable,
she had swallowed cup of arrow-root,
baby sat up and cooed and laughed. In
spite of her anxiety on the mothers ac-
count, Mrs. Reed and the little girls
enjoyed a few moments of the sweet
baby talk, but soon the mother, re-
Numbering what agony that other
mother must be suffering, said:
"Now, Anna, you and Ella must 20
straight to the house you took the baby
from, and tell them where she is. l
will keep her quiet till you come back.
Make haste now, for the mother must
be nearly dead with fright. Are you
sure you know the house?"
"Oh yes, mother! 1t was gray
house with brown blinds and low
stoop- only two steps up-and the folks
had been moving, for there was big
box
swell, well! Only hurry of: Go as
fast as you can"
Of went the children, Ella half cry
ing at leaving the baby, but Anna too
well aware of the mischief she had done
to care for anything half go much as to
find the poor mother. "This is the
quickest way" she said, and hurried
on. Her very anxiety confused her,
and after long walk she could find no
such house as she had described to her
mother. At almost every corner one
or the other would think they saw
gray house or big box on the side
walk, so they turned and twisted till
they were fairly bewildered, and at
last, after walking for nearly two hours.
they reached home, and with sobs and
cries told their mother they could not
find the right house.
The baby was asleep again, and Mrs.
Reed. without waiting to give the chill
dren their supper or eat herself, started
out. She inquired of several people if
they had heard of q lost baby, but they
were at the very further end of the
town, and the news had not reached