Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-08-14

Mary gave a little choked and frightened
gurgle in her throat, and began to sob. She
called, in her extremity, upon the Virgin
and all the holy saints, for she had given
her sacred word to the Widow Hasketh
that not hair of her blessed baby's head
should come to grief, and now the baby
was lost. Poor Mary, in the extremity of
her dismay, cursed all the sciences. She
quite lost her head and flew through the
house like whirlwind, rummaged in
closets, looked under beds, opened cup
board doors, and gazed up chimneys, but
all in vain. Badly Hasketh seemed hope
lessly lost, and terrible nemesis in the
thoughts of the agonized mother was close
at Mary's heels.
The professor had dropped his eye-glass-
es, and, now in semi-blindness, was down
on all fours in search of them. 1t was
some time before they were recovered, and
then in a state of senile helplessness pitt
able to witness, he strayed to the front
door.
The sunshine lay TRANQUILITY on grass
and leaves and flower BEDS and there on
the stone step lay the other little red boot
The professor took it up and held it aim
lessly in his big hand, while his gaze was
fixed in fascinated stare on the low
curbed well. Over in that corner of the
garden the professor cultivated few med
icinal plants for scientific purposes. They
were mainly yirulent poisons. A choking
smoothered cough seemed to come from
this bed of deadly herbs. The professor
started on run, but Mary was there be-
! fore him. She had seen something from an
upper window of the house, and she flew
out like menad, with her hair stream
| ing wildly behind her.
Baby Hasketh sat in the midst of those
deadly poisonous plants, mandraora, hem
bane, nightshade and digitalis. The child
was doubled up in kind of convulsion,
her face quite purple, and her little fists
tightly clenched.
"She's pizened" screeched Mary, as she
picked her out of the brown, earthly bed
The child was growing black in the face
Mary laid her on her back, and, poking a
big, blunt finger down her throat, pulled
up mass of green leaves. The Professor
seized it and put it close to his near.
sighted eyes, while a profuse perspiration
broke out all over him.
aMein Colt be thanked p cried he. "Its
what you call in this country catnip."
Baby Hasketh was saved by miracle
After a minute or two she set up stiff on
Mary's arm and gave series Of short
gurgles, while the big tears ran down her
cheeks. Then she smiled in the Professors
face, showing all Of her eight pearly teeth
1t was the jolliest adventure Of her short
life, and she would not have missed it for
worlds. She was disreputably dirty, hav-
ing cast off her little socks with the red
boots, and she had dug her naked little
pink toes into the garden mold. Her ears
and her hair were full of sand, and she
held, clasped in her little arms, Bob, the
professors old mud turtle, with the mark
1860 cut upon his shell. The village boys
neld that Bob was nearly hundred years
old, because of the lichen growing on his
back.
Mary took the little girl and covered
her with kisses, at the same time scolding
dreadfully. "Oh, you naughty spalpeen
Oh, you bad little creaturew and then q
shake and more kisses. "Oh, you little