The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1893-10-12
The Little Blue Cap.

marks of honest toll for he had been II
locksmith in his youth. and had by in
dustry and economy raised himself
steadily until he became the proprietor
of large business. and secured COM
potency for his old age His wife, "A
quiet, gentle creature. wOr>hipped her
husband, aud both of them wore on
their faces an expression Of serenity
which betokened ease OF conscience and
II life of peace Durand was past sixty
years of age and his wife must have
been fifty, yet in spite of their wrinkles
aud gray hairs. these two treated each
other with an aifcctOnatc Difference
which was Il pleasure to behold. They
were Philemon and Baucis rc~u-citated.
While we were engaged in conversa-
ton Just before dinner. Durand rose and
opened a drawer to take out some trlile
which he wished to show me While he
was turning over the contents oil the
drawer. it CHANGED that little cap, such
As might have been worn by "a doll or an
inf mt. fell to the floor. picked il up
and noticed that it was made of coarse
] blue linen, with two bits of tWine in
stead of ribbons. A. | handed 1t to
him, said gayly:
Are you preparing a baby basket,
i Papa Durand."
| had no sooner spoken than | re-
GREETED it, for recollccted ut that mo-
mcut having heard that the only shadow
on my friends lives WAS the fact of
their union being IA chilalcss one. For a
moment Durand made no reply, but
looked at the little cap atlectionately
j then, as he Lid it carefully away again.
/ he said in tone of seriousness:
"'fhat is Il souvenir"
Then we all three sat down to dinner
and talked of other matters. but a soon
a. the rcpast was finished, and the little
maid of all work had pat cigars and
liquors upon the table, my friend said
suddenly:
"lIow much that baby-cap reminds
me of 80
1t was evident that he wanted to ex-
plain his remark, and begged him to
do so.
sit was great many years ago" he
said after slight pause, for was
about twelve years old. | was working
in Il large factory, and | had Il compan-
ion, of the same age rs myself, who, on
account of his ugly features. was nick
named hi Monkey-facc.
ale was "A sly, thieving. miscellaneous
urchin, very much given to tilching tarts
from the pastry-cook's counter. but a
Jolly little chap, and full of pluck. He
was 50 lazy that he would have been
turned out of the factory had it not been
for the indulgence of the Ovcrseer. who
had been friend of his father and who
j took an interest in the boy for the stke
of his dead comrade. Monkey-facc was
an orphan, and the only relative he had
Ia,
him up. cousin of his mothers. This
woman was a tish-pcddIcr, a brawling
! brutal creature, whose affection for her
young charge was manifested only by
i blows. Perhaps if he had known II
parents love he would have been less
/ pcrVerSc.
"Onc afternoon the lAd took it into
his head to run away from the factory
and 90 vagabonding about with Il gang
of young rullian> like himself. rs they
were coming slowly home after night
| fall they heard to their establishment the
cry of an infant. The sound seemed to
issue from long. narrow. dirty alley
which opened on the street. and at the
other end of which hung II dmly flicker
ing lamp, After II short consultation,
the street boys ventured softly into the
passage, and one of them cSpied. behind
/ the door, little bundle oe rags. which
struggled and vailed. He seized hold
of it, and the whole party ran into the
street, triumphant, stopping under Il
] lamp to examine their capture. 1t prov
ed to be "A baby girl a few weeks old,
wrapped in series of dirty cloths, Il
poor little innocent whom a wretehed,
perhaps desperate mother had abandon
ed to the charity of strangers.
"A council was held to decide what
should be done with the booty. and the
young captors gave free play to their
/ imaginations. One said to put the baby
back where they found it; another, to
hide it in a ialf-finpty prune box which
stood at IA grocer's door; Il third pro-
posed to climb up to second-story bal
cony and leave the younyster there. and
how astonished the people would he the
next day, But hi Moukev-face secuted
all these ideas. and declared that the
baby must be given to the gypsics.
There was a band of these people near
by. who practced iurglcrv and fortune
telling, and instances of kidnapping
were by no means rare.
Monkev-face's decision was hailed
with enthusiasm. and he claimed the
right to carry the tleasure-troye in con
sideration of his having made the plan.
"NGive US the kid he said. The
baby had all this time been screaming
piteously. but il stoppcd suddenly whea
Monkey-face took hold of it. and while
he walked along with an air of triumph,
If tixpd its trrpat hlun avns unou his mol /,