The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-12

-napel ? cnliu messed and mauled about by
a set OF bungling, ignorant creatures who
nau no interest whatever IN il was more
t tnaas she could stand, she said. To tell the
S Sru.ns couldn't stand it either. and she
legged me 70 let her have 1t to look after.
d theTe was no female friend or relative
nearer TO 1t than she was What could /
f1 S ne Lved in nice. healthy spot, and
snere was the old mother with her expert
ence; and was obliged to go away. and
t abl.uIWeii. | Just had TO say yes and be
found ave engaged the sort of nurse that
uoes everything. you know, a fine. strapping
soung woman in the pink of condition: and
9Mdy tney went to Melbourne together.
And at the first blush the worst of the
trouble seemed over instead of Just begin
nlng;; l gave UP my house and stored the
ilurnlture, and went off after my necessary
business miserable enough, as you may
suppose, but at last with an easy mind
ABOUT the boy. As far as he was concerned,
as far as poor, dear Mabel was concerned
1 Ielt that had acted for the best For
IN me matter of that. looking at the business
now that did act for the best. Indeed,
don't for the life of me understand how any
man man could have acted otherwise under the
The listener listening intentIy, here put
quiet question-'Did you pay herr
. when caused the narrator to vince like
All. there you hit the weak spot Miss
Lascelles. right in the bull's-eye," he de-
paid her, of course there'd have been no
olInculty at all. But she wouldn't be pad.'
1ou ought TO have insisted on it, said
II did insist. 1 insisted all 1 knew. But
sne SAID 1t was labor of love for her
lTlend, and seemed SO hurt at the idea of
money being brought into the question that
l was ashamed to press her beyond GER
tain point She let me pay for the nurses
board, and that's all. The baby didn't eat
ahythlng; you see. and they were comfor-
tally well off, with lots of spare room in
their house. and | just looked on it as
other sigh-"he's there yet
Miss L'ascelles nodded with an air of ut
ter wisdom.
child?'
Whenever I was in town And found
him always the same so beautifully cared
Tor that, upon my soul, / never saw q baby
in my life SO sweet and clean and whole
some looking; jolly as little sandboy all
the time, too"
That means that he had perfect con-
stitution, inherited from you, evidently.
And nd you We're fortunate in the nurse?"
Very fortunate. But it appeared that be-
yond-beyond running the commissariat de-
partment. so to speak, she did next to moth
ing for him. Miss--the lady 1 spoke of-did
everything. Made herself a perfect slave
for him.
Bought his clothes?"
oh, groaned the wretched man, 81 sup
pose so. What did l know about a baby's
clothes? And she wouldn't answer my queS-
tslons-said he was all right and didnt want
eyes. tried making presents, used to send
game and things, found out her birthday
and gave her a jewel, took every chance L
could get to work off the obligation but it
was no use She gave me birthday present
after I'd given her one.
Well If moths will go into spiders
webs remarked his companion, they must
take the consequences
Sometimes they get helped OUT he re-
Piled Some benefcent, godlike being puts
out an omnipotent finger"
He looked at her and she looked at him.
At this moment they seemed to have known
one another intimately for years. The neon
again.
Tell me everything" she said, land I'll
help you out"
So then he told her that he had been CIV
ing up the habit of frequently visiting his
son. Cowardly and weak, he knew but the
thing was too confoundedly awkward 100
embarrassing altogether.
But she writes. She writes a full report
every week, tells me what he weighs and
when he's got q fresh tooth and how he
craWlS about the carpet and into her bed
of morning, and initiates the cat mewing,
and drinks l don't know how many pintS
of new milk day, and all that sort of
thing / believe the rascal has the appe
nr 1f S na ana nrs yer on pay pay
dispensed with, so that I've not even her
board to send a check for that they might
by chance make a trifie of profit out of.
1t seems too late now to simply take the
child away. and there leave it; / haven't
the unspeakable shabbiness, the brazen i'm
pudence, the mean SelfishnesS, to do such a
thing, and, besides, he might come to any
sort Of grief, poor little chap, in that case.
There's no doubt in the world that her tax
ing of him and doing for him have been
the salvation of his health and perhaps his
life And 1 know, by what she tells me,
that he regularly dotes on her-as so he
ought-and would howl his very head off if
we took him from her. What could L do
with him if l did take him? I've no home,
and nobody to look after 1t IL l had, and
hired servants the deuce with a lone
man at their mercy. 1t would be worse now
than it was at first. And so'-with heavy
sigh-''you see the situation. I'm just swal-
lowed up body and bones, drowned tathomS
deep, in a sea of debt and obligation that
can never by any possibility struggle out or
He paused and blushed
Except" continued Rose with the candid
air 4of q kind and sensible sister, except
by marrying her, you mean? Yes, see the
situation. ] appreciate your point OF view
1 should understand If 1t were not that she
unquestionably laid the trap for you dellb-
erately-just as that spider laid his for
moths and flies And marriage by CAPTURE
has gone out
''Oh. don't say thatr the man protested
in haste Il would not for a moment accuse
her of that. She was Mabels friend-lt was
passion for the motheress child, at any
rate in the beginning. And even now have
no right whatever to suppose-
but you know it, all the same. Every
word YOU have said to me tells me that you
know it. You may as well be frank.
He squiimed a little in his chair, but con-
fessed as required.
''Well-but it's caddish thing to say-I
think she does expect it. And hasn't she
neither here nor there. The point is, that
in common honor and honesty, in common
manliness, 1 should repay her if | can; and
there's no other way-at least l can't see
any other way. 1t is my fault, and not
hers that / don't take to the notion, for
better woman never walked nor one that
would make a better mother to the boy.
But. somehow, you do like to have your
free choice, don't you?"
And ought to have it," quoth Rose, with
energy land must have it, and shall. Now
listen Mr.. Bell addressing him in SUCH
tone Of confidence and encouragement that
he lelt sure she was going to cut his bonds
forthWith-''you have asked me to help you,
and l can help you. 1t will be perfectly
easy, situated as 1 am here, He will not
has really no earthly right either to him
or to YOU, and it would give me eth the greatest
You must do''-and she leaned forward in
her chair and gazed earnestly into his. pal
ing face. you must just hand that baby
-Longman's Magazine.
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