The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-12
SOLVING THE DIFFICULTY.
AMY children?" queried Rose, gently.

so young--thirty-five at the outside
"One." he admitted and his detected tone
seemed to imply that that one was an IN
satisfactory possession-not quite right in
its head, perhaps, or disigured with hare
lip I'VE had only been married year. Won
know. She died when it was born"
"Ah-h!' breathed Rose, with soft inten
sity. She did not like to say more, and the
womanly pity yelling cut to him in his
misfortune was sufficiently expressed. Hav-
ing consumed the after-dinner cigarette
INDUCED in at her urgent bidding he was
at liberty TO respond to 1t; they exhaled
their signs together. II was, in fact. a par
ticulary sympathetic night-mild, still SOL
itary, with a beautiful moon. They sat out
in it alone. tete-a-tete, on hammock chairs
free to sit thus till bedtime, while their
host and hostess, her uncle and aunt. dozed
over newspaper and knitting in the draw
ing room behind them; the world forget
ting. by the world forgot
"Scn or daughter" Miss Lascelles asked.
after a pause, not willing to break the
thread of such an exquisite subject
"A boy" said Mr.. Bell, still with that I'M
fatherly air of discomfort. Sometimes I
wish it was a girl. She could look after
me by and by; could have her trained to
be my hOusekeeper and sew my buttons on
that sort of thing, you know
"You would have TO wait a long time"
said Rose. Judging by-by your looks
she turned admiring eyes upon his very
comely person, lit must be perfect infant
at present"
quite an infant; that is-let me see
fourteen months and little over. Yes. it
will be fifteen months on Thursday since
he was born. And lost his n.-ther two DAYS
after"
Poor, poor little thing! calculated Rose.
oh laughed the young man, in an odd,
mirthless way, you needn't waste any pity
on him, Miss Lascelles; he's all right. Rolls
in fat-never allied thing in his life-might
take the prize in baby show So they tell
me- l haven't seen him myself for a good
while"
You haven't?" cried Rose, smiIingly in
dignant. well, you are nice sort of a
parent, 1 must say. Don't you have him
with you at homer
Il haven't got a home gave it up when
my poor girl died. What's the use of a
home to me? 1 should never be there; my
business takes me all over the country and
you can't leave house and young child
TO servants. The little time that l did try
to carry on by myself they played the deuce
started feeding 1t with thick arroWroot.
She'd have killed it, to certainty"
Yes, indeed. The idea, But it's Incredible
what some fools of women will do in the
way of mismanaging a baby. / used 10 see
a great, deal of that when | a district
visitor"
A mother of half a dozen, too" said Mr..
Bel. retiectively. lighting another cigarette.
While girl who'd never had any took to
what to do and how to do it. l will say
that for her"
The instinct is in US ALL remarked Miss
LaScelles, dreamily, to the man in the moon,
who seemed to survey the couple with his
tongue in his cheek. ''Or if not, it ought to
points De IS sure Te cs e2uld give many mother
I've no doubt you could I heard some
body say the other day that mothers are
the little girls nursing theil dolls. / don't
think anything of a she-child that doesn't
want doll as soon ii can speak,
always loved Them, declared Rose
He leaned forward to look at a spiders
Web that the silver light had Just touched
making it shine out from its backgr ound of
was danger of rupture to the delicate thread
of the topic that was weaving so charm
ing conversation. Wherefore the young
lady hastened to inquire what had become
OF his little son.
4 suppose she said, 'he is with his
mothers peOple?"
Slowly resuming his attitude of renose
Mr. Bell puffed while in silence then an
sWered: Moo, not exactly With a friend
UQfOr-
tunately, her family is in England; so is
NINE. Neither of us had a soul here be-
longing to us. That was just the difficulty"
1T must have been a great difficulty"
murmured Rose, in a feeble tone.
L believe YOU assented Mr.. Bell, with
emphasis In fact, it put me into the most
ridiculous hole. the most COMPOUNDED fix
one that 1 can't for the life of me see my
way out of one that. However, /
mustn't talk about ii to YOU 1t is not
thing that ought to be talked about to any
And yet he yearned to talk about it, and
now, and to this particularly sympathetic
woman, who was not young and giddy, but,
like himself, far out of her 'teeLS and eX-
perienced in the troubles of life, such as
weighted him down. There was some
thing about her." he thought, that irresisti-
bly, appealed to him, and he did not know
what; but an author, who knows every
thing, knows exactly what 1t was. 1t was
A few words from her. backed by the
nameless influences of the hour, loosened his
tongue.
You mustn't think me an unnatural par
ent." he said. 1T is not that at all. m
awfully fond of him. I've got his photo
graph in my pOcket-Ill show 1t to you
when we go in-the last one for the time
being. l get a new one about once month,
in all sorts of get-upS, clothes and no CLONES,
but all as fat as butter, and grinning from
to ear with the joy of life. You never
saw such a fetching little cuss I'd give any
thing to get hold of him-if could.
But surely, his own father
but that's because you don't understand the
situation" ;,
Il can't conceive of any situation
"Of course not It's a preposterous sltua-
ton. And l just drifted into 1T, don
know how-oh, ] do know-it was Tor the
child's own sake; so that you really musIn I
call me a heartless parent any more, Hiss
Lascelles Nobody would do that VINO hneM
what I'd suffered for him.! MI Be,l tooS
the second cigarette from his mouth, ai IL
sighed deeply. Even in the beginning IL
would have been difficult to get OUT OF IL.
having once got in he continued, aIler
pause; but it has been going on so ions;;
getting worse and worse every DAY a.,9
every hour till now I'm tangled up ana
helpless. like that moth in that sploeE 5
weh"-pointing to little insect Tragedy
COINS on beside them. -.
Miss I4aScelles leaned forward rest-iiss NJ
arms on her knees. and spreading her nan9s
in the enchanting moonlight. when hldus
them look white as pearls-and mace heI
rather worn face look as if finely carved III
ivory 1t was graceful. thoughtIul; couIl5
Dental pose. and her eyes: upll1ted. siea9isne1
just under his eyes, ineffably soft and kino;
don't know what the trouble is. On.
don't tell me if you'd rather mott l cant
helm you. can J.? / do wish could.
so do l. But I'm afraid nobody can heIp
me. And yet-perhaps a fresh eye-a Won-
ans clearer insight" He paused, liTesp-
lutte; then succumbed to temptation. LOON S,l.
here. Miss Lascelles. I'll just tell you noW
It is. if you'll promise not to speak OF I'll, ~
again. You are no gossip, knoW--y,p,u l VII
understand-and it will be such q blessed
relief to tell somebody. And perhaps you