CanÌƒon City record. [volume] (CanÌƒon City, Colo.) 1883-192?, 1898-10-06
THE LOVE STORY
OF NUMBER SIX


| IN the Baptist orphan asylum Of :
small town in Vermont Lizzie Mac
lady was known as No. O. The name
was particularly fitting for more rea-
ms than one. Lizzie was the youngest
| cha: in a family of six. She was the
:. az orphan whit had been admitted
Ia lie institution in the sixth year of
/, iss if.aE.ss..nent- Her father was q
I .cSoa .se engineer on the Vermont
cent.ai railway. Lizzie. the youngest
cE.ld. was six years old when be was
Killed in a collision. and brought home
4 e5spse 10 his Hide one. His eldest
isugEirr had been iseeping houss since
tie dealt. OF her mriher, and soon aft sr
ike fathers demise she married sec
iicn boss. The children were scattered
G5-ong friends and relatives. The boys
had found good homes ard were all at
work earning money. Lizzie was taken
into the orphanage, of which her aunt.
a kindly. middle-aged woman, was
matrcn.
Nobody objected TO this arrange
menf, for Miss Sanders stood very high
in the esteem of the toxnspeople. who
thought it but right that the younges.
child of the dead engineer should be
cared for a; TIE expense of the county,
since all the others had not become
burdens on their charity.
Number Six grew up = likely girl
amidst the orphans of the place, and
now, at the age of 16. she was quite
help to her aunt. who still continued in
charge of the county's waits All who
had been there when she was a toddler
were gone The girls had sought serv-
ice with the townspeople. the boys were
at work in the fields Lizzie was taking
upon her yoang shoulders the cares
which burdened the white-haired wom-
an who had been mother to her.
1T this time there was not an empty
bed or cradle in the institution An
open winter. something unusual in
the rigorous climate of the Vermont
hills. had dcpopulated the fresides
and filed the grareyards- For years
there had not been infants in the
homes until this winter. Now there
were two. a boy and girl. The for
mcr was the son of the schooInas-
ter. The girl was y poor washer
yoman's child. Bud. the male in
fant. was robust enough and thriving
as successfully among the xsrangers
as he had in his mothers arms. but
Bee, the charwoman's infant daugh-
Ter. needed a deal Of attention This
little mite cf humanity had been chris
tened Beatrice. to the great astonish-
mcnt of everybody. A wnsherwomAn
calling her child Beatrice was an un-
heard oi thing among the plain people
OF the Vermont hills- Maggie. Mary
OF Annie. waggcd the gossips, would
have been more suitable
Mra. Rossiter. the mother of little
Beatrice. came to the Green mountain
town when her child was not quite
. year old. She wore widows weeds
and informed those who asked her
antecedcnts that her husband had
died u short time ago, leaving her in
poverty. He had been good man.
she explained. but years sickness
had eaten up their little savings-
This ~as in the summer of tho year.
and few days before Christmas the
mother was called away from little
Bee. before she could indicate wha:
she wanted donp with her child. After
the burial of Mrs Roesiter the baby
was taken to the orphanage and
placed in charge of Miss Sanders From
The FIRST Lizzie eMncready-Number Six
took violent fancy TO the little one.
Zee got all the coddling and fondling.
lie wns such wee thing. SO delicate
d. 4 ffail. Zig blue eyes gaxcd wist-
tuiiy out of a thin, pale fnce. and there
was sad droop TO the bahy's mouth.
- IL the child realized its foriorn
S.E6i.i0a-
For Il time after Mrs, Rossiter's COM
Ing to Water Hollow. the gossips in
.,Alged in talk about the legitimacy of
little bee. .ill doubts were set aside.
however. when the public administra-
iur found in an old tin box among
..s- Rossitcr's effects two mar
riagc certificates One, the latest.
:-naounccti her the wife OF James
..pssiicr. whom she had wed six years
LSfore the baby was born. The other
was ten years older. II had been
ISSUED by minister in a small town
of New York. and by it the woman
had become the wife of = man named
Correll.
This was news, indeed. to the deni-
xens Of Water Hollow. and they AT once
spcculated what bad become of her first
husband. BY the time they had found
something else to talk about Baby Bee
was forgotten. so far as they WERE con-
cerned.
Slowly the little girl grew, tenderly
cared for by Number Six, who had be-
come deeply attached TO her. and could
not endure 10 have her out of her sight,