The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-08-09

girl there was no lovers quarrel and now
the pair may be married. but that would
be telling tales out OF school.
r
She got him to sleep at last-the little
tot. How he had cried and kicked and
fretted! He inherited his fathers temper
she was sure of that. She had walked the
floor with him in her arms for over TWO
hours and now, just when she was on tire
point of giving him his FIRST spanking he
had fallen sound asleep. 1t was hot-too
hot for babies-and he had fretted unui
shefbelieved that he was sick. She had hao
just such a time with him every afternoon
for the last week and she was both tired
and worried. But now that he was asleep
i'm her arms, like a great doll, she was
happy and relieved.
Poor little thing" she said softly. Poor
little thing" and she carried him out into
the yard and laid him gently, ever so
gently, in his carriage, humming a little
tune all the while. She wheeled him under
the maple by the side of the house and
covered his face with a veil. She did Ii all
without making a sound-except the little
lullaby, hummed softly, sweetly. When she
was sure that he would not wake up, she
slipped away and tiptoed into the house.
She came to the window and watched him.
Now, L do hope those children next door
will stay at home" she said, anxiously.
They seem to think that he belongs TO
them and want TO take care of him all the
time" All was still around the carriage.
The little mother slipped upstairs to tidy
up: she had done nothing all day. Ever
and anon, she came TO the upstairs win
dow and -peeped down at the carriage.
She did not see two small girls creep
stealthily around the corner of the house.
One Of them carried q large doll with rosy
checks and faXen hair They SfODDed and
glanced about hurriedly. No one was in
sight. They tripped up TO the carriage and
one of them lifted the sleeping baby from
its soft bed; the other one placed the big.
rosy-cheeked doll in its place and arranged
the vel and the quilt as they had found
them. Then they hurried away into the
little mother came to the window and
peeped out. How he sleeps" she whis-
pered to herself. The little darling!'
When the baby awoke from his rough
handling, deep in the shrubbery next door,
he began to cry, but he was shown so many
strange and wonderful things he stopped
Immediately and began TO laugh as babies
do and clapped his hands. The little mother
heard the smothered cry and fastened down
to the carriage. She tiptoed up to IL, as
she had tiptoed away, and shook 1t by the
handle ever SO gently, humming again the
sweet lullaby. She would not have him
wake for the world. No telling when she
could get him TO sleep il he did. But he did
not cry out again and lay so very still that
she slipped back to the house and went
about her work.
The little girl next door had shown him
q big red apple. He had put out his chubby
hands for it and she had jerked it away,
whereupon he set up a long, loud Shrek,
and che gave 1t to him quickly. The
the carriage again. This time resolved to
make sure and get him sound asleep. She
rocked the carriage to and fro, to and fro.
cumming as she did SO. AT last she had
worked 1t onto the cement walk and then
she pushed it on and on and on. slowly.
gently. carefully until she was many
squares from home. She met a number of
her friends, but she always put her fore
finger over her mouth and went, "Shoo!'
Then they whispered a few words about
the baby and she told them what a time
she was having to keep him asleep. She
would have liked to show him to them. but
IL might awaken him, so they passed on.
AT last, quite tired. she turned the car
rage around and pushed it back, slowly,
gently, carefully. She wheeled it under the
maple again by the side of the house and
tiptoed away, tiptoed back to her work.
The girls next door, deep in the shrub
berry. had become tired of the baby; he had
become tired of them. He had fallen asleep
in the arms Of the largest one. The girls
crept from the slrubbery to the corner OF
the house, to the carriage. One of them
jerked the doll out by the hair; the other
one placed the baby as the mother had
placed him early, in the afternoon. They
slipped back to the shrubbery. happy and
satisfied. The little mother came to the
window. His father was with her this time.
SnOO, uOn I make a SOUND, she Wh1S-
pered, hes sleeping so %soundly. Bless his
little heart"
Wherever an old building is being torn
dow one can always find a crowd Of loi-
terers watching the men at work. The raz-
ing of the buildings to make way for the
| new terminal and traction station was no
exception. Each day that clouds of smoke
arose from the old piles of broken bricks
there stood about the ruins crowds of white
and black men eagerly watching every move
of the wreckers. One bright, sunny day
there stood in the Grove of watchers a col
ored man, so tall that his shoulders bent
over. He wore an old coat that resembled
a crazy quilt, so many patches did it con-
tain. To keep back the motley crowd OF
curious onlookers the contractor had erected
a frail fence. This old cOlored man found
this board fence an excellent resting place
from which to view the men inside.
While he was engaged in watching what
was going on, a %cOrpulent colOred nanny
dressed in white calico and wheeling g
small carriage which contained a baSkef
full of clean linen, approached.
We'll, Henry. | see you haven't gone Il
work yet was the old woman's salutatior
to the darby who leaned over the boards.
II done got the rheumatic" replied Henry
Amt nothing like that: youall arr
troubled with the slows" rejoined the ole
nanny, who again took up her march will
her little wagon As she passed down the
street Henry turned to one of his compan
ions and said: Amt ii funny how then
pesky women will NEEDLE in ones affairs?'