The San Francisco call., 1906-08-05
The Woman Who Stole dDOll
BY Franklin FIichborn.

plate of bread and a glass IN which
there had been milk beside her. Slid
crist saw that she was a cripple he
also saw that she had been alone all
day. Indeed, at glance he saw many
things, the least consequential or
which was Annette's doll claSped rap
turously in the sick child's arms. He
also noted the look of indescribable
satisfaction on the child's face-the
doll had evidently just been gwen
her-which passed as he sentered the
door, and gave place TO one of alarm:
The moments silence that followed
his entrance was broken by the child
Hugging the doll TO her breast, she
asked in the low, dull voice OF unre-
sisting helplesSness which comes only
from the very poor:
Has the man come to take my
dollie away9"
There was no outcry as there would
have been in the case of Annette.
This thought was uppermost in Gild-.
crist's mind as the child's question:
went through him like knife The
mother felt the stab of it even
more keenly than he Overtaxed
flesh and blood and nerve gave way
at this final blow, and she sank into
a chair. her head in her hands, in an
outburst of hysterical weeping. The
tears were genuine. Gildcrist didn't
have to be told that But there was
no further word from the child She
only hugged the doll more tightly TO
her, the look of alarm in her eyes
giving way to one of hopeless despair
Come, take it if you must" the
eyes seemed to say. Il am helpless
to resist"
Gildcrist got through with the rest
of it awkwadly enough. A woman's
tears are alone hard things for a
man TO deal with, but when mixed up
with a stolen doll and a sick baby.
they make combination which no
man can meet gracefully. But he
managed to calm the mOther-cOn-
vinced her that no policeman was
waiting outside. that she was not to
spend the night in jail-and left the
baby with a clear title TO Annettes
doll. quite needless as to what An
nette or his wife might have to say
about it. He even astonished Mrs.
Turner by telling her that she was to
continue to wash for them as usual
On the day home, he bought ~
nette a new doll As he paid for n,
the haunting dread came over him:
Would it ever come about in this
muddled world that his wife and
Annette would be shut off from his
protection and left penniless and help
less as were Mrs. Turner and her sick
babe2 Nor was the horror of the
thought 70 soon leave him.
Mrs. Gildcrist met him at the door
with a look of triumph, but some
thing in her husbands face tempered
her satisfaction There were times,
she knew, when Gildcrist could be
perfectly horrid." This seemed to
be one OF them
I've bought Annette a new doll,
he announced with the air of one who
wishes to drop the subject
But isn't Mrs Turner a thief, just
as | said2" insisted his wife.
Mary" he replied earnestly, "at a
dollar and half a day for drudgery.
with what she could pilfer for sick
baby as dear to her as our Annette
is to us, am not sure whether we
have been robbing Mrs. Turner, or
whether Mrs. Turner has been steal
ing from us Anyhow, we will con-
slider the score even. And henceforth
pay her two dollars and half day
for every day that she washes here
the same as would be paid a man
laborer"
4 shall do no such thing his wis.
began rebelliously ID
~And. Mary" he continued with "a
look that shut off further argument.
pay her in addition. 10 cents for
car fare. Perhaps, then, she will not
steal"