Los Angeles herald., 1906-10-07

lie was ushered into a bedroom that vaguely
impressed him as different from any he had ever
entered before. What il was that so impressed
him 1t is hard to say, but certainly jeremiah halt
ed on the threshold with a general sense of
treading on unfamiliar ground
In the bed woman was living, and to Jere-
miah's surprise, she was watching him with ex-
treme anxiety. She was very young, and she
had pale, lovely face crowned by a mass of
golden hair. Jeremiah in all his life had never
seen anyone beautiful or with such an air of
proud distinction, and somehow his thoughts
flew back quickly and with beauty Of their
own to his wife at home and their newborn
child at her side.
Il beg your pardon" he began with sense Of
awkwardness and embarrassment, and then
ceased under the influence of the girls big, blue
eyes that were watching him so anxously. She
was raised upon some pillows and wore dress
ing jacket edged with delicate and costly lace,
and her right arm was thrown with kind of
proud protection over a shapeess and absurd
looking bundle by her side. At the foot of the
bed another woman was standing, mddle-aged
and tall and with somewhat severelooking face
and she, too, watching Jeremiah with the
same intense anxiety, which not sentiment
people often displayed towards jeremiah T1b-
bits 1t was this tall lady who while jeremiah
still stood hesitatngly in the doorway and the
girl in the bed still watched him with such plead
ing in her deep and exquisite eyes, suddenly
spoke, moving quickly forward:
Can you see her" she said, pointing towards
the bed, and speaking perfect English, but with
a strong foreign accent-"can you see her so and
fail to forgive her everything?"
'Oh, Fraulein," murmured the girl in the bed
protestingly.
Certainly not" said Jeremiah, feeling that on
the whole prompt acquiescence in this fiery lady's
demand was probably the safest course.
Fraulein looked at him doubtfully as though
n EttIa suSr ofc cIIcb roadv nd
into the eyes of the girl in the bed came rush
of silent tears Before either of them could
speak, however, the absurd and .shapeless bundle
the girl was guarding carefully emitted again
that kind of feeble, wailing cry, like that of
dying cat, which jeremiah had heard before
"Lor," said jeremiah, beaming all over; "they
can all yell, can't they, if they do nothing
else?"
Mrs CRANKY, let me- said Fraulen, step
ping back to the bed, and before jeremiah under
stood what she intended, the absurd and shape
less bundle deposited in his arms. But he
held it gently, and he wore a smile that trans
figured his plain commonplace little face as he
thought of his own child, and asked:
'Is it boy?"
NO." answered Fraulein, ''it's girl.''
"Ah," said Jeremiah with swagger, mines
boy"
The lady in the bed whom Fraulen had called
Mrs CRANKY fairly jumped, and Fraulein herself
gave little cry and made as though to snatch
the child away,
"Here, what's up?" demanded jeremiah, dis.
gusted at such jealousy, 'I can't help mine being
a boy, can II"
But" gasped Fraulein, ''you haven't baby?
You don't mean you have baby?"
Rather said jeremiah with still more pro-
nounced swagger and still greater pride; "such
jolly, sharp little chap you never saw, either
He is the very image of his mother, but he has
got my nose What's this one weight?
Seven pounds and half" murmured Frau
lein mechanically; my poor Evelyn and she
began to pat Mrs. Granby's hand softly with
little caressing gesture.
"Ah,' said jeremiah with deep satisfaction,