The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1907-08-06
HO6e, He Became
a Sfepfdfber.
Original

as guileless as the baby itself. Walter
had gone TO the station TO bid some
friends goodby. AS the train began TO
move slowly out and Walter was rails
ing his hat again and again to q party
on il, shaking hands and handkerchiefs
at him, u pretty young woman prettily
dressed touched him ON the arm and,
handing him a pasteboard box, said
hurriedly:
DO please see that this is delivered.
l must get on this train"
Walter took the box, and the lady,
selling the guard rail as it passed. step
ped on the car and was carried away.
Then Walter looked at the box. 1t was
the size of a shirt box-probably had
been Il shirt box-and without wrapper
or string. At one end he noticed hole
half an inch In diameter. The weight
was about ten pounds. But what star
tied the young man was that there was
no address. Then he was more startled 4
still at a sound that came from with I
IN. 1t was like a child's toy lamb /.
beating Walter removed the cover
and there, buried in t1annels and lace,
was a newly born baby.
One of the station men was passing,
and Walter called to him.
Say, here's a box a young woman
who has gone out on that train handed
me, asking me to see that it was deliy-
cred There isn't any address on it."
What's in it?'
"a baby"
1.-The dickens you say!'
I'm going to turn it in. Just take it
to the station master. will your
''Not much 1 won't. You can't play
that game on me-"
The man went on. Walter carried the
box to the station masters office.
where he told his story and requested
that the official take the box Off his
hands 1t had been turned over to him
fraudulently in the station and natural
ly fell to the railroad company for at
tention
young man, said the station mas
ter, 'if you want to get rid Of your
baby you'd better leave it on the steps
of a founding asylum"
'It isn't Lay baby"
Cant receive it," And the man
turned to other duties.
Walter went into the waiting room.
. The toy lamb bleating began again.
Walter took the cover off the box to
stop the noise, which was attracting
. the suspicious attentions of waiting
passengers, and a couple Of women
! caught sight of a pair Of tiny arms
fighting the air. They came aud
peeped into the box.
| he
thingl Just think Of carrying a baby
that wayr'
"Y' ought to be ashamed o. your
SELF" said the. other to Walter. THE
, child's hungry. Where is its mother p
Gone in the last train" And again
Walter told the story.
HAS she deserted your asked wo-
man who came up only In time to hear
. the end of II.
Q That's a cock and bull yarn" said
another. IT'S a contemplate way of
: trying to get rid Of your poor helpless
offspring
Walter fed, called a cab and took the
baby to his own bachelor quarters.
z There he called upon his landlady, who
procured a bottle, warmed some milk,
a fed the child and put 1t to bed-in Wal
ter's room. Leaving the door ajar so
that the landlady could hear the little
. one cry, Walter went out and applied
:. at the founding asylum to have II
: taken in. In the first place they were
{ full, and in the second they did not
G propose to have a man put baby upon
s them that he was abundantly able to
: take care of himself, under pretense
that it was not his child Walter went
back to his room and with the help of
o the landlady continued to take care
II of the founding from day to day,
d month to month.
d Walter said nothing to any one about
b the baby. He was expecting to be-
y come engaged and dreaded lest some
e linking of his having a child in his
# keeping might get out and his story be
disbelieved. One day his married sis
ter, Mrs. Brown, called at his room to
see him. With her was Miss Charles,
to whom he was engaged. Mrs. Brown
y Insisted on going up to Walters room
Is and taking his fiancee with her to see
u what bachelors quarters were like.
S The landlady. as instructed, guarded
II the way, but Mrs. Brown was a deter
Il mined woman and forced it. In COM
j pany with Miss Charles, she entered
Fl Walters room, and there, asleep on the
n bed, was the baby. Miss Charles went
T home and wrote to Walter for an ex-
Il PLANTATION. OF course his tale was not
believed, and the engagement was bro
ken.
Walter had standing advertisement
4 in a newspaper that the lady who had
n left baby in a box with a gentleman
,s at the station could have it-no proof
;. Of property required-by addressing B
!. 4T2, office of the paper. The day after
! the breaking Of his engagement, while
a be was in his room finishing his toilet
!, for dinner, the landlady came up with
: who should 1t be but the young wo
: man who had put her baby of on him
H.