Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1909-04-15
II TIM a
|HALLIDAY'Sl
DBABYC1
By ERSKINE M. HAMILTON.
Copyright. by shortstory Pub. Co.,
By ERSKINE M. HAMILTON.

There were sounds of lamentation
in Nineveh Not in the ancient city
of that name, but a struggling west
ern settlement of a dozen or more
shanties Of rough board construction,
situated by the side of railroad
with high wooded bluffs behind and a
river flowing peacefully below. A
Nineveh whose inhabitants were eX-
clusively Irish, and the male inhab-
itants whereof were all in the employ
Of the railroad company on whose
land their homes were temporarily
erected. Naturally, in so small com
munity everybody knew more Of his
neighbor's affairs than of his own, and
everybody knew Tim Halliday, and
especially Tim Halliday's baby.
Therefore the lamentations, for on
this special day Tim Halliday's baby
was lost. To be sure, this was not the
first time that the baby had proved a
source of public anxiety, for he seemed
born to mysterious happenings-so
much so, indeed, that some of the
worthy matrons of Nineveh had be-
Gun W IcSdlu It'll dS anu Oul
of the usual order of nature. Already
he had been nearly drowned in a els
tern, had hung himself in a blackberry
bush, had fallen over 30-foot preci-
pice, and had gone through various
other perilous adventures, any one of
which would have killed an ordinary
baby; but out of them all he had
emerged unscathed, and his sturdy lit
tie feet still toddled along perilous
ways, and his innocent blue eyes still
sought other dangers to wander into.
This time, however, he was lost.
The last knowledge of him dated back
to the early morning, when he had
been seen by neighbor near a clump
of blackberry bushes not far from his
mothers door After that he could
not be found, and great was the woe in
Nineveh over his disappearance.
With grief enveloping her rotund per-
son, Mrs. McQuaide walked over to
Mrs. Halliday's door to condole. "An'
isn't it sad indade," she remarked, ito
see the swate bye taken from under
yez very nose when yez not lookin'?"
Mrs. Halliday did not reply, but sat
in her low doorway, rocking backward
and forward and giving vent to loud
expressions OF anguish. Several of
the neighbors stood about her, red
eyed, offering such comfort as they
could.
But he'll come back all right" con-
tinued Mrs. McQuaide, reassuringly.
That baby's got a charm on him, /
can't know, an he'll be home. pris-
entity
In spite of this soothing prophecy,
he did not come, however, and one
after another the searching parties
returned, with no news of the missing
infant All through the day the ex-
ploration was kept up without avail.
But late in the afternoon. as the sun
was sinking behind the bluffs, an as
founding thing happened. Mrs. Halli-
day had just stepped to the door, in
reply to a call from a passing neigh
Dor, when behold, as she looked down
the path. there stood the baby,
"The saints be praised" she cried,
half sobbing, as she rushed out and
caught him to her breast.
In moment all Nineveh was agog,
and Mrs. McQuaide and Mrs O'Toole,
Mrs. McDermott and others of the
towns amiable matrons were on the
spot and overwhelming the happy
mother with congratulations that were
honest and sincere.
1T do be just as told yez," as
serted Mrs. McQuaide in an aside to
Mrs. O'Toole. That child will come
to no harm-mind that, now! He was
born with a spell on him, an is under
protection"
The Lord save us! an is that so?"
calculated Mrs. O'Toole, piously cross
ing herself.
Yes, that be it, sure. an'-Mrs.
Halliday, what's the child got in his
hand?"
Mrs. Halliday, who was busily talk
ing 10 the others, turned at that aues-
ton and looked at the baby's hand.
The small pink fist was tightly closed
about something, and upon its being
pried open silver dollar fell to the
STOuuu rOi II lHOlucul the group were
too astonished to speak. Mrs. Nc.
Quaide's tongue was the first 10 be un-
l0osed.
The divil fly away wild me! Where.
in the name of the blissed saints, dye
be thinkin' he got that?"
No one could answer and no one
made reply. Mrs. Halliday could Of
fer no explanation. Silver dollars were
not very plentiful in Nineveh, and
when and where the baby had secured
one was a mystery. Questioning the
child had no effect.
"Baby's hungry" was all that the
grave mite would say, and the matter
had to rest there.
Several days passed uneventfully.
ard then again 1t was announced that
Tim Halliday's baby was lost. This
time his absence was not so pro-
longed. for after several hours search.
Mrs. McQuaide found him asleep un-
der a blackberry bush. The good lady
picked him up triumphantly and car
Iied him TO his mother, when with
great volubility she began to explain