The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-04-16
THE EVENING STORY
Somebody's Baby.
(By Lawrence Alfred Clay.)

| 41AOln0T OIl9 ndQ Drought Win u0T
her girl baby. ten months old, and had
/ been accompanied by her husband as
nurse girl. His business was in the city,
and at o'clock he would call for
a young man, but he understood
babies. He knew that they should be
| held head downward-that they should
| be given a fatherly finger to bite when
they cried, and that tickling the bot
| toms of their feet when they had the
collie was certain cure.
That was the finest baby in the state
| of Pennsylvania. The father, the moth
er, the grandmother, Aunt Ethel and
| all the neighbors at the Congdon sub
urban home said so. Realizing, young
| as she was, that she would be kept
| awake at night when her sparkling
| days came, she got as much infant
sleep as possible. She could be laid
away on the bed, the window sill, the
clock shelf or any other place, and she
would continue to sleep.
Mrs. Huntington, the grandmother,
aid very little to do with the baby. 1t
was her duty to recommend sage tea
plasters and TO declare that the baby
looked just IKE its father. Having
done this. her duties were ended.
Ethel Huntington. Mrs. Congdon's
was not to blame for being an aunt
at that age. Some of the girls poked
fun at her, but she was loyal to the
child. She characterized it as the
darlingest thing ever born, and If she
could have kissed it oftener she would
certainly have flattened its nose.
Mrs. Congdon and baby were duly
left at grandraa's and duly welcomed.
The infant was kissed, toasted, hug
ged, fattered and talked to, and the
day passed without calamity. Along
toward o'clock in the afternoon Mr..
Congdon telephoned that his firm had
given him an errand to do, and that
the wife must make her way home
alone. This brought Ethel to the
front. She would not only accompany
her sister to the depot in the taxi,
but take the train home with her and
hold that "darlingest' on her lap all
the way 1t was settled at once that
this should be the program, and at a
certain hour it was carried out. That
is, the two ladies' and the young prod |
ICY were landed at the Chestnut street |
train and thirty minutes too early for
another.
The ladies' waiting room, of course, |
was the only place left to them. After |
buy ticket for Ethel, having her own |
return in her purse. She met friends |
and stopped to chat-the history of
the baby had to be told. She was
proud of the opportunity to tell it.
Time was passing and Aunt Ethel |
became impatient. More time passed, |
and she became alarmed. She picked |
up the sleeping baby and walked out |
ter. Just then young man waiting |
for train tainted away. Some said
IT was case of love, and some that he |
had a weak heart. A crowd gathered. |
on fire. He lied about it, but his OBJ
ject was praiseworthy. He wanted to
add to the excitement, and he certain
1y did.
Young Aunt Ethel was impetuous
and excitable. Down went baby on a
vacant seat, ard away rushed the care
taker. She spent ten minutes looking
at the young man and rushing around
to find where the fire was, and was
then taken by the arm by her sister
and rushed for the train, and they were
to move. They had found a seat when
they suddenly missed something and
cried out in chorus:
my stars. but where is baby?"
If Miss Ethel Huntington hadn't
been SO excited when she laid baby
down she might have noticed Paul
Ashley sitting close by. She would
have pronounced him young man of
well dressed and a gentleman. She
could have figured that he was there
to take train, but would have had
to guess that he was civil engineer.
Yes, he sat there, and he saw baby
dumped down and knew that the ex-
element had called its attendant away.
He moved one seat nearer the infant,
instead of three seats further away, as
many a young man would have done,
and he. said to himself, referring to
Miss Ethel:
''she isn't the mother. or she'd never
have done that. and she's too good ]
looking and well dressed for a nurse
girl. Couldn't have brought the kid
here to abandon it. Not old enough to
be so hardened. Probably come back ,
In five minutes. Hal There she gees for ,
the train with another lady! Clear case,
and the kid goes to a founding hoTne!" | ,
But it didn't. 1t awoke and smiled
at the man bending over it. He sn1il-
ed back. Then a woman came up and
blushed and laughed and said:
you9" the 'i"N '4s'0 game
'swha. do you mean?"
''She's put it off on your hands and
going to do about it? She played the
game rather neatly"
Mr.. Ashley resented that word
mink" In fact. he resented the wom-
he knew people quite well, young as
he was, and he was ready to swear that {
the leaving of the child was a blunder.
IF you want to hand it back on her
can help you, continued the woman
with the same sarcastic smile. There
was another woman with her. and she
went away to buy a ticket for Blank
vile, 90 miles out. That's where they t
rave gone together"
'And that's where I'll follow" said d
Mr. Ashley. 1T think can get it there v
all right"
sure. You are a young man of n
spunk- L has a nurSing bottle here, 6
nd If it cries. you feed 1t.
When the baby was missed by its :
mother and. aunt the train was under ,
full Roadway. The railroad company
soesn't stop and back up its trains for
st babies The only way was to get a
IF at the first station. seven miles out, i v
nd send telegram to the depot mas-I
er and follow 1t by the first train An =