The Topeka state journal., 1919-12-01
Eoening Story
Nobody Wants q Baby.
By OLIVE ROBERTS BARTON.

BY OLIVE ROBERTS BARTON.
| When Philip McChesney parked his
car as usual in front of the building
in which he had his bachelor apart
ment. and stepped from the marble
lined corridor into the passenger ele-
Yator, he had no reason to believe that
the long lane of his life had come to
the proverbial turn.
| He was getting very tired of the
flane. AS he slipped his key into his
door 1t occurred to him he was doing
pretty much the same thing he had
been doing every afternoon for many
years and was likely to do for many
more.
Ny, how tired he was of the routine!
How sick he was of everything! How
different it would have been if Made
leine had consented to marry hims
! He was devoted to Madeleine-pretty.
Rwillful and altogether selfish Made
Ileine.
But what was the use of even think
| ing? She never would have him. She
had told him so a hundred times
| You see, Phil, we are too much
alike to be running mates she said
| I'VE both want a good time, but We
want it in our own way: neither Of
us would be willing to give in to the
other If you wanted to go to movie,
I'd want opera. If / chose Mrs. BIS
dinner you'd be sure to want some
y
some one different from myself. I'm
lsuch useless creature, you know. 1
Inever did a good turn for any one in
my life. Neither did you, now did
you? All you've ever done was to
tInake money. I'd like to think of my
husband as somebody unusual. It's SO
tordinary to be just rich.''
! Philips thoughts were getting too
unpleasant for further retrospection.
But he knew Madeleine was right. He
1r,1.r
every one was doing that now.
Every bank. firm of brokers and
bond company listed in the evening
| paper was gorging in riches. Tie
stores and shops were prcspering. too,
every one of them clearing an enor-
in the world but money?
! All, Yes! There was pleasure
i Money ard pleasure; that was all.
And on the front page OF the paper
| the different kinds of trouble result.
| ing from the mad pursuit OF both.
Suddenly he saw this unusual notice.
! IMPERIAL TEEATER
Fairbanks in THE Sportrman"
/ First Glass Vaudeville.
SPECIAL
To the holder of the lucky ticket
+ real. live baby will be given
| away. Eleven months old. Good
| parents.
| Don't Miss the Chance!
"Ridiculous." thougnt Phiiip. A
| I've baby. They Wouldn't u;-re 90
sucn Il thing. Bdt suppose tney dlu!
! w lao IN NewsTo ork woufu want a real,
| lve baby? A dog or monkey might
have a c4iance-out a baby! The rcd
slowly mounted to his temples. lie
was 1ond OF Children, unusually So OF
DaDies, and he round himseif getting
curiously excited over the thing
They no business raining off
baLy even il it could he uone ieg.1Iy.
But the worst of it was no one would
want it,
The lane of Philips Life was ap-
proachins a sharp cui~e at last, had
saIe known il 81 -,
nat "a ming found him sitting un-
easily thru ten reefs5 of filin and lstcn-
| ing to- half dozen vaudeviiie sketches.
in the very show house that au> ertised
| the bab! -he couldn't stay away-his
| Indignation and curiosity had grown
| by degrees Until now he was waiting
! for the lucEy Number to be read
The house WAS packed to its limit
| the s. r.. o. sigI had long been out
| yet a deathlike stiffness hung over the
| place as the numbers were read. The
tenth number out of the box was to
get Baby Marie.
| At last.
| Pits. called the man drawing the
| numbers. who has 2I05? Will the
| person holding 2I55 please step tnis
way"
Philip looked around curiously But
there was no response. No one seemed
| to have the number. Every one looked
at his neighbor. necks were craning
| all over the house. But no one stirred.
f.! II thought so." said everybody. No
| body wants a baby!"
| Il thought So" said Philip with the
rest mo one wants a baby
| His indignation began right here to
boil. 1t impelled him at last to get
up and start down the aisle. He
gained the stage by enormous strides
IF no one wants the baby I'll take
| it," ne said. Its an outrage, the
whole affair. But il the baby Is an
orphan and has no home I'll see that
lit gets one. I'm take it home and
raise 1T mye<if."
then. Altho It seemed no one wanted
the baby, the crowd was glad enough
/ to have some one eise play angel.
| The manager smiled down into Phil
| ip's earnest indignant eyes
Very good, young man. If you
| really mean what you say, suppose
you call at the st. stephen Children's
home tomorrow, here's the address,
and Baby Marie will be handed over
to you if the board of trustees is sa tis-
fled you are a responsible person. They
tried to find homes for q dozen little
| tots this week but weren't having very
good luck
Then it isn't Just a rattle" asked
/ Philip, relieved.
| Not exactly! Don't want to hedge,
do you?'' \
| Certainly not! I'll get the child to-