Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1925-05-01
THE
PATERNAL
INSTINCT
% by Short story Pub, Co.
By MAURICE B. PHIPPs

in any family, particularly where
young babies and new fathers are
concerned Read what happened
to this father.
--HE darkness of late afternoon,
the swlrling snow, and the eccen-
tric gyrations of wind-battered
umbrella, all combined to prevent
Mr.. Lemuel Topper from noticing, UNI
til his foot was on the doorstep, any
thing out of the ordinary in the APP
pearance of his front porch.
And 1t really was not the appear
ance of the large market basket re-
posing serenely before his door which
startled him; 1t was the sounds when
emanated from it. There was no mis-
taking that muffied, plalntive wall.
Mr.. Tuppers own heir and pride had
reached the mature age OF four
months, and he instantly recognized
the insistent cry of a hungry baby.
Mr.. Tupper's first and natural In
stinct was to pick up that basket and
enter the house, and If, in the first
shock Of his discovery, he had not
dropped his latch key into the drifted
snow, undoubtedly he would have
obeyed that impulse. Before he found
the key, however, a sudden thought ar
rested him. What would Mabel sayf
So Lemuel hesitated, pulled nervous
ly at the thin wisp Of side whiskers
and gazsd frowningly at the uncon-
scious object at his feet. A tiuttering
envelope tied to the handle caught his
attention and he tore 1t off; then, hold
ing 1t so that the faint light from the
hall window could fall upon it, saw
that his name, in an unfamiliar hand
was written upon 1t. The note within,
though brief, was most decidedly ia
the point.
Lem DEAR" 1t began, and the tenn
perature of Lem DEAR" notwithstand
ing the snow-storm, approached th'
boiling point He Quivered with indig
nation.
Mr.. Upper was not a person to BIZ
addressed as Lem. His mother hat
called him Lemuel, only heaven knows
why, and Lemuel he had remained. Tt
his schoolmates he had been Lemuel
he was Lemuel to a few Of his bust
ness associates at the bank. his wife
addressed him as Lemuel, and only
one person In the entire world ever
called him anything else; that person
was Mrs. Tupper's brother, Roger.
To him Mr.. Upper was Lem, fire.
quently Lemmy. but even Roger halted
before Lem dear" was reached. AND
this, this person had the temerity-
Mr.. Tupper's attention returned to the
note.
Lem dear" he read, don't think too
unkindly of me for doing what / an
forced to do. You know how Difficult
IL has been for me to take care o
baby as he should be taken care of, bu
hard as It has been ! would not nov
give him up to you only ! am leavini
town tomorrow, and where / am going
II would be utterly impossible to ap
pear with a child, so l am leaving hin
with the one person upon whom he hai
claim. l am doing this for the best
as you will later realize. l know thai
you will love him and be kind to him
Perhaps some day you may have KIND
thought for me. Good-by, you will
probably never see me again.
Mr.. Upper stood motlonless. A
wall louder than before, galvanized
him into action. He seized the basket,
stumbled bllndly down the steps, and
fought his way through the storm to
ward the police station.
The desk sergeant looked up from
his evening paper as the door was
flung violently open and storm-tossed
individual with muttOn-chOp whiskers.
receding chin, and a large market
basket entered.
I'D evenin', Mr. Topper" he said.
whats wrongT
"This," Mr.. Upper exclaimed, as he
held out his basket, "thls is wrong. It's
its the most outrageous thing ever
heard Of It's monstrOus that re
spectacle citizen has no protection
against this sort of thing"
what sort of thing?" the sergeant
inquired, cycling the basket as though
he expected nothing less than the ex-
ploslon of an Internal machine. whats
In the basketT
"a baby!" Mr.. Upper cried, strik-
ing a theatrical pose. "A live baby
Some one left 1t on my porch. The
i,Ica of trying to folst such thing on
mel"
"Not yours, eh?" the sergeant que
rIed good naturally. "Warn't there no
letter with the young onef"
Letter" Mr.. Upper faltered, "let-
ter? Elmo. There was no letter
nothing"
What was the use Of telling this
amused police sergeant about the let
ter. 1t would, Mr.. Upper decided
only compllcate matters. Mr.. Tupper's
knowledge of the law regarding found
llngs was very hazy.
"what am to do with this babyf"
Leave 1t here" the sergeant re.
piled.
While Mr.. Upper had been enjoying
himself at the police station, the Gus
tOmary tranquility Of the Upper
household had been rudely Jolted into
II state Of the widest frenzy
Shortly after her husbands retreat
with the market basket, Mrs. Upper
appeared upon the scene. She had
been to n meeting Of the Mothers club,
her first since she had become eligible
for membership, and, consequently.
was impatient to return to the crlbslde
" her offspring.
HAS baby cried?" she asked Of he
brother. as she hurried ont Of he
snowy wraps "i'rp "'f gone lOng1