Baby Mine

by Margaret Mayo

  CHAPTER XXI

  When Zoie's letter asking for the O'Flarety twin had reached that younglady's astonished mother, Mrs. O'Flarety felt herself suddenly lifted toa position of importance.

  "Think of the purty Mrs. Hardy a wantin' my little Bridget," sheexclaimed, and she began to dwell upon the romantic possibilities ofher offspring's future under the care of such a "foine stylish lady andconcluded by declaring it 'a lucky day entoirely.'"

  Jimmy had his misgivings about it being Bridget's "LUCKY day," but itwas not for him to delay matters by dwelling upon the eccentricitiesof Zoie's character, and when Mrs. O'Flarety had deposited Bridget inJimmy's short arms and slipped a well filled nursing bottle into hisovercoat pocket, he took his leave hastily, lest the excited woman addBridget's twin to her willing offering.

  Once out of sight of the elated mother, Jimmy thrust the defencelessBridget within the folds of his already snug ulster, buttoned thegarment in such places as it would meet, and made for the taxi which,owing to the upset condition of the street, he had been obliged toabandon at the corner.

  Whether the driver had obtained a more promising "fare" or been runin by the police, Jimmy never knew. At any rate it was in vain that helooked for his vehicle. So intense was the cold that it was impossibleto wait for a chance taxi; furthermore, the meanness of the districtmade it extremely unlikely that one would appear, and glancing guiltilybehind him to make sure that no one was taking cognisance of his strangeexploit, Jimmy began picking his way along dark lanes and avoiding thelighted thoroughfare on which the "Sherwood" was situated, until he waswithin a block of his destination.

  Panting with haste and excitement, he eventually gained courage todash through a side street that brought him within a few doors of the"Sherwood." Again glancing behind him, he turned the well lighted cornerand arrived beneath Zoie's window to find one shade up and one down. Inhis perplexity he emitted a faint whistle. Immediately he saw the othershade lowered. Uncertain as to what arrangement he had actually madewith Zoie, he ventured a second whistle. The result was a hystericalrunning up and down of the shade which left him utterly bewildered as towhat disposition he was supposed to make of the wobbly bit of humanitypressed against his shirt front.

  Reaching over his artificially curved figure to grasp a bit of whitethat trailed below his coat, he looked up to see a passing policemaneyeing him suspiciously.

  "Taking the air?" asked the policeman.

  "Ye-yes," mumbled Jimmy with affected nonchalence and he knocked theheels of his boots together in order to keep his teeth from chattering."It's a fi-fine ni-night for air," he stuttered.

  "Is it?" said the policeman, and to Jimmy's horror, he saw the fellow'seyes fix themselves on the bit of white.

  "Go-good-night," stammered Jimmy hurriedly, and trying to assume aneasy stride in spite of the uncomfortable addition to his already rotundfigure, he slipped into the hotel, where avoiding the lighted elevator,he laboured quickly, up the stairs.

  At the very moment when Zoie was driving Alfred in consternation fromthe room, Jimmy entered it uninvited.

  "Get out," was the inhospitable greeting received simultaneously fromZoie and Aggie, and without waiting for further instructions he "got."

  Fortunately for all concerned, Alfred, who was at the same momentdeparting by way of the bedroom door, did not look behind him; but itwas some minutes before Aggie who had followed Jimmy into the hall couldpersuade him to return.

  After repeated and insistent signals both from Aggie and Zoie, Jimmy'sround red face appeared cautiously around the frame of the door. It boreunmistakable indications of apoplexy. But the eyes of the women were notupon Jimmy's face, they too had caught sight of the bit of white thathung below his coat, and dragging him quickly into the room and closingthe door, Aggie proceeded without inquiry or thanks to unbutton his coatand to take from beneath it the small object for which she and Zoie hadbeen eagerly waiting.

  "Thank Heaven!" sighed Zoie, as she saw Aggie bearing the latestacquisition to Alfred's rapidly increasing family safely toward thecrib.

  Suddenly remembering something in his right hand coat pocket, Jimmycalled to Aggie, who turned to him and waited expectantly. Aftercharacteristic fumbling, he produced a well filled nursing bottle.

  "What's that?" asked Zoie.

  "For HER," grunted Jimmy, and he nodded toward the bundle in Aggie'sarms.

  "HER!" cried Zoie and Aggie in chorus. Zoie shut her lips hard and gazedat him with contempt.

  "I might have known you'd get the wrong kind," she said.

  What Jimmy thought about the ingratitude of woman was not to beexpressed in language. He controlled himself as well as he could andmerely LOOKED the things that he would like to have said.

  "Well, it can't be helped now," decided the philosophic Aggie; "here,Jimmy," she said, "you hold 'HER' a minute and I'll get you the otherone."

  Placing the small creature in Jimmy's protesting arms, Aggie turnedtoward the cradle to make the proposed exchange when she was startled bythe unexpected return of Alfred.

  Thanks to the ample folds of Jimmy's ulster, he was able to effectuallyconceal his charge and he started quickly toward the hall, but in makingthe necessary detour around the couch he failed to reach the door beforeAlfred, who had chosen a more direct way.

  "Hold on, Jimmy," exclaimed Alfred good-naturedly, and he laid adetaining hand on his friend's shoulder. "Where are you going?"

  "I'll be back," stammered Jimmy weakly, edging his way toward the door,and contriving to keep his back toward Alfred.

  "Wait a minute," said Alfred jovially, as he let his hand slip ontoJimmy's arm, "you haven't told me the news yet."

  "I'll tell you later," mumbled Jimmy, still trying to escape. ButAlfred's eye had fallen upon a bit of white flannel dangling belowthe bottom of Jimmy's ulster, it travelled upward to Jimmy's unusuallyrotund figure.

  "What have you got there?" he demanded to know, as he pointed toward thecentre button of Jimmy's overcoat.

  "Here?" echoed Jimmy vapidly, glancing at the button in question, "why,that's just a little----" There was a faint wail from the depths ofthe ulster. Jimmy began to caper about with elephantine tread. "Oochie,coochie, oochie," he called excitedly.

  "What's the matter with you?" asked Alfred. The wail became a shriek."Good Heavens!" cried the anxious father, "it's my boy." And with thathe pounced upon Jimmy, threw wide his ulster and snatched from his armsJimmy's latest contribution to Zoie's scheme of things.

  As Aggie had previously remarked, all young babies look very much alike,and to the inexperienced eye of this new and overwrought father, therewas no difference between the infant that he now pressed to his breast,and the one that, unsuspected by him, lay peacefully dozing in the crib,not ten feet from him. He gazed at the face of the newcomer with thesame ecstasy that he had felt in the possession of her predecessor. ButZoie and Aggie were looking at each other with something quite differentfrom ecstasy.

  "My boy," exclaimed Alfred, with deep emotion, as he clasped the tinycreature to his breast. Then he turned to Jimmy. "What were you doingwith my baby?" he demanded hotly.

  "I--I was just taking him out for a little walk!" stammered Jimmy.

  "You just try," threatened Alfred, and he towered over the intimidatedJimmy. "Are you crazy?"

  Jimmy was of the opinion that he must be crazy or he would never havefound himself in such a predicament as this, but the anxious faces ofZoie and Aggie, denied him the luxury of declaring himself so. He sankmutely on the end of the couch and proceeded to sulk in silence.

  As for Aggie and Zoie, they continued to gaze open-mouthed at Alfred,who was waltzing about the room transported into a new heaven of delightat having snatched his heir from the danger of another night ramble withJimmy.

  "Did a horrid old Jimmy spoil his 'itty nap'?" he gurgled to Baby. Thenwith a sudden exclamation of alarm, he turned toward the anxious women."Aggie!" he cried, as he stared intently into Baby's face. "Look--hisrash! It's turned IN!"

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bsp; Aggie pretended to glance over Alfred's shoulder.

  "Why so it has," she agreed nervously.

  "What shall we do?" cried the distraught Alfred.

  "It's all right now," counselled Aggie, "so long as it didn't turn intoo suddenly."

  "We'd better keep him warm, hadn't we?" suggested Alfred, rememberingAggie's previous instructions on a similar occasion. "I'll put him inhis crib," he decided, and thereupon he made a quick move toward thebassinette.

  Staggering back from the cradle with the unsteadiness of a drunken manAlfred called upon the Diety. "What is THAT?" he demanded as he pointedtoward the unexpected object before him.

  Neither Zoie, Aggie, nor Jimmy could command words to assist Alfred'srapidly waning powers of comprehension, and it was not until he hadswept each face for the third time with a look of inquiry that Zoiefound breath to stammer nervously, "Why--why--why, that's the OTHERone."

  "The other one?" echoed Alfred in a dazed manner; then he turned toAggie for further explanation.

  "Yes," affirmed Aggie, with an emphatic nod, "the other one."

  An undescribable joy was dawning on Alfred's face.

  "You don't mean----" He stared from the infant in his arms to the one inthe cradle, then back again at Aggie and Zoie. The women solemnly noddedtheir heads. Even Jimmy unblushingly acquiesced. Alfred turned towardZoie for the final confirmation of his hopes.

  "Yes, dear," assented Zoie sweetly, "that's Alfred."

  What Jimmy and the women saw next appeared to be the dance of a whirlingdervish; as a matter of fact, it was merely a man, mad with delight,clasping two infants in long clothes and circling the room with them.

  When Alfred could again enunciate distinctly, he rushed to Zoie's sidewith the babes in his arms.

  "My darling," he exclaimed, "why didn't you tell me?"

  "I was ashamed," whispered Zoie, hiding her head to shut out the sightof the red faces pressed close to hers.

  "My angel!" cried Alfred, struggling to control his complicatedemotions; then gazing at the precious pair in his arms, he cast his eyesdevoutly toward heaven, "Was ever a man so blessed?"

  Zoie peeped from the covers with affected shyness.

  "You love me just as much?" she queried.

  "I love you TWICE as much," declared Alfred, and with that he sankexhausted on the foot of the bed, vainly trying to teeter one son oneach knee.