LITERATURE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7801, 18 April 1905, Page 4

LITERATURE.

BECTEN SAUWK'«'BABY. (Continued).

& Salmon turned round in his chair, I g' ana his chin sank' <» his greasy | §' black cravat. He- stared at the fire, I and listened to the hard woodent F sticking of the clock-on the mantelir' shelf. &"' Step-step, step-step, step-step, it E seemed to: sajf. You i are not ; ;walk- %■' ins along the lift*. Reuben Salmon; r the path is gliding under your feet, % while you simply mark-time. Steps' Btep, step—. Don't bother to ">oR If- bnck-Hhere is no one behind you ; sr you h»ve the way to yourself. You gi-- canlt stop, you can't stop, you can t %■• stop. I am marking off the yards | tor you, inch by inch, fo 0 t by foot. t. J havb never made a mistake. C if 1 stop I pick up the right numt her again- Don't look back, the jii .way is empty. fc, Salmon left his bread and cheese, kl" and crouched over the fire.. i> ■■•-•■•■ • •

fe* It was past twelve, the Are was .£"- out and Sal'maod dozed in his chair.; ss-' Suddenly- a- bell rang within the

JL. room—tinkling at first, then ringing 1"-- out loud, startling'. 's*. the-bolt noiselessly, and E^opened the door a few inches very SrL." cautiously. He lived alone in a law and kept money on a s; known t(? do so ,•• W and he aeeded to ho camtious. p: "• Who's there ?" he said thickly, 5 seeing ao one. He looked down and » perceived an .oblong, (box on the step. EL' He regarded it unemotionally for a sir' few seconds, without speaking or t moving. Then he opened the door a a? little bit wider, and, thrusting out <J- „his toot, gave the box a gentle, neis &'• vous push. It contained something. *Z - "Strange," hdlmittered, "strange/* jk? Left on the doorstep thus it was , £-'.- evidently meant for him. It might £'; be all right, /©r if it wore ruhMsh 6 ho coirhl fling H out in the street &., again. j£ He stooped cautiously' and examinjT"' ed it, finding that-it was'of wood, J.-' with a Jooec lid secured by cord. Ho *, tilted it on one side, wondering if Frf it bore an inscription.., Good heav- <„ ens, something in it moved'!' "p His mind working quickly in w.ojlf •,*-. deaful speculations, the" box %■■' into the shop, closed and bolted the H? Boor, and oarried the box into- the i<-_ parlour. He gazed at it resolutely %■■ tor a' few moments, then slipped off f the cording, turned'-' back a small it' blanket, and saw a little babe, a f Utile babe, a jl, It pucEered up its face, turned its g-* head round to avoid the light which >'"• feH upon it and evidently dazzled it. &r It did not cry ; it evinced no fear. U joy, nor surprise. And Salmon star- »; ed at it, utterly confounded by the C storm of ins emotions. Then, growjfe tag accustomed to the light, it openli ed its mouth wide., forced a fat fist

-into it, fixed its dyes on Salmon's ',. blank face, and commenced kicking. You .can't .jstop, you can't-- stop, '- you can't stop, said the clack quite }► irrelevantly—unless it was address- |" lag the baby girl, in which case it '_" jras vastly mistaken.

BgV Salmon awoke next morning be-' jfore daybreak to find a nine months' fife "j; >oH baby struggling and screaming at bosom. He was greatly distresK mi theaeby. So far motherhood had m, *ee«eaay ««i delJghUul to him '■■; to Wls laU asleep with a solf warm little Wf- iwdy in his arms, produced in blm, g; ft sense of pride and pleasure such g* jta he had never t experienced before. gig- Bui now ho was Confronted with the p*" problems, tho responsiWHtiesv the dlipii ifeulty .w.bjclj naturaHy besot unsold :--«)!«isticated mothers, for the' reason SJ Of this lackimj and screaming was babe wanted food, and gf-'- for the,lite/of him he could net think to give or how to give it. EviC /Common sanso told him that unlK »-J»aß the. light ithfug^iknowletige l of ?,y M impurities' warned him against

" ■ In Ma. agitated min'd he ran over ,:- fho list..of things in the cupboard ■•wfts&rirs, and he pejected everything antif he was left wit* the sin--4 . gle Item—milk. A foedlng-ootie - ho j, *a<l found amonff the clothing in ■ ;«*o box implied that the baby v.as !.V no longer dependent on her mother, ;V Md he had, of course, seen inuW' £ -Jmt babies taking tnijk out o> -- r- K tat bottle*. The reeqlhW : simi- > Sorted him, ..Uon couirvh He scrambled U1& c " Had downstairs. -of fced- and scur- ;. Wt Qftitep*' • and g*>t the m>lk F fed «* t' jrio "f cupboard. He st> ? ■» fc '<* "It were sweet, it ;■' s«>»* -«»t w«i»very coW, *e thought; > *A enough to shock the warm, tatfe- rier litifo body whose l Ms ty erics' , ; - flooded down the. staircase, exciting ?, , hiui. He was undef - cided whic*, would- bo worse—to give £ ~ Ihe mi* cold or Keep the baby waitU- S * n fc screan > iß g'. while he warmed it. IK .* ew *' ■***• ' il the : n*gM)burs heard £_, those cries, he thought. It was disPv gifccefulfit was a crime, an outrage that a man of his age should have &i- £ Swung baby dumped down upon jjf, Ms doorstep— a poor, wee -mite, % prhose life might be forfeited by his f > ignorance ! It was awful te> think jj», itait the child's life hung &h the bali I".- mnee while he was 'deciding, between p hoi aari cold milk.-

£• •* Spirt the difference !•" he ejacup- lated, with inspiration, and darted p - iirto Hie coW kitchen. He lit a gus- **■ ring, and wijen the milk was warm, £ be -waddled- upstairs with it, the ta:ls |;,. ' of fl)i nightshirt flapping -at his g' base ankles. The baby's cries smote f olm in waves as he ascended. but| £Z- tie warm food soothed her, and she & - won (bll off to sleep again with the &.. Comforter between her tu-e<l lips. *s.~ Altßougb.it atas..-ifeui' dark, he

PT quietly dressed, and <piietly he knelt '■ *j6wn a't the bed«k]e, with his big, "£- ■ fleshy bead bowed to the East, he gjr thanked God—won liis Uad; the ' Ood WPlz Of every Mtffle chiM, for this—this—|J< this !Aod he prayed Ood—even his g of every lonely, old. ||~ " «nan, to let him keep her—keep her—- & ■ oqdy. only let hfm keep her • B; - At eight o'clock the shop bell |, rang, and he admitted a youth «E £... pronounced Hebrew type, who came &p- daily to assist him in Uie shop. Kv "Isaac," sahl Salmon, in a stately; jwhisper. ',* I shan't open toKtay, but, |fc. I Jshall want yon all the sain*. T fe,- (Brant—er—you— er—to do—er—one or. two things for me. Be quiet as you fi|i, _ can. an' come in 'arc."

--; - He led the way into the parlour ; : , bod picked up a newspaper, turning S to a paragraph he had been readp ™g over his breakfast. ' .'■• I want *MJmi H&° ' an buy me a *°ok. my I lTw/ite the name down on a m- fff of papcr ' Ma rsh's may 'avc it. get it elsewhere, if they 'avert't RJ*** if you 'avc to go hito the B'S ty forit " eres l * rco a " "'"PPiii-c KT'S? I ? > ' ! >ou w 9n't want al! that : hj, "Bake three shillings." * He ioWcd up the slip of paiwr, £' **H K avc «t "»*6 Isaac's hand r _22* 5^ Ul P ro »PUy opened it. and t :j s?\;.. -* dvi «e to a Mother,' by ..Dr. Chcvassc." kv- Bafanaod turneS away to euaapc |fe..t»P youth a inquiring glance. WsCJ* °* W ick " s yo" can, mv box • mmt>-**>- yon can keep the change." IBaJUWid qwricwaiffly. " Oh, a n'. Isaac

dise Dwellings, an- find out if Mr Burton's there—anything you can absut 'dm." . , By six o'clock that evening Salmon had disburses the better part of a sovereign on various necessaries f«r the young stronger, and sworn Isaac solemnly to secrecy, and arrived at the conclusion that the baby he had put to sleep in a wickercradle beside his own bed was ths child of his 'defaulting debtor, Kmton. . . Isaac's inquiries at Paradise Dwellings had elicited the information that Barton had disappeared after taKing his baby girl out of the care of a woman who had previously consented to lake charge of it for " a weekly trifle." He had fetched the lyaby and gone to his home; had been seen to emerge from his homo jwith the baby wrapped closely in a blanket, and an hour laiter to return without it. And during the night ho had mysteriously left the with his few bits of furniture. . Other facts tended to convince bal- , mmi that he had adopted Burton's child. Their ages and sex were the same. Then Burton had evinced a knowledge of Salmon's love for little children, and being a widower about to give up his homo and efface himself in order, to escape his debts might reasonably leave his baby in safer and tender hands. Salmon had faith in Burton's hoiiestv. He heartily wished he had not; He" wished Burton was the most inhuman father and the most ""scrupulous debtor who had ever eluded the law, because both traits would keop Him from claiming the little M- ! ing love that had come so strangely. and so suddenly into Jiis own monotonous life. Hut, against his inclinations, the old dealer believed Burton was a human father and an hoSst man, and dreaded the day when his Bebtor would walK into the shop, lay down the last instalment of the loan, and prove his claim to the baby whom Salmon had already grown lo love, and nicknamed 'Becca. Sa-Vroon heaved a deep sigh, and tried to bury himself in the pages of ■'.< Advice to a Mother." • » » •

Some months slipped by, and all the while baby 'Decca throve, in spite of Salmonf* exaggerated attentions anfl excessive devotion ; and hts business, like the cactus, flourished on neglect. Salmon was not satisfied that 'Becca was -fine, fat, and firm,; he wanted her to be something no baby on earth had ever yet been, and he absorbed the teachings of Dr. 'Choi assiduously to that end, although he was already fully satisfied that 'Becca was quite unique in many ways.

I But, of course, motherhood had its disadvantages, and was very expeivsive. He had been compelled to engage the services of a charlng-wo-nran, Mrs Martin, to do work about the house—work he had hod to nb. andon to give more time to 'Becca; and a girl came twice a day. when it was fine, to! talfe 'Becca out in a mailcart;, and Isaac had to have a larger salary, there was more for him to do in the shop. (To be Continued.) ...