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Page 10
[Illustration: DOTTY IN THE CARS. Page 44.]
"Hurry, you!" said he to Dotty, with juvenile impatience. "I can't stand
any more of this nonsense."
Dotty did hurry; but before she received the baby again he had been well
shaken, and his temper was aroused; he objected to being punished for
such a harmless amusement as uprooting a little hair. There was one
thing certain: if his eyes were small, his lungs were large enough, and
perfectly sound.
Startled by his lusty cries, his mamma opened one of her eyes, but
immediately closed it again when she saw that Dotty was bending all the
powers of her mind to the effort of soothing "the cherub."
"I do wish my dear mamma _was_ travelling with us," thought the
perplexed little girl. "She wouldn't 'low me to hold this naughty,
naughty baby forever 'n' ever! Because, you know, she never'd go off to
the other end of the car and talk pol'tics."
The little girl chirruped, cooed, and sang; all in vain. She danced the
baby "up, up, up, and down, down, downy," till its blue cloak was
twisted like a shaving. Still it cried, and its unnatural mother refused
to hear.
"I never'll hold another baby as long's I live. When ladies come to our
house, I'll look and see if they've brought one, and if they have I'll
always run up stairs and hide."
As a last resort, she gave the little screamer some pop-corn. Why not?
It refused to be comforted with other devices. How should she know that
it was unable to chew, and was in the habit of swallowing buttons,
beads, and other small articles whole?
Baby clutched at the puffy white kernels, and crowed. It knew now, for
the first time, what it had been crying for. There was a moment of
peace, during which Master Freddie pushed a handful of corn as far as
the trap-door which opened into his throat. Then there was a struggle, a
gasp, a throwing up of the little hands; the trap-door had opened, but
the corn had not dropped through; there was not space enough. In other
words, Freddy was choking.
The young nurse was so frightened that she almost let the small sufferer
slip out of her arms. She screamed so shrilly that half a dozen people
started from their seats to see what was the matter. Of course the
sleepy woman was awake in a moment. All she said, as she took the child
out of Dotty's arms, was this:--
"You good-for-nothing, careless little thing! Don't you know any better
than to choke my baby?"
As Dotty really supposed the little one's last hour had come, and she
herself had been its murderess, her distress and terror are not to be
told. She paced the aisle, wringing her hands, while Mrs. Lovejoy put
her finger down Freddie's throat and patted his back.
In a very short time the mischief was undone; the child caught its
breath, and blinked its little watery eyes, while its face faded from
deep magenta to its usual color of dough.
Dotty was immensely relieved.
"Bess its 'ittle heart," cried Mrs. Lovejoy, pressing it close to her
travelling-cape, while several of the passengers looked on, quite
interested in the scene. "Did the naughty, wicked girlie try to choke
its muzzer's precious baby? We'll w'ip her; so we will! She shan't come
near my lovey-dovey with her snarly hair."
Mrs. Lovejoy's remarks pricked like a nosegay of thistles. They were not
only sharp in themselves, but they were uttered with such evident
displeasure that every word stung.
Dotty was creeping away with her head down, her "snarly hair" veiling
her sorrowful eyes, when she remembered her hat, and meekly asked Mrs.
Lovejoy to restore it.
"Take it," was the ungracious reply, "and don't you ever offer to hold
another baby till you have a little common sense."
Dotty walked away with her fingers in her mouth, more angry than
grieved, and conscious that all eyes were upon her.
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