Laura Lee Hope

“ Mother, why don’t you get me a big green umbrella like hers?” he asked.
“I’m afraid the wind would blow you away with it,” laughed Mrs. Bobbsey, as, with Bert and Nan, she looked out at the person Flossie and Freddie were speaking of. “Poor old lady!” murmured Mrs. Bobbsey.
The old woman making her way up the street amid the storm, carrying on one arm a large, square market basket covered with a black cloth, as if to keep whatever was inside dry from the pelting rain, did, indeed, seem a strange figure. ”

“ RESCUED “What is it, Daddy?” asked Bert, who had also been awakened, more by Nan’s voice than by the noise in the night. “What is it?” he inquired again.
“Nan heard something. I guess we can all hear it now,” answered Mr. Bobbsey, as the sound of breaking twigs, branches and underbrush told of some large body advancing.
“Do you think it could be a—bear?” faltered Nan.
“Of course not,” laughed her father. “There are no bears in these woods. It may be another auto coming, breaking its way along a narrow road.” ”

“ Down pelted the rain so hard that, as Nan had said, the umbrellas were of little use. The wind blew the wet drops under them. But the children rather enjoyed it, and Flossie and Freddie squealed with delight when Bert carried them across puddles at the gutters, the barefooted boy wading boldly through the muddy water.
“Are you soaked, children?” asked Mrs. Bobbsey, when they reached home. “And Bert—barefooted!”
“It’s a good thing I am,” said Bert, “else my shoes would be spoiled. I had to carry Flossie and Freddie over a lot of puddles. Their feet aren’t so awful wet.” ”

“ No one ever to have cared for her save the queer old woman with the green umbrella!
“I wonder where that woman is now,” thought Nan, as she listened to the breathing of Baby May. As Dinah had said, her “breeves” were quieter, now that the medicine had its effect. But she still looked ill, Nan thought, as she tenderly touched one dimpled hand with a finger.
Outside in the yard below the bedroom window Flossie and Freddie could be heard at their play. They made only a little noise—not enough to waken the baby. ”

“ Look! Nan’s taking her out of the cradle!” And Nan was doing just this.
“Pooh! don’t you think I know how to hold a baby?” asked Nan.
“You might if you had a net under you, like the man in the circus, so she wouldn’t hit the floor if you dropped her,” chuckled Bert.
“Pooh! you think you’re smart, don’t you?” sneered Nan. This was as near as she and Bert ever came to having a fuss.
“Now, children,” chided Mrs. Bobbsey gently, “be polite, please!”
“But what are we going to do with the baby?” asked Mr. Bobbsey. ”

“ Presently there was a rumble of thunder, not so loud, however, but that Mrs. Bobbsey heard the ringing of the front doorbell at the same time.
“I wonder who that is at this time of night, and out in all this storm,” she said to herself, as she arose and walked through the front hall. Before she reached the door she heard the patter of bare feet in the upper hall.
“Mother, did you hear the bell ring?” asked Freddie.
“I heard it! I haven’t been asleep yet,” called Flossie. “Is that daddy come home? I want to kiss him!”
“No, it can’t be your father—he has a key,” said Mrs. Bobbsey. ”

“ When Flossie and Freddie caught sight of their brother, they stopped running, feeling sure he could and would save Baby May.
Bert’s whistle died away when he caught sight of the dashing, runaway horses and saw them swaying the empty wagon from side to side. Several men and boys were racing after the runaways, shouting, as if that would stop them. Other men and boys dashed out in front, waving their hats and arms, which only frightened the horses the more. ”

“ Bobbsey, “what did the old woman want?”
“She wanted to take Baby May back!” said Nan promptly.
“I guess she’s sorry she gave her away,” added Bert.
“It’s hard to guess a reason for her strange acts,” observed Mr. Bobbsey. “If she wanted to get rid of the baby, why, now, does she want the child back?”
“I don’t want to lose Baby May,” said Mrs. Bobbsey softly. “I have grown to love her too much. But of course if her real father and mother wanted her I would be glad to give her up. But I don’t believe that old woman is her mother. Do you, Daddy?” she asked her husband. ”

“ Happy were the days the Bobbsey twins spent at Pine Hill. Not only were there cows, to Freddie’s delight, but there were sheep and horses, besides ducks and chickens.
Freddie never tired of watching the ducks swim, and once he fell into a mud puddle as he tried to fasten a long string to one of the ducks. The string was tied to a boat Freddie had made, and he wanted the duck to pull it. My, you should have seen Freddie after he fell into the duck pond! Oh, so muddy and wet! ”

“ Bobbsey, and then she clapped her hand over her mouth, for she had, in her excitement, spoken so loudly that she was afraid of waking the infant. “Why, Richard Bobbsey!” she went on in a whisper, “you wouldn’t turn a helpless little baby like May over to a lot of men police, would you?”
“Well, of course I didn’t mean exactly that,” he murmured. “But we can’t keep her—she belongs to some one else—and the police will know what to do with her. You always give abandoned babies to the police.” ”

“ To study outside the classroom! What a change! Miss Riker led forth the boys and girls, and, as they left the school yard, marching two by two as they did at fire drill, the teacher further surprised her pupils by saying:
“You may talk all you wish, but I’d rather you would talk about something connected with geography. If any of you see a brook that looks like a little river, tell the rest of us.”
More wonders! To be allowed to go out of the classroom in school hours and then to talk! The children could hardly believe it. Miss Riker heard Nan Bobbsey and Nellie Parks timidly whispering. ”

“ He always used to be fighting and quarreling. Say, Nan, it’s raining like cats and dogs!”
“Worse than that!” sighed Nan. “I hope Flossie and Freddie won’t get soaked.”
“Didn’t they bring umbrellas?” Bert wanted to know. “If they didn’t—”
“Oh, yes, they brought their little ones. I saw mother call them back and make them take them,” replied Nan Bobbsey. “But even a big umbrella isn’t much good in this storm. The wind blows terribly! I’m going to wait in the lower hall for Flossie and Freddie.” ”

“ So, as soon as she walked away, the carriage, with Baby May in it, started to roll toward the street at the point where there was a slanting place to allow Mr. Bobbsey’s automobile to come up over the curbstone.
Down into the street rolled the carriage with the sleeping baby in it, going faster and faster. And up the street, running very fast, came a team of horses hitched to an empty coal wagon. The rumble of the big wagon made Flossie and Freddie, pushing in order to open the gate, look around.
“Oh, look!” shouted Freddie. “It’s a runaway! There’s nobody in the wagon!” ”

“ The Bobbsey twins, talking of the big storm and the new baby, reached school. Before entering the yard where the other children were at play, Bert said:
“Now, Flossie and Freddie, don’t say anything about the baby.”
“Why not?” Flossie asked. “I was going to tell Mary Holmes. She’s got a baby at her house an’ she’s always saying we haven’t any. Now I can tell her we have!”
“No, don’t say anything about it,” warned Bert. “Mother and daddy might not like it. Wait until we find out who the baby belongs to. Now mind, Flossie and Freddie, don’t tell any of your friends about the baby.” ”

“ Bert said, laughing.
“Oh, could we do that? Could we put on our bathing suits?” begged Freddie.
“Please!” begged Flossie, who was all over her crying spell caused by having been hit on the head when the ironing board fell.
“No, indeed!” laughed Mrs. Bobbsey. “This isn’t summer yet. The rain is a cold one. I hope your father doesn’t get drenched. But what made your elevated railroad fall, Bert?”
“Oh, I guess Flossie or Freddie moved one of the chairs when they crawled under the ironing board to make believe they were under a bridge,” the boy answered. ”

“ A gust of wind would send the door swinging back after some child had tried to close it, and the water would streak across the floor, leaving little puddles.
“It’s a regular flood!” laughed Bert, as he and his sister waited for the smaller twins, who studied in another room, which had not yet been dismissed.
“There’ll be a lot of puddles on the way home,” remarked Nan.
“Say, do you know what I’m going to do?” asked Bert, as he saw Danny Rugg and Charlie Mason going out arm in arm, the better to fit under one small umbrella. ”

“ I suppose Baby May is too young to be taken to the seashore,” she added, for by this time every one in Lakeport knew about the little foundling who had been left on the Bobbsey doorstep.
“Yes, I suppose so,” agreed Nan. “But we’ll go away somewhere, I’m sure. Good-bye, May!”
“Good-bye,” May answered, as she turned down her street.
“I’m going to ask mother if I can wheel Baby May out in the baby carriage,” said Flossie, as she and her sister and brother neared home.
“You’ll have to be very careful, and stay right in front of the house,” cautioned Nan. “We don’t want any more runaways.” ”

“ She ought not to be allowed at large with a baby!”
“Will she—will she hurt Baby May?” asked Flossie, alarmed by her father’s excitement.
Then, as his wife made him a signal to be more careful, so as not to frighten the children, Mr. Bobbsey said:
“Oh, no, I don’t believe the old woman will hurt May. She must love her a great deal to want to take her away. But anybody who will leave an infant on the steps in a thunder storm shouldn’t be allowed to have charge of children. I’ll get the police after her at once.” ”

“ Just then the telephone rang.
“It’s your father,” announced Mrs. Bobbsey, after listening a moment. “He says,” she went on, “that he has to go to Menton on some business in the auto, and he wants to know if you two would like to ride with him,” and she looked at Bert and Nan. Flossie and Freddie were out in the yard playing.
“Oh, would we!” cried Nan, clasping her hands in joyful anticipation. “When is he coming?”
“I’d rather ride with dad than play ball,” declared Bert. ”

“ Bobbsey. “Take good care of that basket and everything in it. It’s an abandoned baby, all right. And are you sure this basket was the one the strange old lady had?”
“Sure,” declared Bert.
“And she had a green umbrella and a faded shawl,” added Nan.
“Hum! The police ought to be able to trace her through that description,” said Mr. Bobbsey.
“Are you going to have the baby arrested?” demanded Flossie. “I think that’s mean!” and she looked sharply at her father.
“Oh, no; of course not, my dear!” said Mrs. Bobbsey. “Daddy means the police must try to find to whom the baby belongs. ”

“ That’s just like a girl—telling everything! What do you know about that!” and Bert turned to Danny Rugg.
“Sure! That’s right! Girls can’t keep a secret!” declared Danny.
“We can so—if we want to!” exclaimed Nan. “Anyhow, it would have to be known about the baby when father told the police.”
“Oh—all right—there’s no use worrying about it now,” and Bert walked off, shaking his head and talking with Danny Rugg about girls that couldn’t keep a secret.
After all no harm was done, since Mr. Bobbsey wanted the story known, as that might help find Baby May’s parents. ”

“ But, as the train had gone on to Miles Junction before the conductor received the telegram, the old woman might have disappeared again.
“Do you think she lives in Hankertown?” asked Nan, as the automobile dashed along the country road.
“She may,” answered Mr. Bobbsey. “Even if she doesn’t, some one there will be sure to know her and we can find out about her from them. At least I hope so.”
“I do, too,” murmured Nan. “But I love Baby May!”
“She’s awfully cute!” exclaimed Bert. “You ought to see her grab hold of my nose! She holds on so tight!” ”

“ Bobbsey did not want to go too far back lest he get in a worse place than near the great stone.
“Well, we seem to be in the midst of a deserted wilderness,” he said, as once more he drove the car back to the big stone. “I guess we’d better stay here.”
“Oh! All night?” faltered Nan.
“Well, it won’t be light until morning,” her father said, with a laugh. “And we’d only get more confused and lost, if that’s possible, traveling in the darkness. Cheer up, little girl, it won’t be so bad!”
“I think it will be sport!” declared Bert. “We can sleep in the car, and we’ve got something to eat. ”

“ I’ll give her some new medicine,” and he began to write on one of his prescription blanks.
“What’s jaundice, Mother?” asked Nan, when the doctor was gone. “Did I ever have it?”
“Yes, you had it, and you turned as yellow as saffron, so Dinah said. As a rule, it isn’t anything serious. Little babies often have it. Their stomachs get out of order. But I will need to have this medicine brought from the drug store.”
“I’ll get it,” offered Bert.
“I’ll go with you,” said Nan.
“We’ll go, too,” chimed in Flossie and Freddie. ”