The Lost Baby

Up una down, high and low, orerywhere bout the house, und burn, and woodshed, n the garden and down the road by the ridge, the search was curried on with nxio'.is hearts and eager steps. Every ook and corner where even a niouse ould lii'li', was i.'xaniim'il over and over gain ; but no baby. The brook was low ; o low that baby inight have toddled over without hurdly wetting her ieet. There as no diinger there ; and yet tbr halt' a nile either side of the bridge the bed of e liitle stream wag thon.ughly scanned, o there could be no doubt left. Baby's mother, barthuadtd, with palo ace and trembling liiube, dUtrttctedly nirriod i'roin place to pin 00) currying in iet hand the Jittle white suiibonnet she md piok'd np ni-ar the dooistt i, the ouly liog that could Ikj t'uund beionging to ie missing diirhrifi. Xot half au hour beforo, baby had een pliijing in tho yard, oooing and alking to heiself, is sh nursod her ri oll, and watclud tho pigeons on th rooi " the burn. There were prints of ti:iy ioe in the moist soil by the gate, the aiks of ditty little fingt-ifi upon the hite palkifjt - mul that wnc all. The hot August sun was almost at its tttiDg, and the slmdows of the muplos ere tast lenfrthening. What if ni'ht ïould come and baby not be foutid r ■tl ix :i: wi f wuiuieiuig mi uh-i tiuti urtlicr away, while thoy were eeeking ïer? Wbat if the had bceu stolen, and ae even thoa calling upon hér niother o give hor '( ' Kaby ! " N o answer ; and tho niothcr's face grew hitf r unrl her liiubs weaker. " I shall nevor see her gain ! " he cried, nking down upon the steps of the pon-h. Never, ncver, ever ! And I ecolded her lis mormtifr. Oh, my little kunbl" "We shall find her yet," said old Mrs. ailey, soothingly. " She's got tirod nd uddled down to sleep some where. Or erhaps sho's off with some of thi neighors' childrcn." Buby'B mother shook her heiid. She cnew that wtw only said to comfort her. .11 the childr;ii in the neighbovhood had tem tnpg 'i fot tho last huur in the earch. She could see them scouring the eld beyond tho house, looking behind ie stone-heaps and amoug the backberry msnes that skirted the field. Baby cuuld not havo been stolen. No uspiciou looking character had beeu een lurking a bout, and nobody could ïave got away with her witüout being en. Tlicru hud bern no ene near the louw all the morning, except old Deftcon 'ettingill, who kit bis wngon opposite ie gute long enough to look at a yoko of at Bleera iu tho bamyuni. Th gnu went down at last, and one by ne the neighbors came in trom the search nd gathered around the stricken mother, u the yard. All had words of comfort, rat they sounded ialse and hollow. "I uan't give her up 6O," she inoaned. She must be gomewhere near. Ilelp me ook a little kmger - just a little longer." " I don't believe she's been outsido the at-," said one. " We can't find any trace f her anywherc. SeeniS tome she would ïave dropped her doll or soinething, if le'd gone tUr." " We have looked eveywhere," said one f the boys. " We'vo poked open every mnch of bushes on both sides of the road, wtwnm hro and Dunlan's oasture bars : nd she could not hayo got any iurther han tbat. If she was in the mowing lot wo ebould seo her certainly, or in the muk pasture, because tbore ain't any ushes or woods." " Have you lookod in the well Í " said old Airs. Tonpkins. "Now it's just as ikely ns not 6he s feil in tbere. The curn uin't none too safe." " Sho ain't tbere - we'vo looked," said one ot' the boys, quickly uoting the spasui of pain that pussed over the taco of tbe mby'B mother at the words. "Theru's a team coming!" eüddenly houted one ot a littlo knot of boys outsidu the gate " Now wo cun send word lown to the village, and raigo 'ein to help lUllt." ' lt is Deacon Pettingill'B horse," said anotber, who bastily olimbed the funce for a bettor lookout, " and tho deacon g drivng. too. Soiut'thing is the matter ie is putting on the licks." " What bus ho got on his lap?" askec oiib woman puenug through the dusk ' Whv 1 do believe ït is bnby " There was rush to the gttte asfhedeucon stoj p d his horse with a. lond " Whoa! ' " Lobt anylhing V" he inquired as he stepped out over the wheel, with a little bundle in his arras. " Baby ! Baby ! " and the next moment the little caue of all the troulle and pain was tightly clasped in its mother's arnis. " You see," sid the deaeon, in an swer t the rauHitudinous inquines as to htw, when and where ho had come aeros baby, " after I let't hcre, early thio nftcr noen, I thought I henrd something unde the wagon-seat ; bit I didn't pay any at tentiou to it, and forgot all bont ir be fore I got home. I turned out the mar and run tho wagon under the shed, for v began to look like rain. 'Loñg about fiv o'clock Joel he went to tako out a bag o rye ineal that X brought up for Pipers and all at once, aa he was liftin' it onto his back, ho dropped it and hollered right out: ' Come here deacou," nays hc, 'wherfr on earth did this come from ? ' I was grindin' a scythe out at the east end of tho ehod, but I dropped it pretty quick and startod. He was bolding up the buffalo at the hind end of tho wagon ; and thpro, do you bcliovo it, wasthat cunnin' little crotur' with-j her rag doll cuddlod up to her. lyin' on somo mealbags fast asleep. Sho must have crawled into the wagon and laid down while I was lookin at the steers, and the joltiu' got her to sleep. I teil you I wasn't long hitchiu' up again ; and I nover drove ao like allpossessed but ouce before in iny lifo, and that was when Hiram broke his leg fallin' oif the barti." So tho baby was found, and the whole neighborhood, as ono great hoart, brimmed orer with joy, while the mother, close to whose breast the little tirert head was clasped, pourod out her soul in tearful gratitude to him who had, throügh that brief, but bitter lpsson, tanght hor more of tho divino nature of love than she had before learned in all tho dnv of hor erhood.-