"He's come 'long to mind the baby, so's you can help. Take him
outside, Davy, and keep him out from under foot. Take up these dishes!
Sure's I'm livin' I see Mrs. Sniggs comin' up the road this blessed
minit."

Davy, gathering up his charge, retreated hastily. In fact, his pace
did not slacken until he was well away from the Hopkins home. Then he
put his burden down under a tree and stared at it.

The baby, blissfully unconscious of its loss, cooed ecstatically to
express his joy at the unusual attention. He reached out tiny hands to
Davy. "Go----go!" he gurgled, coaxingly.

"You sit right there! I gotta think," was Davy's scowling answer.

And Davy was thinking--hard. Liz' story, over the breakfast, had sunk
deep into his soul. _He_ knew what it was to live in a household where
there was no mother and not much food!

It did not take Davy very long to make up his mind. Then, with
determination written in every wrinkle of his frowning face, he lifted
the baby and hurried to his home. An hour later, still carrying the
baby, he trudged doggedly up the road to Happy House, through the gate,
along the path to the door. Only for a moment did he pause on the
threshold; then, softly opening the door, he entered, and came out
again, empty-armed.

The oppressiveness of the day had decidedly ruffled the atmosphere of
Happy House. Miss Sabrina had taken the news of Nancy's flight with a
disapproving grunt; B'lindy had sharply come to Nancy's defense. She
"guessed girls had to be girls anyways, though she'd a feelin' in her
bones that somethin' might happen and one never could tell 'bout them
pesky machines."

Then Miss Sabrina, taller and straighter than ever, had walked
haughtily away as far as the sitting room, when a shriek brought
B'lindy running.

Miss Sabrina had dropped breathless into a chair and at her feet sat
the Hopkins baby sucking its thumb.

"B'lindy--what--what is it? I liked to fall over it!"

"Land a' goshen--a _baby_! A _real_ live baby!" B'lindy leaned over
cautiously. "Crawled in here like a caterpillar! As I live, here's a
note, Miss Sabrina!" She unpinned a piece of paper from the baby's
dress.

"Ples kep this child there ante enuf food fer so meny Hopkins Liz sez
and she sez the Lord never ment any body to go hungry she sez your hous
is big enuf fer a dusen and lots of food I gues you don't no thet ther
ar so meny Hopkins and you will like to kepe this one I no how it hurt