She
remained standing.

"Wasn't it--very sudden?"

"Well, she's been a-pining ever since that worthless Jim lit out for
England--which I say it's a pity as he ever left. It's my belief she
was took for death when she heard the news. That young un there was
born a fortnight ago and since then she's just gone down and today she
up and died, without a soul expecting it."

"Is there anything I can do to--to help?" hesitated Rilla.

"Bless yez, no--unless ye've a knack with kids. I haven't. That young
un there never lets up squalling, day or night. I've just got that I
take no notice of it."

Rilla tiptoed gingerly over to the cradle and more gingerly still
pulled down the dirty blanket. She had no intention of touching the
baby--she had no "knack with kids" either. She saw an ugly midget with
a red, distorted little face, rolled up in a piece of dingy old
flannel. She had never seen an uglier baby. Yet a feeling of pity for
the desolate, orphaned mite which had "come out of the everywhere" into
such a dubious "here", took sudden possession of her.

"What is going to become of the baby?" she asked.

"Lord knows," said Mrs. Conover candidly. "Min worried awful over that
before she died. She kept on a-saying 'Oh, what will become of my pore
baby' till it really got on my nerves. I ain't a-going to trouble
myself with it, I can tell yez. I brung up a boy that my sister left
and he skinned out as soon as he got to be some good and won't give me
a mite o' help in my old age, ungrateful whelp as he is. I told Min
it'd have to be sent to an orphan asylum till we'd see if Jim ever came
back to look after it. Would yez believe it, she didn't relish the
idee. But that's the long and short of it."

"But who will look after it until it can be taken to the asylum?"
persisted Rilla. Somehow the baby's fate worried her.

"S'pose I'll have to," grunted Mrs. Conover. She put away her pipe and
took an unblushing swig from a black bottle she produced from a shelf
near her. "It's my opinion the kid won't live long. It's sickly. Min
never had no gimp and I guess it hain't either. Likely it won't trouble
any one long and good riddance, sez I."

Rilla drew the blanket down a little farther.

"Why, the baby isn't dressed!" she exclaimed, in a shocked tone.

"Who was to dress him I'd like to know," demanded Mrs. Conover
truculently. "I hadn't time--took me all the time there was looking
after Min. 'Sides, as I told yez, I don't know