"All right!" she answered, striving to speak cheerfully, and raising her
eyes to the policeman's good-natured countenance. "I didn't mean to
fall asleep here. I don't know how I came to do it. I must go home, of
course."

"Of course," said the policeman, somewhat mollified by her evident
humility, and touched in spite of himself by the pathos of her eyes.
Then turning his lamp more fully upon her, he continued, "Is that a baby
you've got there?"

"Yes," said Liz, half proudly, half tenderly. "Poor little dear! it's
been ailing sadly--but I think it's better now than it was."

And, encouraged by his friendly tone, she opened the folds of her shawl
to show him her one treasure. The bulls-eye came into still closer
requisition as the kindly guardian of the peace peered inquiringly at
the tiny bundle. He had scarcely looked when he started back with an
exclamation:

"God bless my soul!" he cried, "it's dead!"

"Dead!" shrieked Liz; "oh, no, no! Not dead! Don't say so, oh, don't,
don't say so! Oh, you can't mean it! Oh, for God's love, say you didn't
mean it! It can't be dead, not really dead!--no, no, indeed! Oh, baby,
baby! You are not dead, my pet my angel, not dead, oh no!"

And breathless, frantic with fear, she felt the little thing's hands and
feet and face, kissed it wildly, and called it by a thousand endearing
names, in vain--in vain! Its tiny body was already stiff and rigid; it
had been a corpse more than two hours.

The policeman coughed, and brushed his thick gauntlet glove across his
eyes. He was an emissary of the law, but he had a heart. He thought of
his bright-eyed wife at home, and of the soft-cheeked, cuddling little
creature that clung to her bosom and crowed with rapture whenever he
came near.

"Look here," he said, very gently, laying one hand on the woman's
shoulder as she crouched shivering against the wall, and staring
piteously at the motionless waxen form in her arms; "it's no use
fretting about it." He paused; there was an uncomfortable lump in his
throat, and he had to cough again to get it down. "The poor little
creature's gone--there's no help for it. The next world's a better place
than this, you know! There, there, don't take on so about it"--this as
Liz shuddered and sighed; a sigh of such complete despair that it went
straight to his honest soul, and showed him how futile were his efforts
at consolation. But he had his duty to attend to, and he went on in
firmer tones: "Now, li