CHAPTER XIX
ROSABEL
"Rosabel who?" exclaimed Nan, as Patty came up on the verandah with thebaby in her arms.
"I don't know, I'm sure. You may call her Rosabel anything you like. Wepicked her up by the wayside."
"Yes," said Dick Phelps, who had followed Patty up the steps. "MissRosabel seemed lonely without anyone to talk to, so we brought her backhere to visit you."
"You must be crazy!" cried Nan, "but what a cunning baby it is! Let metake her."
Nan took the good-natured little midget and sat down in a verandahrocker, with the baby in her arms.
"Tell a straight story, Patty," said her father, "is it one of theneighbour's children, or did you kidnap it?"
"Neither," said Patty, turning to her father; "we found the baby lyingright near the edge of a wood, in plain sight from the road. And therewas nobody around, and Papa, I just know that the child's wretch of amother deserted it, and left it there to die!"
"Nonsense," said her father. "Mothers don't leave their little onesaround as carelessly as that."
"Well, what else could it be?" said Patty. "There was the baby all alone,smiling and talking to herself, and no one anywhere near, although wewaited for some time."
"It does seem strange," said Mr. Fairfield, "perhaps the mother did meanto desert the child, but if so, she was probably peeping from somehiding-place, to make sure that she approved of the people who took it."
"Well," said Mr. Phelps, "she evidently thought we were all right; at anyrate she made no objection."
"But isn't it awful," said Nan, "to think of anybody deserting a dearlittle thing like this. Why, the wild animals might have eaten her up."
"Of course they might," said Mr. Phelps, gravely, "the tigers and wolvesthat abound on Long Island are of the most ferocious type."
"Well, anyway," said Patty, "something dreadful might have happened toher."
"It may yet," said Mr. Phelps cheerfully, "when we take her backto-morrow and put her in the place we found her. For I don't suppose youintend to keep Miss Rosabel, do you?"
"I don't know," said Patty, "but I know one thing, we certainly won't puther back where we found her. What shall we do with her, Papa?"
"I don't know, my child, she's your find, and I suppose it's a case of'findings is keepings.'"
"Of course we can't keep her," said Patty, "how ridiculous! We'll have toput her in an orphan asylum or something like that."
"It's a shame," said Nan, "to put this dear little mite in a horrid oldasylum. I think I shall adopt her myself."
Little Rosabel had begun to grow restless, and suddenly without a word ofwarning she began to cry lustily, and not a quiet well-conducted cryeither, but with ear-splitting shrieks and yells, indicative of greatdiscomfort of some sort.
"I've changed my mind," said Nan, abruptly. "I don't want to adopt anysuch noisy young person as that. Here, take her, Patty, she's yourproperty."
Patty took the baby, and carried her into the house, fearing thatpassers-by would think they must be torturing the child to make herscream like that.
Into the dining-room went Patty, and on to the kitchen, where sheannounced to the astonished cook that she wanted some milk for the babyand she wanted it quick.
"Is there company for dinner, Miss Patty?" asked the cook, notunderstanding how a baby could have arrived as an only guest.
"Only this one," said Patty, laughing, "what do you think she ought toeat?"
"Bread and milk," said the cook, looking at the child with a judicialair.
"All right, Kate, fix her some, won't you?"
In a few moments Patty was feeding Rosabel bread and milk, which thechild ate eagerly.
Impelled by curiosity, Nan came tip-toeing to the kitchen, followed bythe two men.
"I thought she must be asleep," said Nan, "as the concert seems to havestopped."
"Not at all," said Patty, calmly, "she was only hungry, and the factseemed to occur to her somewhat suddenly."
Little Rosabel, all smiles again, looked up from her supper with suchbewitching glances that Nan cried out, "Oh, she is a darling! Let me helpyou feed her, Patty."
In fact they all succumbed to the charm of their uninvited guest. Duringdinner Rosabel sat at the table, in a chair filled with pillows, and wasmade happy by being given many dainty bits of various delicacies, untilNan declared the child would certainly be ill.
"I don't believe she is more than a year old," said Nan, "and she'sprobably unaccustomed to those rich cakes and bonbons."
"I think she's more than a year," said Patty, sagely, "and anyway, I wanther to have a good time for once."
"She seems to be having the time of her life," said Dick Phelps, as hewatched the baby, who with a macaroon in one hand, and some candiedcherries in the other, was smiling impartially on them all.
"She's not much of a conversationalist," remarked Mr. Fairfield.
"Give her time," said Patty, "she feels a little strange at first."
"Yes," said Mr. Phelps, "I think after two or three years she'll be muchmore talkative."
"Well, there's one thing certain," said Patty, "she'll have to stay hereto-night, whatever we do with her to-morrow."
"In a few minutes Patty was feeding Rosabel breadand milk"]
After dinner they took their new toy with them to the parlour, and MissRosabel treated them all to a few more winning smiles, and then quietly,but very decidedly fell asleep in Patty's arms.
"I can't help admiring her decision of character," said Patty, as sheshook the baby to make her awaken, but without success.
"Don't wake her up," said Nan. "Come, Patty, we'll take her upstairs, andput her to bed somewhere."
This feat being accomplished, Nan and Patty rejoined the men, who satsmoking on the front verandah.
"Now," said Patty, "we really must decide what we're going to do withthat infant; for I warn you, Papa Fairfield, that if we keep that dearbaby around much longer, I shall become so attached to her that I can'tgive her up."
"Of course," said Mr. Fairfield, "she must be turned over to theauthorities. I'll attend to it the first thing in the morning."
A little later Mr. Fairfield and Nan strolled down the road to make acall on a neighbour, and Patty and Dick Phelps remained at home.
Patty had declared she wouldn't leave the house lest Rosabel should wakenand cry out, so promising to make but a short call, Mr. Fairfield and Nanwent away.
Soon after they had gone, a strange young man came walking toward thehouse. He turned in at the gate and approached the front steps.
"Is this Mr. Richard Phelps?" he asked, addressing himself to Dick.
"It is; what can I do for you?"
"Do you own a large black racing automobile?"
"Yes," replied Mr. Phelps.
"And were you out in it this afternoon," continued the stranger, "drivingrapidly between here and North Point?"
"Yes," said Mr. Phelps again, wondering what was the intent of thispeculiar interview.
"Then you're the man I'm after," declared the stranger, "and I'm obligedto tell you, sir, that you are under arrest."
"For what offence?" enquired Mr. Phelps, rather amused at what heconsidered a good joke, and thinking that it must be a case of mistakenidentity somehow.
"For kidnapping little Mary Brown," was the astonishing reply.
"Why, we didn't kidnap her at all!" exclaimed Patty, breaking into theconversation. "The idea, to think we would kidnap a baby! and anyway hername isn't Mary, it's Rosabel."
"Then you know where the child is, Miss," said the man, turning to Patty.
"Of course I do," said Patty, "she's upstairs asleep. But it isn't MaryBrown at all. It's Rosabel,--I don't know what her last name is."
Mr. Phelps began to be interested.
"What makes you think we kidnapped a baby, my friend?" he said to theirvisitor.
The man looked as if he had begun to think there must be a mistakesomewhere. "Why, you see, sir," he said, "Mrs
. Brown, she's just aboutcrazy. Her little girl, Sarah, went out into the woods this afternoon,and took the baby, Mary, with her. The baby went to sleep, and Sarah leftit lying on a blanket under a tree, while she roamed around the woodpicking blueberries. Somehow she strayed away farther than she intendedand lost her way. When she finally managed to get back to the place whereshe left the baby, the child was gone, and she says she could see a largeautomobile going swiftly away, and the lady who sat in the front seat washolding little Mary. Sarah screamed, and called after you, but the caronly went on more and more rapidly, and was soon lost to sight. I'm adetective, sir, and I looked carefully at the wheel tracks in the dust,and I asked a few questions here and there, and I hit upon some severalclues, and here I am. Now I'd like you to explain, sir, if you didn'tkidnap that child, what you do call it?"
"Why, it was a rescue," cried Patty, indignantly, without giving Mr.Phelps time to reply. "The dear little baby was all alone in the wood,and anything might have happened to her. Her mother had no business tolet her be taken care of by a sister that couldn't take care of her anybetter than that! We waited for some time, and nobody appeared, so wepicked up the child and brought her home, rather than leave her therealone. But I don't believe it's the child you're after anyway, for thename Rosabel is embroidered on the blanket."
"It is the same child, Miss," said the man, who somehow seemed a littlecrestfallen because his kidnapping case proved to be only in his ownimagination. "Mrs. Brown described to me the clothes the baby wore, andshe said that blanket was given to her by a rich lady who had a littlegirl named Rosabel. The Browns are poor people, ma'am, and the mother isa hard-working woman, and she's nearly crazed with grief about the baby."
"I should think she would be," said Patty, whose quick sympathies hadalready flown to the sorrowing mother. "She oughtn't to have left anirresponsible child in charge of the little thing. But it's dreadful tothink how anxious she must be! Now I'll tell you what we'll do; Mr.Phelps, if you'll get out your car, I'll just bundle that child up andwe'll take her right straight back home to her mother. We'll stop at theRipleys' for Papa and Nan, and we'll all go over together. It's a lovelymoonlight night for a drive, anyway, and even if it were pitch dark, orpouring in torrents, I should want to get that baby back to her motherjust as quickly as possible. I don't wonder the poor woman isdistracted."
"Very well," said Mr. Phelps, who would have driven his car to Kamschatkaif Patty had asked him to, "and we'll take this gentleman along with us,to direct us to Mrs. Brown's."
Mr. Phelps went for his car, and Patty flew to bundle up the baby. Shedid not dress the child, but wrapped her in a warm blanket, and then in afur-lined cape of her own. Then making a bundle of the baby's clothes,she presented herself at the door, just as Mr. Phelps drove up with hissplendid great car shining in the moonlight.
A few moments' pause was sufficient to gather in Mr. and Mrs. Fairfield,and away they all flew through the night, to Mrs. Brown's humble cottage.
They found the poor woman not only grieving about the loss of her child,but angry and revengeful against the lady and gentleman in the motor-car,who, she thought, had stolen it.
And so when the car stopped in front of her door, she came running outfollowed by her husband and several children.
Little Sarah recognised the car, which was unusual in size and shape, andcried out, "That's the one, that's the one, mother! and those are thepeople who stole Mary!"
But the young detective, whose name was Mr. Faulks, sprang out of the carand began to explain matters to the astonished family. Then Patty handedout the baby, and the grief of the Browns was quickly turned torejoicing, mingled with apologies.
Mr. Fairfield explained further to the somewhat bewildered mother, andleaving with her a substantial present of money as an evidence of goodfaith in the matter, he returned to his place in the car, and in a momentthey were whizzing back toward home.
"I'm glad it all turned out right," said Patty with a sigh, "but I dowish that pretty baby had been named Rosabel instead of Mary. It reallywould have suited her a great deal better."