its little arms to be taken up. All these thoughts and many
more passed through the mind of Mrs. Herne, for she now knew for a
certainty that such joys would be hers, and many a pleasant laugh and
joke she and her husband had over the coming of a little tot.

One day a little later there was started in the most sacred room in the
house a vibration by the doctor which reached the auditory nerve of the
nurse conveying to the brain a most joyous statement, "It is a boy." The
nurse carried it to the kitchen, "It is a boy." The Chinaman cook
carried it to the Jap chore boy, "It is a boy." The Jap chore boy
carried it to the teamsters, "It is a boy." The teamsters carried it to
the men on the ditches, "It is a boy." The ditch men carried it to the
men in the orchard, "It is a boy." The prune trees took up the glad news
and whispered it to the apricot trees, "It is a boy." The apricot trees
whispered it to the peach trees, "It is a boy." The peach trees
whispered it to all the other fruit trees, "It is a boy."

When Pet, Bell, Blanche and Daisy, with their large udders full of rich
lacteal fluid, heard the news, "It is a boy," they gave forth an extra
flow of milk that night. When the frisky mules in the barn lot heard the
joyful tidings, "It is a boy," they just cut up and threw their hind
feet higher than ever. You could not see them for the dust they made.
The roosters crowed, "It is a boy," and the hens cackled, "It is a boy."
The orioles in the mulberry trees warbled out the song, "It is a boy."
The dogs, Dash and Rover, in their play that evening barked at each
other, "It is a boy." The cats Tom and Malty purred, "It is a boy." It
seemed as if the vibrations in all the buildings and all over the ranch
rang out the glad tidings, "It is a boy."

In the evening when all Mr. Herne's men congregated in their fine
quarters to have some music, Osborn sat down to the piano and played
while all the men sang, that old negro song:

"Give 'em more children, Lord,
Give 'em more children;
Give 'em more children, Lord,
Give 'em more children."

Osborn said to the boys when retiring, "What a feeling of joy the advent
of a little boy has brought to us all on the ranch. Mr. and Mrs. Herne
have got their wish now, for they both wanted a son."

Barnes said: "What a fine time we will have with the little fellow, when
he is old enough to toddle. We will have him over here most of the
time."

One day after dinner when t