Alfred, could it?" asked Zoie with mingled hope and
dread.

"Of course not," answered Aggie, as she removed the receiver from the
hook. "Alfred wouldn't 'phone, he would come right up."

CHAPTER XV

Discovering that it was merely Jimmy "on the wire," Zoie's uneasiness
abated, but Aggie's anxiety was visibly increasing.

"Where ARE you?" she asked of her spouse. "The Children's Home!" she
repeated, then followed further explanations from Jimmy which were
apparently not satisfactory. "Oh, Jimmy!" cried his disturbed wife, "it
can't be! That's horrible!"

"What is it?" shrieked Zoie, trying to get her small ear close enough to
the receiver to catch a bit of the obviously terrifying message.

"Wait a minute," called Aggie into the 'phone. Then she turned to Zoie
with a look of despair. "The mother's changed her mind," she explained;
"she won't give up the baby."

"Good Lord!" cried Zoie, and she sank into the nearest chair. For an
instant the two women looked at each other with blank faces. "What can
we DO," asked Zoie.

Aggie did not answer immediately. This was indeed a serious predicament;
but presently Zoie saw her friend's mouth becoming very resolute, and
she surmised that Aggie had solved the problem. "We'll have to get
ANOTHER baby, that's all," decided Aggie. "There must be OTHER babies."

"Where?" asked Zoie.

"There, in the Children's Home," answered Aggie with great confidence,
and she returned to the 'phone.

Zoie crossed to the bed and knelt at its foot in search of her little
pink slippers.

"Oh, Aggie," she sighed, "the others were all so red!"

But Aggie did not heed her protest. "Listen, Jimmy," she called in the
'phone, "can't you get another baby?" There was a pause, then Aggie
commanded hotly, "Well, GET in the business!" Another pause and then
Aggie continued very firmly, "Tell the Superintendent that we JUST MUST
have one."

Zoie stopped in the act of putting on her second slipper and called a
reminder to Aggie. "Tell him to get a HE one," she said, "Alfred wants a
boy."

"Take what you can get!" answered Aggie impatiently, and again she gave
her attention to the 'phone. "What!" she cried, with growing despair,
and Zoie waited to hear what had gone wrong now. "Nothing under three
months," explained Aggie.

"Won't that do?" asked Zoie innocently.

"Do!" echoed Aggie in disgust. "A three-months' old baby is as big as a
whale."

"Well, can't we say it GREW UP?" asked Zoie, p