carcely hear Aggie, who was reporting proceedings from her place at the
bedroom door.

"She's come up the fire-escape," cried Aggie; "she's beating Alfred to
death."

"What?" shrieked Zoie, making a flying leap from her coverlets.

"She's locking him in the bathroom," declared Aggie, and with that she
disappeared from the room, bent on rescue.

"My Alfred!" cried Zoie, tragically, and she started in pursuit of
Aggie.

"Wait a minute," called Jimmy, who had not yet been able to find
a satisfactory place in which to deposit his armful of clothes and
humanity. "What shall I do with these things?"

"Eat 'em," was Zoie's helpful retort, as the trailing end of her
negligee disappeared from the room.

CHAPTER XXIX

Now, had Jimmy been less perturbed during the latter part of this
commotion, he might have heard the bell of the outside door, which
had been ringing violently for some minutes. As it was, he was wholly
unprepared for the flying advent of Maggie.

"Oh, plaze, sir," she cried, pointing with trembling fingers toward
the babes in Jimmy's arms, "me fadder's coming right behind me. He's
a-lookin' for you sir."

"For me," murmured Jimmy, wondering vaguely why everybody on earth
seemed to be looking for HIM.

"Put 'em down, sir," cried Maggie, still pointing to the three babies,
"put 'em down. He's liable to wallop you."

"Put 'em where?" asked Jimmy, now utterly confused as to which way to
turn.

"There," said Maggie, and she pointed to the cradle beneath his very
eyes.

"Of course," said Jimmy vapidly, and he sank on his knees and strove to
let the wobbly creatures down easily.

Bang went the outside door.

"That's Pa now," cried Maggie. "Oh hide, sir, hide." And with that
disconcerting warning, she too deserted him.

"Hide where?" gasped Jimmy.

There was a moment's awful silence. Jimmy rose very cautiously from the
cradle, his eyes sought the armchair. It had always betrayed him. He
glanced toward the window. It was twelve stories to the pavement. He
looked towards the opposite door; beyond that was the mad Italian woman.
His one chance lay in slipping unnoticed through the hallway; he made
a determined dash in that direction, but no sooner had he put his head
through the door, than he drew it back quickly. The conversation between
O'Flarety and the maid in the hallway was not reassuring. Jimmy decided
to take a chance with the Italian mother, and as fast as he could, he
streaked it toward