the car have paid
for a good night's sleep, 'nd it 's my duty as a director uv the
Han'bul 'nd St. Jo to see that they get it. Seems to me like you ought
to be able to keep that child quiet--you can't make me believe that
there's any use for a child to be carryin' on so. Sumpin 's hurtin'
it--I know sumpin 's hurtin' it by the way it cries. Now, you look 'nd
see if there ain't a pin stickin' into it somewhere; I 've raised
'leven children, 'nd that 's jist the way they used to cry when there
wuz a pin stickin' em."

He reckoned he 'd find things all right this time, 'nd he went back to
his bunk feelin' toler'ble satisfied with himself. But the young woman
could n't find no pin stickin' the baby, 'nd, no matter how much she
stewed and worrited, the baby kep' right on cryin', jest the same.
Holy smoke! but how that baby _did_ cry.

Now, I reckoned that the colonel would be gettin' almighty mad if this
thing kep' up much longer. A man may raise 'leven children as easy as
rollin' off 'n a log, 'nd yet the twelfth one, that is n't his at all,
may break him. There is ginerally a last straw, even when it comes to
the matter uv children.

So when the colonel riz feet foremost for the third time outern his
bunk that night--or, I should say, mornin', for it was mighty near
mornin' now--we looked for hail Columby.

"Look a-here, my good woman," sez he to the young woman with the baby,
"as I wuz tellin' you afore, you _must_ do sumpin to keep that child
quiet. It 'll never do to keep all these folks awake like this. They
've paid for a good night's sleep, 'nd it 's my duty as a director uv
the Han'bul 'nd St. Jo to pertest ag'in' this disturbance. I 've
raised a family uv 'leven children, 'nd I know, as well as I know
anythink, that that child is hungry. No child ever cries like that
when it is n't hungry, so I insist on your nursin' it 'nd givin' us
peace 'nd quiet."

Then the young woman began to sniffle.

"Law me, sir," sez the young woman, "I ain't the baby's mother--I 'm
only just tendin' it."

The colonel got pretty mad then; his face got red 'nd his voice kind uv
trembled--he wuz so mad.

"Where is its mother?" sez the colonel. "Why is n't she here takin'
care uv this hungry 'nd cryin' child like she ought to be?"

"She 's in the front car, sir," sez the young woman, chokin' up. "She
's in the front car--in a box, dead; we 're takin' the body 'nd the
baby back home."

Now what would you or me have