FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129  
130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   >>   >|  
hich the good old doctor in one of his generous moods had filled to overflowing. She had had no occasion to use it until now. The poor little one had commenced to cry now, and when Dorothy hushed its cries it cuddled up to her with a grateful sob and nestled its head on her arm. Why shouldn't she keep the baby that fate had sent directly into her arms? she asked herself? Yes, she would keep it. For was there not a bond of sympathy between this poor little one, whom those who should have loved and cared for had consigned to a watery grave, and herself, who had sought the same watery grave to end her own wretched existence? "You and I will live for each other, baby," she sobbed, holding the wee mite closer. "I will keep you for my very own, and I will pray for the time to come when you will be big enough for me to tell you all my sorrows. You will put your little arms around my neck and your soft, warm cheek against mine, and try to comfort me." Dorothy had made her resolve, little dreaming that it would end in a tragedy. She boarded the train, and was soon steaming away toward New York city--the great, cruel city of New York, rampant with wickedness and crime. More than one passenger noticed the lovely young girl with the tiny infant in her arms, and marveled as to whether or not it could possibly belong to her; for surely the girl could not be a day over sixteen, or seventeen, at most. All unconscious of this close scrutiny, Dorothy watched the little one with wondering eyes all the way until she reached the metropolis. Her first idea was to seek a boarding place, and then she could look about her. To her dismay, among the half score to which she walked until she could almost drop down from exhaustion, no one cared to take her and the child in; and it seemed to her, too, that they were rude in refusing her, and more than one actually shut the door in her face. She was tired--so tired--carrying the heavy child in her arms. She had given the name Miss Brown to each instance, and at last one landlady came out bluntly and said to her: "It would sound a deal more proper to call yourself Mrs. Brown, if you please, ma'am," at the same time pointing to the child in her arms. Then it dawned upon Dorothy's mind why every one had refused them shelter, even for money. "Why shouldn't I call myself Mrs. instead of Miss Brown? One name is as good as another," she said to herself. It was all the same to
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129  
130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Dorothy
 

watery

 

shouldn

 
boarding
 
walked
 
dismay
 

reached

 

shelter

 

seventeen

 

sixteen


unconscious
 
metropolis
 

wondering

 

scrutiny

 

watched

 

refused

 

carrying

 

bluntly

 

proper

 

landlady


instance
 

pointing

 

exhaustion

 
refusing
 

dawned

 
tragedy
 
sympathy
 

directly

 

existence

 

sobbed


wretched

 

sought

 
consigned
 
filled
 

overflowing

 
occasion
 

generous

 

doctor

 

commenced

 

nestled


grateful

 

hushed

 
cuddled
 

holding

 
rampant
 
wickedness
 

boarded

 

steaming

 
marveled
 

possibly