little form.

Lou went straight to him and unceremoniously possessed herself of the
baby.

Its small face was waxen, with a bluish tinge about the mouth, and
half-closed, glazing eyes.

"How long's it been like this?" Lou demanded sharply.

"Only just a few minutes. It--it seemed like a sort of fit that he had."
The young woman turned to her husband. "Jack, this little girl stopped
by and said she knew all about babies, and the man with her, he's gone
for----"

"I want some hot water, quick!" Lou interrupted the explanations
brusquely. "Boiling hot, and a tub or a big pan. Have you got the kettle
on?"

"Y-yes, but I'm afraid I've let the fire go out," the woman faltered. "I
was so worried----"

With an exclamation of impatience Lou rewrapped the baby which she had
been examining and thrust it into the man's arms. Then turning to the
woman with exasperation in her eyes and voice she demanded:

"I s'pose you can find some dry chips, somewhere, can't you? If I don't
get this baby into a hot bath right away it'll be all up with him."

The woman gasped, and ran out of the back door while the young man in
the chair groaned:

"It's awful to sit here helpless and watch him suffer! If I could only
put my foot to the floor----"

"How old is he, anyway?" Lou, who was busily searching the shelf of
groceries, asked over her shoulder. "He looks to be under a year."

"Ten months, miss," he answered. "What do you think is the matter with
him?"

"Convulsion," Lou replied succinctly, as the woman rushed in once more
with her apron full of chips. "Git some more, it don't matter how you
clog the stove with wood ashes; we gotta git boilin' water as quick as
we kin."

Meanwhile Jim found the Colbert house, explained his mission, and having
accomplished it, hastened back. He pulled the bell, but no one came, and
knocking, found that the door yielded to his touch. Entering, he went
down the hall and paused at the kitchen door just as the woman
stammered:

"I d-don't think there are any dry kindlings left."

"Then chop some! Ain't you got any old boxes? Oh, Jim!" Lou caught sight
of him in the doorway. "Find a hatchet and some light, dry wood, will
you?"

The fire was roaring in the stove at last, but the water was long in
boiling, and the little figure in the man's arms seemed to be undergoing
a subtle but inevitable change. His lips were still parted, but no
faintest stir of breath emanated from them, and the rigidity