aynard went to speak to Sarah, and Mrs. Harrison lifted the
sleeping baby from the carriage.

She sat the blinking-eyed child on her knee while she unfastened her
coat. Then she took off the veil and cap, and then,--she stared at the
baby, and the baby stared at her.

Suddenly Mrs. Harrison gave a scream.

"Helen, Helen!" she called to her friend, and Mrs. Maynard came running
to her side.

"What _is_ the matter, Mildred? Is Totty ill?"

By this time the baby too had begun to scream. Always afraid of
strangers, Miss Dotty Curtis didn't know what to make of the scenes in
which she found herself, nor of the strange lady who held her.

"Mildred, dear, what is the matter? You look horror-stricken! And what
ails Totty?"

"This isn't my child!" wailed Mrs. Harrison.

"Totty isn't your child! What _do_ you mean?"

"But this isn't, Totty! It isn't my baby! I don't know who it is."

"Mildred, you're crazy! Of course this is Totty. These are her blue kid
shoes. And this is her coat and cap."

"I don't care if they are! It isn't Totty at all. Oh, where is my baby?"

Mrs. Harrison was on the verge of hysterics, and Mrs. Maynard was
genuinely alarmed.

"Behave yourself, Mildred!" she said, sternly. "Gather yourself
together. Here, sip this glass of water."

"I'm perfectly sensible," said Mrs. Harrison, quieting down a little, as
she noticed her friend's consternation. "But I tell you, Helen, this is
_not_ my baby. Doesn't a mother know her own child? Totty's hair is a
little longer, and her eyes are a little larger. I don't know who this
baby is, but she isn't mine."

"I believe you're right," said Mrs. Maynard, looking more closely at the
screaming baby.

"There, there!" she said, taking the frightened little one in her own
arms.

"Ma-ma!" cried the baby.

"Hear her voice!" exclaimed Mrs. Harrison. "That isn't the way my Totty
talks. Oh, Helen, what has happened?"

"I don't know," said Mrs. Maynard, her face very white. "It doesn't seem
possible that any marauder should have slipped into the house and put
this child in Totty's place. Why, it was only about a half-hour ago that
the girls brought Totty in. Mildred, are you _sure_ this isn't Totty?"

"Am I sure! Yes, I am. Wouldn't you know your own children from
strangers? Helen, a dreadful crime has been committed. Somehow this baby
has been substituted for mine. Oh, Totty, where _are_ you now?"

"What shall I do, Mildred? Shall I call up Mr. Maynard on th