The Argosy — page 245: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

228 My Saturdays. possible. If the mother appears, you cannot keep the child from her. If you do keep him, it is a great question whether he will live; he is miserably fragile, and he looks as if he were at the beginning of an illness. And if you do keep him and he does live, he is likely to have inherited all sorts of vicious tendencies, which may make him only a grief to you, if you take him to your own home and heart.” ‘‘T have no home, and I thought until to-day that I had no heart,” she answered sadly. ‘But now—oh, Mrs. Singleton, don’t hinder me. It will be time enough to think of the difficulties when they come. ‘There is no difficulty in my nursing him now; and if we hear nothing of the mother, there will be no difficulty in my taking him away with me.” ‘¢T suppose not,” I said doubtfully. “J want him so badly,” she went on. ‘ Don’t you understand? It is like Joso coming back. ‘There he was, alone and cold, like Joso; and I have taken him in, and warmed and petted him, and I can take care that he shall never want again. I can make him happy, and he shall make me happy. He shall be my little brother; you heard him call me sister?” “Yes, dear; I knew that you liked it.” “Tiked it! It is forgiveness; it is life. You told me there would be a way for me to atone. You were a prophet. Here is the way: I said I would do it, and I will.” Her eyes were bright with resolution and hope. I argued no more, but my heart was full of misgivings. Early next morning she came to my room to ask me to go and see little Tim, who she feared was worse. He had coughed very little in the night, and now was not coughing at all, but he looked flushed and oppressed. I sent for Dr. Carfield, and was not at all surprised, when he came, to hear that the child was in the first stage of an attack of acute bronchitis, brought on by exposure acting on a weak constitution. When I asked about his chances, the doctor shook his head. ‘Children have wonderful stores of vitality, and they sometimes make an unexpected fight for life ; but this one doesn’t look as if he had much fight in him, His best chance is his being under your roof, Mrs. Singleton. In the workhouse infirmary he would go out in two days, like the snuff of a candle.” ‘¢ He shall have every care,” I said. ‘No doubt, no doubt. Very few people, though, would care to take in and nurse a little beggar like that.” “Tam looking out for my chance of entertaining an angel unawares,” I answered, not quite sure whether I was making a very poor joke or speaking the deepest truth. Was little Tim an angel in disguise? Poor little man, he was not very angelic himself. He could not talk much, however; he was Gomichbooks.Gcom