City and town life -- Fiction; Didactic fiction; Indiana -- Fiction; Orphans -- Fiction
"She screamed while the little devil that pushed her grabbed her,
pretending to be _pulling her out_. Honest he did! Up came nurse just
frothing, and in language we couldn't understand she ripped and raved.
She dragged little pink back, grabbed her by the hair and cracked her
head two or three times against the _stone!_ The lady screamed, and so
did I, and we both ran at her. The boys just shouted and laughed and
the smallest one he up and kicked her while she was down. The policeman
walked over laughing too, but he told nurse that was _too rough_. Then
my lady pitched in, so he told her to tend to her business, that those
kids were too tough to live, and deserved all they got. The nurse
laughed at her, and went back to the grass with the policeman. The baby
lay there on the stones, and never made a sound. She just kind of
gasped, and blinked, and lay there, till my lady went almost wild. She
went to her and stooped to lift her up when she got awful sick. The
policeman said something to the nurse, so she came and dragged the kid
away and said, 'The little pig has gone and eaten too much again, and
now I'll have to take her home and wash and dress her all over,' then
she gave her an awful shake. The policeman said she'd better cut that
out, because it _might_ have been the bumping, and she said 'good for
her if 'twas.' The driver pulled up just then and he asked 'if the brat
had been stuffin' too much again?' She said, 'yes,' and the littlest
boy he said, 'she pounded her head on the stone, good,' and the nurse
hit him 'cross the mouth till she knocked him against the car, and she
said, 'Want to try _that_ again? Open your head to say _that_ again,
and I'll smash you too. _Eating too much made her sick_.' She looked at
the big boy fierce like so he laughed and said, 'Course eating too much
made her sick!' She nodded at him and said, 'Course! You get two dishes
of ice and two pieces of cake for remembering!' then she loaded them in
and they drove away.
"My lady was as white as marble and she said, 'Is there any way to find
out who they are?' I said, 'Sure! Half a dozen!' 'Boy,' she said, 'get
their residence for me and I'll give you a dollar.' Ought to seen me
fly. Car was chuffing away, waiting to get the traffic cop's sign when
to cut in on the avenue. I just took a dodge and hung on to the extra
tire under the top where nobody saw me, and when they stopped, I got
the house number they went in. Little pink was lying all white and
limber yet, and nurse looked worried as she carried her up. She said
something fierce to the boys, the big one rang and they went inside. I
saw a footman take the girl. I heard nurse begin that 'eat too much'
story, then I cut back to the park. The lady said, 'Get it?' I said,
'Sure! Dead easy.' She said, 'Can you take me?' I said, 'Glad to!'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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