"STAR" TALES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9917, 4 August 1910, Page 4

"STAR" TALES.

r.< W ~*«n - - ♦— ; BIDDERS'S BABY, - / . , (By RICHARD DARK,) Author of "Barbara," etc. I J, *J' %■/' : '""Timbs stopped in front of a large dacard outside the stationer's shop. ' . thatP" asked Poplow. V? :- Lrljis friend made no reply, so he pro- !/-; ' >eeded to read, the placard for himself. l'\ ' 'ihi» is how it ran:— r GRAND BABY SHOW, j' To' be h®W. in tho Piei Hall on 'Hiursckiy. luplst JBHIh, at tlnee o'clock. Handsome fe'he awarded as under: v " 4 '\A. For the prettiest boy baby, jli*"* t B. For tipe prettiest gi?l baby. K-'/iC. For the best-dressed baby an<l smarts' 1 " ™' esti perambulator. .! C'f" o-p. ?or the heaviest baby. C and D will be open to both sexc-s. I/Ki f '-V* Special Rules. |!«f" »I.\:ALL (mUw to be under eighteen months. £"'■ /'i-2, 'Bottles allowed during the competition. '■> 3. ShrMring io disquaJify. Ij s Entrance Fee, 2a fri. sw[>Well," said Poplow at length, " I ~[uppoise it's interesting to mothers of ''families and people like that, but it ||#jJoesn't atfect us/ does it? We haven't fe-hgot any babies on tap." fe'".') L " That depends," answered Timbs i*' thoughtfully; "it would be rather fun K io g-fl-get hold of a baby and enter it. "*r. JBouldn't ive hire one for the afternoon? rk'ou can hire almost anything at the ; and surely babies are plentiful £2*, Enough." 4, i\- *" If- we were only at Margate !" sigli»d' Poplow. "I understand that at -V\ i Margate one can pick them up like sea-fc-r"* ireeaon the beach." • "I was just thinking," said Timbs, '/''of those people in our lodgings above ■U- W ■ Theyve gob a couple, haven't < they?" |,V ■' "What, the Bidders? No, only •A- »ne.'' fe "Sure?" /. t. "Yes, quite; the other tiling you ;heard, was a toy terrier. But I should Wrdly think the Bidder baby is for '•v bit©. • . , , »■ " C-c-couldn't we borrow it? ' j f Poplow shook his head.. " You've seen ° .Mrs Bidder, haven't you?" '• ' j "Yes." a she look the sort of person ipho would let you borrow her baby?" jSj? %'■.*' You never can tell, you know." said Y , jipibs. "]f I were a'mother,.l'd put '.'ivVroy baby in like a shot if I thought it had a chance." <s'„ '"'"lt wouldn't," said 'Poplow unvl r V, 'kindly. : . j-'_ ~ t Timbs" ignored the shait. :, |Have you seen the child?" lie k^ttfVpked. \\'<, •' but I understand it's quite a remarkable specimen." Well, I shall talf to Mre Bidder v 'V about it. There's no harm in try.ing." . . b'sj, t"; -/'-None at all," answered his friend. <•>; \ ■; • ■ : ■ ■ «• ,-ii k , • • ■ * .V--M]rs Bidder sat by the open window of ,H?-; " Tjflr v lodgings darning socks. I',*' s .It is try® that she, her husband, and had come to the sea with the enjoying themselves, but then are socks, and she had nothing to do. In the afternoon Ijhey; were all three contemplating a trip.'to the'lsle of Wight, but meanM|ff ( whil e Mr Bidder was smoking a pipe on pier, and the baby was absorbing [• qujet bottle upstairs. Mrs Bidder's was at peace. She had acoomplishBd' ( that morning a. feat of which few jjjjjV-' Indeed can truthfully boast—she had bettor of a 6ea-side tradesman, ij.:'"'G-g-good-morning," said a voice, i :• Mrs bidder looked outside and saw oontracted a elieht acquaintance. ''-'Good morning, she replied graci"t'< • %>* a b-b-beautiful day." said Mrs Bidder, c!■ tock off his: hat and slowly tf>/ hhnself with it. He felt slighta loss 'i'l hope Mr Bidder w well." r -.-. v He realised that it was a poor thing .to.#ay»directly he had said it. In the p'l', fi'rit place Mr Bidder was so palpably v'- >yWeU, and in the second a woman who V I " J ,;fKMßeßses a baby cannot reasonably be \-i. 'expected to evince much interest in any ;i j other'topic. But the difficulty was to ,v- ,i broach the baby. ,V. j' Ji'Oh, yes, thank you; he is never ' »ri.-rthing else,'' answered Mrs Bidder. .' ] 'j'Tm awfully g-g-glad to hear that," Mid Timbs earnestly. - ' i There was arjother pause. Mrs Bidder v. , on knitting. After a few rnofoegta further desperate fanning lHmbs j. \ Headed! to plunge. '• And how is the—er—olivo branch?'' -he 4 aaked. ' 1 "1 beg your pardon," replied Mrs Bidder in some perplex ity. " I mean; the baby. I thought it—er • that is, I thO'Ught he was looking remarkably breezy when 1 passed him yesterday." "Baby isn't a boy," explained Mrs t JJidder. ; ' \ i< F-f-forgive me," stammered Timbs.

" They're so awfully Lard for an, amateur to tell in the p-preliminary stages, aren't they:' I never understood myself why boys aren't put into trous—that is, why boys don't wear the usual costume straight away. It would save l-l-lots of trouble." Mrs Bidder looked a little horrified. ■ " What a curious ideal" she exclaimed. -

" f %vas merely -thinking," protested Timbs, "Jiovv annoying it must be for the p-p-parents of a baby such as yours to undergo the humiliation of having her mistaken afc any time for a mere boy." '■Oh, it doesn't matter a bit," slie assured him. '' You see; no woman would ever make the mistake, and men —well, men don't count."

Timbs smiled weakly. " No, I suppose not. By the way, Mrs Bidder, I should imagine—that is, of course, I'm not an expert—but I should imagine, from the little I have seen of your daughter, that in a g-g-good many points she is a 1-L-long way ahead of other babies."

A frontal attack pure and simple. Mrs iduaer, an astute woman in many respects, surrendered immediately. After all, the young .man appeared to be possessed of some discrimination. " What makes you think so?" she asked pleasantly. " In the first place," answered Timbs, "she is amiable; she hardly ever ories. I noticed that directly I came." "She is certainly good-tempercd,'' admitted the mother with complacency. "And, secondly," ho'went on, "she is the only child of her years—l moan, of lier months—who has ever struck me as being really b-b-beautiful. From other babies I have instinctively shrunk, but whenever I see your daughter, I feel " He paused. '' YesP" said Mrs Bidder approving-

ly. A cold dew gathered on Timbs's brow. ." I feel as if I wanted to k-k-kiss lier," ho concluded desperately. Mrs Bidder leant forward. . " She's upstairs just now, but I can easily fetch her. Shall I?" "Good heavens, no! Not on my account p-p-please!"' " On, of course, if you'd rather not see her," said Mrs Bidder coldly. Timbs sat down on the garden seat and wiped his forehead. "You mistake'me," he remarked. " There, is nothing I should 1-1-like better. But I'm feeling rather unstrung this morning; -I'm really not fit to m-m-meet strangers." Mrs Bidder was puzzled. She eat looking at him in silence. Presently Timbs spoke again. " Mrs Bidder," lie said, "I want to ask you a favour."

"Certainly, anything I can do." " You'll p-p-probably think it rather a strange request." She laughed. '".I shall be able to judge of that when I hear it." " Well, then, do you think you could possibly lend me your baby for a couple of hours next Thursday afternoon ? I will take the utmost care of her." Mrs Bidder gasped. "I beg your pardon." < " Only just for a c-c-couple of hours," implored Timbs, " and it s for a most worthy object. Surely in the sa/ored cause of charity "Rubbish!" said Mrs Bidder, "I shouldn't think of such a thing. Lend you baby, indeed! Mr Timbs. may I ask if it is your custom to go about the country borrowing infants?" Timbs put his fingers to his ears. "Don't!" he whispered brokenly. "How can you suggest such things?"

Without another word Mrs Bidder got up and walked majestically away from the window.

" I knew it was a wild-goose chase, trying to borrow a thing like a baby," said Poplow.

Timbs sat thinking. x "If we could only g-g-get hold of it, and enter it, the Class I) prize is a dead cert, for the Bidders. I was talking to the landlady just before you came in, and she says it's the heaviestbaby for its age she's ever seen. It'll be simply wicked not to put it in. I wonder if I could make B-R-Bidder see it in a proper light if J talked to him. Perhaps he'd override his wife." Poplow shook his head. "No, I don't think he'd do that." " Then we shall have to steal the child. I'm determined it shall have a flutter. I'll get hold of it somehow or other."

But though Timbs spoke with confidence, the passing days brought him no nearer the accomplishment of his design. On the contrary, Mrs Bidder seemed to regard him with a kind of apprehensive hostility, and kept her baby carefully in the background whenever he happened to be anywhere near. What she imagined to be his object in seeking to'borrow the child history will never know, but it was evident that she suspected him of some extremely dark design, and it was equally evident that she had communicated those suspicions to her husband, since the latter had during the last few days shown a marked coldness in his casual encounters with the young men. Timbs's

project seemed doomed to disappointment. -

At length the day of the show arrived. For some reason luncheon was late, and it was nearly two o'clock before Timbs and Poplow sat down to their meal. They ate and dra.nJc disconsolately. .Tn a little while the show would have opened, yet they were as far off as ever from the baby. And then, at the eleventh hour, fate delivered their prey into their hands. The meal over, Timbs lit a cigarette and strolled to the window.

Suddenly ho started. "By jove!" he exclaimed, " look here." Poplow came and looked over his shoulder. Alone, on the pavement, in a perambulator, reclined the Bidder baby.

" They're both out," said Timbs, " I saw them go down the road just before lunch. What on earth can the baby be doing there?" " The landlady must have got tired of it, and put it. outside," suggested Poplow. "It looks as if it were chewine the cud." drew a deep breath. "Let's risk it," lie said. ' "What? Run away with it?" "Yes. The coast's quite clear, and it would be a sin not to enter it/'

He caught up his straw hat, and, followed by roplow, dashed downstairs. A minute later the baby was being trundled along the road in the direction of the pier at a pace wholly new to it. It was probably the exhilaration of the ride, indeed, which kept it quiet till the pier was reached. When Timbs brought the perambulator to a halt, preparatory to paying the entrance toll, it apparently began to realise that something was amiss, and set up a series of shrieks indicative of astonished alarm.

Timbs pointed to a sweet stall hard by. " Quick !" he said, " get it something to eat!" Poplow plumped down a penny, and snatohed up a small pa.cket of jujubes, two of which he administered with trembling fingers. Instant relief followed. With a gurgle the Bidder baby sank into its cusmions.

These young men were behaving strangely, to say the least of it, but at any rate they seemed to have an idea of a suitable reparation. • Five minutes later the perambulator was brought to anchor in Class D, and Miss Bidder lay alongside several others on a slightly elevated platform, awaiting the judges' verdict. There's only one I'm afraid of," whispered Timbs to Poplow. " that child at the end of the line. I believe it's over the age limit." He pointed to where lav a baby of colossal proportions. "Ifit is awarded the prize, I shall insist on the parents producing its birth certificate." " Its parents don't seem to be here," i answered Poplow, in an equally low tone; " I should think that must be the sister in charge of it. She doesn't look more than about fourteen."

" They're probably somewhere near. Well, we shall see directly, at any rate. Here are the judges," As Timbs spoke the judges entered. Urbane and smiling men they were., three in number, and with pleasant, kindly glances they paused and scanned the ranks of phlegmatic babyhood. The judging of Class A was an easy matter, the prize falling to a blackeyed boy of undeniable attractions. In Class B the award for the prettiest girl caused slightly more trouble, but at length a decision was arrived at. The noxt competition for the best general turn-out was won by a tastefully dress-

Ed, carefully groomed baby in a terracotta perambulator with green plush cushions.

At last a. start was ina<lo on Class I>. The judging her© occupied about a quarter of nu liour, but it was a simple task, since the babies -were merely extracted for a moment or two from their perammilators, carefully weighed and returned to the nest. Finally, after a short whispered consultation with his colleagues, one of the judges advanced and pinned, a card labelleci "First Prizo" on the perambulator hood of the child whose bulk had incurred Timbs's suspicions.

' Then Timbs rpake aloud. " M-m-maj I ask," ho demanded, "if adequate precautions have been taken to ensure the certainty of all c-c-candidates being under the age limit P" A murmur of approval arm© from the friends of the defeated, while the judges looked a trifle taken aback. "We have relied entirely on the ar —honesty of the parents," replied ou» of them.

Timbs pointed to the prize-winner, who met his indignant, ©yo with a star® of contemptuous indifference. " I should like to see that child's b-b-birth certificate, " he said firmly.

'' Hear, hear!" exclaimed several voices.

"Of course;" answered the judges' spokesman, " if any doubt i 3 entertained as to th© genuineness of any competitor's age, I feci sure that tho parents or guardians of the baby in. question 'will bo only too Jiappy to—er—to alky any euspioions that may unfortunately have arisen." He paused, coughed, and glanced inquiringly at the small girl in charge of the perambulator. The latter looked puzzled. She felt vaguely that something was expected of nev, though precisely what she was unable to understand.

"it ain't my baby," she said at length. " I'm only a-minding of it for its mother. She'll bo hero directly." As she spoke two people entered tho hall. Times audi Poplow started gtiiltly; tlisy were Bidder and his wife. Immediately afterwards :t third personage came iiii very quickly. She ran up to tho perambulators, cast a rapid glance alon,g them, and a moment later was bending over the infant which the two young men had abducted. "My precious darling!" she murmured ; " and did they run away with him, then!" Then turning'angrily, on Poplow and his companion, Will you kindly explain your outrageous behaviour?" she demanded.

Here the judge, who had previously spoken, interposed. "May I ask, madam, if this baby belongs to you?" " Of course it does."

"Then who are these young mon?" " I haven't the slightest idea. I left my baby on the pavement for a few moments this afternoon, and when I came back to take him away, a child playing in the street told me that two young mon had run off with him. I have only just succeeded ir\ tracing them here." "But this Is Mrs B-B-Bidder's baby," gasped Timbs. ' I beg your pardon," said Mrs Bidder, that's my babv over there." She pointed to the prize-winner. Timbs groaned. " We-vo made a p-p-pretty good mess of it," said lie; "w© thought we'd got your baby. We wanted to win. a prize for you." Mr Bidder's expression of amazement relaxed into a smile.

"I think, madam," he said, addressing the mother of the stolen infant, "that there has been , mistake, nothing more. These two gentlemen are staying in the same as my wife and I, I can answer for it that they intended your baby 110 harm, and I am sure they will render you' a hearty apology for what they have done." "Yes, we're really awfully sorry," said Tinibs.

"Awfully sorry," echoed Poplow. The injured mother looked at them for a moment in evident doubt as whether to pardon them or not. Then, "I accept your f apology," she said, but I should advise you both in future to leave babies alone."

She pushed her perambulator out of the row and. wheeled it away.

''l suppose, madam," said the judge to Mrs Bidder, " there is no doubt as to your baby's age being within the prescribed limit?"

"1 can get you a copy of her birtn certificate in livo minutes," answered Mrs ilidder. "Oh, don't trouble, please; I'm sure it's all perfectly correct. Only this 3 r oung man here .'raised an objection." He pointed to Timbs,

Mrs Bidder shot the pair a glance that might have withered an omnibus. "vT. don't think we need consider them very seriously," she said.

" I say," suggested Poplow that evening at supper, " this place is rather a dull hole, old chap, don't you think? Let's go back home again." Timbs looked up from the time-table, which, oddly enough, he happened to be perusing. " I see there's a train at 8.40 in the morning," lie replied.