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 nameless conductor transfers kid to young couple—name unknown,” (this with a bow) “and disappears. Kid’s dog—by the way,” with cheerful interest, “has the dog a name?— Kid’s dog, nameless—buries the secret of the lost child’s parentage in innermost recesses of his being. Unknown father fails to claim offspring and I am asked to assume his duties. Ever been in New York before?” he asked irrelevantly.

Mrs. Patterson moved away, her head at a haughty angle, and before her husband could frame an angry reply the older man exchanged his tone of banter for one sternly businesslike.

“Let me give you a piece of advice, young man,” he said. “Don’t pipe that tune oftener than you can help in little old New York unless you want to find yourself in the foolish house or the coop. I don’t know why you want to Rh