OCR Text |
Show 29. The next Saturday the baby X'jas bundled up and put in the deer skin sack, and a l l of them got into the buckboard. After they l e f t Skunk Plat the horse sloxred almost to a stop. Sunny, xiho'd been holding the baby, handed him to Bill and jumped out to help the other men push. The xfind was cold up on the seat and Bill, driving, held the baby close to him. The baby seemed to be asleep so Bill pulled the sack up over the baby's head. Then, got the horse going up the steep h i l l a t a fast walk and pulled ahead of the men so that he reached the Jake's before they did.. Sunny x*as f i r s t to come up to the xsagon; he reached up and Bill handed the baby doxm to him. Bill climbed out and threw a blanket over the horse before he hitched i t to the r a i l. There was great interest in the store as Bill carefully selected the Place for Sunny to put the baby down Bill had planned in his mind just where he xias going to be the safest. There was a large table in one corner, close enough to the potbellied stove to keep him warm, but far enough ax-jay so he wouldn't be in the miners* xjay. They alx*ays gathered around the stove to warm up, when they f i r s t xialked in. It x*as also close to an outside door so Bill could get him outside if a fight started. Sunny now put him on the table and the miners a l l crowded around. Bill opened up the sack and put his hands doxm in i t, feeling for the baby's head and shoulders. He couldn't get a hold on anything but blankets; he decided Sunny had carried him in upside down and the baby had righted himself so Bill started to pull out blankets. The miners x^atching B i l l ' s expression s t a r t e d to laugh. Then Bill got hold of a foot and from |