“It couldn’t have been any worse than the one I had,” broke in Hinpoha.
“But I gave him a bath,” said Gladys, with a satisfied air, “and put all new clothes on him, and he was as sweet as a rose when I took him home.”
“Mine beat them all,” said Katherine, when she was able to get in a word edgewise. “He had a little fur tail of some kind tied around his neck on a string. I suppose it was meant for a ‘pacifier,’ for he was sucking it all the while.”
“Why, mine had one of those on, too,” said Gladys.
“So did mine,” said Hinpoha.
“There must have been a million germs on it,” continued Katherine. “I took it off and burned it up.”
“So did I,” said Gladys.
“So did I,” echoed Hinpoha.
After all things were talked over the Winnebagos decided that they had done pretty good work that day in cleaning up the dirty babies and unanimously voted to take them again the next Saturday.
When they arrived at the Neighborhood Mission the next Saturday morning they were met on the walk by half a dozen excited women with handkerchiefs on their heads, who formed a circle around them, shouting in a foreign tongue and making fierce gestures.