“And maybe there’s a reward out for whoever takes this baby back where it lives,” suggested Danny Rugg. “Maybe we could get a hundred dollars that way!”
“Most of it would go to Bert, ’cause the baby was found at his house,” declared Charlie.
“Well, if we fellows found the old lady, that would count and we’d have part of the reward,” declared Tom Carter.
“I don’t believe you can find her,” said Bert. “I guess she ran away after she left the baby and rang our bell.”
This seemed to be the case, for search as the police did, no trace was found of the strange woman. She had vanished after arriving in Lakeport and leaving the baby on the Bobbseys’ doorstep.
Telephone calls to distant places and a diligent reading of the newspapers, failed to show any babies missing or kidnapped. Mr. Bobbsey advertised in the papers of neighboring towns, but when several days had passed and no claim was made for Baby May Washington, Mr. Bobbsey and his wife talked the matter over again.
“There is no trace of who this child is or to whom she belongs,” said the twins’ father. “I suppose I had better arrange to have the police take her to an orphanage.”
“Well—” began Mrs. Bobbsey slowly, but she was interrupted by a chorus of cries from the children.
“Oh, don’t send the baby away!”
“Let us keep her!”