“I heard your child crying in the night,” said Mildred gently, “and as we are neighbors I thought I would come up and see if I could help you.”

The woman stared a moment and then asked, “You Miss Schoslin?”

“Yes, and I hope you will let me do something, for I fear you’ve been up all night and must be very tired.”

“I’m shust dead; not von vink of schleep haf I had all der night.  He shust cry und cry, and vat I do I don’t know.  I fear he die.  Der fader gone for der doctor, but he die ’fore dey gets here.  Schee, he getten gold now.”

Truly enough, the child’s extremities were growing chill indeed, and the peculiar pinched look and ashen color which is so often the precursor of death was apparent.

“Let me call my mother,” cried Mildred, in much alarm.  “She knows about children.”

Mrs. Jocelyn soon became convinced from the mother’s account that the child’s disease was cholera infantum, and some previous experience with her own children taught her just what to do.  Before very long the little one gave evidence of a change for the better.  After the crisis of danger was past, and while her mother and Mrs. Ulph were working over the infant, Mildred began quietly to put the room into something like order, and to dress the other children that were in various transition stages between rags and nakedness.  As the German woman emerged from a semi-paralyzed condition of alarm over her child she began to talk and complain as usual.

“It vas von shudgment on der fader,” she said querulously.  “He care more for der schpots on der sun dan for his schilder.  For der last veek it’s all peen schpots on der sun, notting put schpots.  Vat goot dey do us?  Dare’s peen light to vork py, put efry minit he schtop vork to run to der roof und see dem schpots vot he says on der sun.  He says dere ish—­vat you call him—­pig virl-a-rounds up dere dat vould plow all der beoples off der earth in von vink, und ven I tells him dat he ish von pig virl-a-round himself, runnin’ und runnin’, und lettin’ der vork schstand, den von of der schpots come outen on him und I dink he plow my hed offen.”

By and by she began again:  “If it ish not schpots it ish someding else.  Von year he feel vorse dan if I die pegose vat you call a gomet did not gome ven he said it vould gome.  He near look his eyes outen for it, und he go efry morning ’fore preakfast for der bapers to get vord of dat gomet.  I dought we all schtarve ’fore he got done mit dot gomet, and ven he give oup all hope of him, he feel vorse dan he vould if dis schild die.  He vas so pad to me as if I eat der gomet oup, and we had not mooch else to eat till he sure der gomet gone to der duyvil.  It might haf been vorse if der gomet come; vat he done den der goot Lord only know—­he go off mit it if he gould.  He tink notting of sittin’ oup mit a gomet, put he get der schpots on him ven I ask to nurse der schild in der night.”