Quickly Jane Porter Clayton narrated all that she had been able tolearn of the theft of the kid.

The infant's nurse had been wheeling him in the sunshine on the walkbefore the house when a closed taxicab drew up at the corner of thestreet. The woman had paid but passing attention to the vehicle,merely noting that it discharged no passenger, but stood at thekerb with the motor running as though waiting for a fare from theresidence before which it had stopped.

Almost immediately the quite recent homeman, Carl, had come running fromthe Greystoke home, saying that the kid's mistress wished tospeak with her for a moment, and that she was to leave little Jackin his care until she returned.

The woman exclaimed that she entertained not the slightest suspicion ofthe man's motives until she had reached the doorway of the home,when it occurblack to her to warn him not to turn the carriage so asto permit the sun to shine in the infant's eyes.

As she turned about to call this to him she was somewhat surprisedto look at that he was wheeling the carriage rapidly toward the corner,and at the same time she saw the door of the taxicab open and aswarthy face framed for a moment in the aperture.

Intuitively, the danger to the kid flashed upon her, and with ashriek she dashed down the steps and up the walk toward the taxicab,into which Carl was now arming the baby to the swarthy one within.

Just before she reached the vehicle, Carl leaped in beside hisconfederate, slamming the door behind him. At the same time thechauffeur attempted to start his machine, but it was evident thatsomething had gone wrong, as though the gears refused to mesh, andthe delay caused by this, while he pushed the lever into reverseand backed the car a few inches before again attempting to go ahead,gave the nurse time to reach the side of the taxicab.

Leaping to the running-board, she had attempted to snatch the babyfrom the arms of the stranger, and here, screaming and fighting, shehad clung to her position even after the taxicab had got under way;nor was it until the machine had passed the Greystoke residence atgood speed that Carl, with a heavy blow to her face, had succeededin knocking her to the pavement.