baby only smiled at this and reached out its hand and stroked Rag's
cheek with its fingers. There was something so wonderfully soft and
sweet in this that Rags drew the baby nearer and gave a quick, strange
gasp of pleasure as it threw its arms around his neck and brought the
face up close to his chin and hugged him tightly. The baby's arms were
very soft and plump, and its cheek and tangled hair were warm and
moist with perspiration, and the breath that fell on Raegen's face was
sweeter than anything he had ever known. He felt wonderfully and for
some reason uncomfortably happy, but the silence was oppressive.

"What's your name, little 'un?" said Rags. The baby ran its arms more
closely around Raegen's neck and did not speak, unless its cooing in
Raegen's ear was an answer. "What did you say your name was?"
persisted Raegen, in a whisper. The baby frowned at this and stopped
cooing long enough to say: "Marg'ret," mechanically and without
apparently associating the name with herself or anything else.
"Margaret, eh!" said Raegen, with grave consideration. "It's a very
pretty name," he added, politely, for he could not shake off the
feeling that he was in the presence of a superior being. "An' what did
you say your dad's name was?" asked Raegen, awkwardly. But this was
beyond the baby's patience or knowledge, and she waived the question
aside with both arms and began to beat a tattoo gently with her two
closed fists on Raegen's chin and throat. "You're mighty strong now,
ain't you?" mocked the young giant, laughing. "Perhaps you don't know,
Missie," he added, gravely, "that your dad and mar are doing time on
the Island, and you won't see 'em again for a month." No, the baby did
not know this nor care apparently; she seemed content with Rags and
with his company. Sometimes she drew away and looked at him long and
dubiously, and this cut Rags to the heart, and he felt guilty, and
unreasonably anxious until she smiled reassuringly again and ran back