The harassed marshal experienced some difficulty in forcing the mothers to take back their children.
In each instance he was reviled by the estimable ladies, all of whom accused him of being utterly heartless.

Mrs.Crow came to his rescue and told the disappointed mothers that the scalding water was ready for application if they did not take their baskets of babies away on short order.

It may be well for the reputation of Tinkletown to mention that one of the donors was Mrs.Raspus, a negro washerwoman who did work for the "dagoes" engaged in building the railroad hard by; another was the wife of Antonio Galli, a member of the grading gang, and the third was Mrs.Pool, the widow of a fisherman who had recently drowned himself in drink.
It is quite possible that Anderson might have had the three infants on his hands permanently had not the mothers been so eager to know their fate.

They appeared in person early the next morning to see if the babies had frozen to death on the doorstep.

Mrs.Pool even went so far as to fetch some extra baby clothes which she had neglected to drop with her male.