Detective Comics #101
May 23, 1945
"The Tyrannical Twins"
Here's what looks to be a comedy of errors, of sorts as we see Alfred in a mess with a pair of twin toddlers. Indeed, the story opens with Dick agreeing to watch the twins in question as the mother goes shopping. But when she doesn't return after an hour a note found by Bruce explains it all. She is leaving them in his care for several days with explanations to follow upon her return.
And being the responsible adult that he is, what does Bruce do with the twins upon his return home? He fobs them off on Alfred. They find jewelry in the toys, jewelry from a recent heist in which the store clerk is presumed guilty. They do a check of the pram's serial number at the department store and find it is owned by the clerk's wife, which makes his guilt even more obvious. But Batman is not easily swayed.
They go to the woman's home and find her at gunpoint. While they are able to stop them men from hurting her, they themselves are stunned when the carpet is literally pulled out from under them. We quickly learn that the clerk had been set up as he walked with his twins the evening before. The jewels were planted on him so when the police were waiting for him, he was arrested. The rest of the jewels were placed with the kids. The mother, seeing one of the three earlier in the day skulking about the home, panicked and decided to leave the children with someone she felt she could trust, like Bruce Wayne.
Meanwhile, Alfred finds himself chasing after a favored ball of the twins when it rolls away from him while on a walk. The crooks pick up the ball and run off with it, leaving Alfred to take up their trail, by borrowing a bike - AND PURSUING THE CROOKS' CAR WITH THE BABIES IN TOW!
