Both ladies looked very grave, for there seemed likelihood of this being the case. Edna's tears began to flow again, and she buried her head in Miss Eloise's lap.
[89] "Poor little girl, you have had a sorry time of it," said Miss Eloise, gently caressing the child's head. "What do you think had better be done, sister?"
Miss Newman sat thoughtfully looking into the fire for a few minutes before she answered, then she said: "I think I'd better go up to the Duncan's. They have a telephone, you know, and can let Mrs. Ramsey know where Edna is. She will be worried, I am sure. Then we can telephone to the hotel and find out if Louis is there. We need not necessarily alarm his mother, but if he is not there I will get Rudolph Duncan to go out and inquire about whose boat that was which Louis saw by the cave, and we may discover something that way. Rudolph will like to go, for he has his sou'wester and rubber boots, while as for me I am used to going out in all sorts of weather. I will not be gone any longer than I can help, and—why Edna, you have not had any dinner. Of course you haven't."
"Why, is it dinner time?" she asked.
"It is past our dinner time. We had just finished when you came in, or at least Amelia had just finished washing the dishes. We have dinner in the middle of the day, you know, on account of having Amelia come to do the dishes. Ellie, dear, I wonder if you could see that the child has something to eat while I am gone. Everything is in the refrigerator, but I am afraid there is not much beyond bread and milk."
[90] "There is pie," Miss Eloise reminded her, "and there are plenty of tomatoes. We can manage, I am sure, sister. You go right along."
So Miss Newman did not waste time in getting ready, but started forth in a very few minutes, and then Miss Eloise sent Edna out into the little shed to report upon what she might find in the refrigerator.
The child realized now that she was really hungry, and having shared her anxieties with some one to be depended upon, she felt that there was nothing further to be done. Holding up the blue kimono so it would not drag on the floor, she went out into the little shed, annexed to the back of the bungalow. She looked inside the refrigerator. There was a plate of cold fish. Not very appetizing, thought she. A dish of cold baked potatoes—neither did these appeal to her—, a few tomatoes, butter, milk, and a little saucer of stewed apples. She took out the milk, the butter, the tomato and the stewed apples, and set these on the table. "I've found something," she called out.
"Bring it in here by the fire," said Miss Eloise in reply.
Edna carefully carried the things into the front room.