“I can’t find her––I don’t believe she’s in the house,” wailed Mrs. Burton.
Barnes regarded her dumbly for a moment and then said slowly and ponderously:
“My dear lady, I assure you that she is not in the house. If you’ll only listen a moment”–––
“I won’t listen,” Mrs. Burton snapped him up.
Sadie jumped to her feet and rallied to Barnes’s defense:
“But, auntie, this gentleman has been doing everything he can to help us––everything. He’s been watching.”
“Watching? Watching what?” demanded auntie, suspiciously.
“Ah, that’s it! What? What haven’t I been watching––for hours?” cried Barnes.
“But what have you been watching for?” Mrs. Burton shrilled.