“Not a word.”
“Justin Bellwood died the second day out from New York.”
Frank gasped for breath, caught hold of the back of his chair, and stood staring at the Vermonter.
“Justin—Bellwood—dead?”
He spoke the words slowly, as if he did not quite realize what they meant.
“Yaw,” said Hans, “he vos a gone case.”
“Then—then Elsie is left all alone in the world. Poor little Elsie! I supposed she was far away on the ocean. What was she doing in Pittsburg?”
“She was living there with some of her folks or some of her friends, I dunno which. Didn’t git much chaince to talk with her.”
“But you found out her address—where she was living?”
“No.”