“I’m in her apartment, and I don’t like to tell you over the telephone where she’s gone. But,—Miss Patty,—I think,—Oh, I fear,—she has eloped with Mr. Lansing!”
The last sentence came in an explosive burst, as if the girl could keep her secret no longer.
“What!” exclaimed Patty. And then, suddenly realising that it was a desperate situation, she said, “Don’t say another word, Anne! I will go right straight to you. Stay there till I come.”
She knew the excitable character of the girl, and feared she might get hysterical if she talked further over the telephone. Patty hung up the receiver, and sat still for a moment, thinking deeply.
“I won’t tell Mrs. Allen,” she finally decided, “but I must have some one to help me,—to go with me. I believe I’ll call up Roger.”
But she couldn’t bear to do that. It seemed too dreadful to tell Roger what had happened. She thought next of Kenneth, who was a standby as a loyal friend, but he was far downtown in his office, and might be busy with an important case.
“Philip, of course,” she said to herself; but even with her hand on the receiver, another thought flashed through her mind. “No one could help me to save Mona like Big Bill!” she thought, and on a sudden impulse she called up his hotel.
“Bill,—it’s Patty,” she said, her voice trembling.
“Yes, dear; what is it? What is the matter?”
The kind, quiet voice, with its deep tones of sympathy and capability, made Patty realise that she had appealed to the right one. “Oh, Bill,” she went on, “there’s awful trouble, and you must help me.”