Muriel did not arrive until study hour was over, and the girls were chatting in the ten-minute interval.
"Hello!" Phyllis greeted her as she slipped into her seat. One look at her face made her add:
"Why, what is the matter?"
Muriel's eyes were red and swollen, and she looked as though she had been crying for hours. Phyllis did not show as much concern as she might have, for it was a well-known fact that Muriel cried very easily.
At Phyllis's question, she buried her head in her arms and started to sob.
"Something terrible has happened," she managed to say. "I'm so nervous I simply can't stop crying. I've been interviewed by policemen and detectives all morning and I am frightened to death."
Phyllis put her arm around her consolingly.
"But what has happened, dear? Tell us," she begged.
"Oh, it's too terrible for words!" Muriel was certainly prolonging the agony.
"What is?" Sally demanded sharply.