“Is the little boy lost?” asked Mrs. Somers, rising. “No, he has not been here. When did you miss him?”
“It’s over two hours since anyone’s seen him, ma’am. I was busy and thought he was with his ma, and she thought I had him. We didn’t miss him till about half an hour ago, and we’ve looked everywhere about the house and grounds. I just thought he might have run in here, ma’am,” said the frightened maid.
“He certainly has not been here!” said auntie, “Have you seen Phelps, children?”
“No,” they both said, positively.
They hadn’t seen Phelps. They hadn’t ever seen him.
“I’m so sorry,” said auntie. “Still he can’t have gone very far. Eliza, ask Mike or Thomas if they’ve seen the child anywhere around this morning. Have you been to the village?”
“Mrs. Bennett’s just gone up there, herself, ma’am,” returned the nurse. “And the gardener has gone the other way to look for him.”
Eliza came back and said that Mike had seen such a little fellow further down the road, near the farm-house, earlier in the morning.
“P’raps our man has found him, then,” said the nurse, hurrying off, while auntie sent Eliza again to tell Mike and Thomas to join in the search.
“Auntie,” broke out Zaidee, a little while later, “I forgot to tell you that we’ve got a little boy of our own, down stairs.”