"Sh—sh!" There was a step on the stairs. It seemed as if everyone stopped breathing to listen.
CHAPTER XXIII
Larry Donovan jumped to the door.
But it was Mr. Wells' grim face that appeared in the circle of light and his grimmer voice that asked harshly:
"What's the matter? What's all this disturbance through the building, Donovan? Every door is open and there's a general turmoil."
They faced him indignantly, fellow tenants and janitor. Each had had some experience with him that had been more unpleasant than pleasant. All of them knew that he disliked Mary Rose, that he had complained to the agents because she lived in the basement with the Donovans. Each of them resented the selfishness that had brought him down to make another complaint when all of them were so worried and anxious. It was Bob Strahan who put some of this feeling into words.
"No doubt you'll be glad to hear that Mary Rose, the little girl who has been such a nuisance to you, has disappeared?" he said sarcastically.
Mr. Wells looked at him from under his shaggy eyebrows. "What do you mean?" he snapped. "What do you mean?"
Everyone tried to tell him at once but Mrs. Donovan who was sobbing in her apron and could not speak. Mr. Wells looked at her oddly.