Granny clutched his arm tighter and shook him. "You don't think Mr. Bill had a hand in it too, Joe?" she cried shrilly. "You don't blame Mr. Bill too, do you?"
"No!" Joe shook his head. He did not see how Mr. Bill could be blamed. Mr. Bill had been working untiringly to find a clue which would lead him to Tessie. He had sworn a mighty oath that he would not close his eyes until he found Tessie. "No," Joe told Granny, "I don't think Bill Kingley knows any more than I do."
"Oh!" Granny released Joe's arm and dropped into a chair. "I thought perhaps you might mean that Tessie had eloped with Mr. Bill, and his father knew about it. I thought that was what you might mean when you said you'd like to wring old Mr. Kingley's neck."
"No, I didn't mean that!" But Joe did not tell her what he did mean. He just stood and stared at the telephone, as if he would force it to ring and tell him where Tessie was.
Granny threw her handkerchief over her face and broke into loud lamentations. Johnny ran to her.
"Don't you cry, Granny! Don't you cry! The Scouts'll find Tessie all right! I wish you'd let me go and help them!"
Granny put her arms around him tight. "No, you can't go, Johnny!" she sobbed. "You can't go! The Sons of Sunshine might take you, too. You stay here with me!"
"It's dreadful!" Norah Lee told Joe. Norah's face was white and anxious, and her voice shook. "If you only knew where to look!"
"That's it!" groaned Joe. "We haven't any idea where to look! It's worse than a needle in a haystack! She might be anywhere!"