"Who was here this morning?" he questioned.
"Nobody." Not one of them had seen a person.
"Mrs. Waldstricker was here, wasn't she?" he insisted.
"No, Mrs. Waldstricker hasn't been home today."
The elder set his grim lips and went out again. Elsie was with her mother! That Helen hadn't been to the house didn't prove anything. She'd sent some one. Elsie wouldn't have gone away of her own accord.
When Ebenezer appeared at Madelene's home he was fuming with fury. His sister greeted him cordially and ushered him into the drawing room.
"I'm glad you've come, Ebenezer. Helen's been crying ever since she's been here."
"I'll make her cry more before I'm done with her," gritted Waldstricker.
"But, Ebenezer, she's sick. And you were so cruel to send her away like that."
Waldstricker turned savagely upon the speaker, hands working convulsively and face and eyes ugly from fear and anger.