"He ain't come home after school. Miss Kelly, she took Marian and went over there, but they wasn't no one lef' there. Chillun all gone."
"Yes, Muvver, we went over three times, Miss Kelly and me, and he wasn't there, and the janitor said no children were there."
"But he always comes straight home." Catherine's hand was at her throat, as if it could melt the constriction there. "You didn't see him, Marian?"
"No." Marian flopped her hair wildly. "Miss Kelly was waiting for me, and Letty, and we had a walk, and he wasn't here——"
"Has Mr. Hammond been in?"
"Yessum, he's been in, and out, chasing around wild like."
"He knows, then?"
"He come home sort of early," explained Flora. Catherine shrank from the dramatic intensity of Flora's words. "Came home, and foun' his child wasn't here. He's gone for the police."
The telephone rang, and Catherine hurried herself into the study.
"Yes?" Her voice was faint. "Yes? Who is it?"