"She has gone."
"Gone!"
"Yes, she has disappeared."
"Don't say that, Miss Manning. Tell me quick all about it."
"I sent her out on an errand this morning, just around the corner, for a spool of cotton, and she has not got back."
"Do you think she lost her way?"
"She couldn't very well do that, it was so near by. No, Rufus, I am afraid she has been carried off by your stepfather."
"What makes you think so, Miss Manning?" demanded Rufus, in excitement.
"I waited half an hour after she went out, wondering what could keep her so long. Then I began to feel anxious, and put on my bonnet, and slipped downstairs into the street. I went round to the store, and found she had gone there and made the purchase, and gone away directly. I was wondering what to do next, when one of the neighbors came up, and said she saw Rose dragged away by a tall man. She gave me a description of him, and it corresponds exactly to the description of Mr. Martin. I am afraid, Rufus, that he has carried our dear little Rose away. What shall we do?"
"I'll have her back," said Rufus, energetically. "He's got her now; but he shan't keep her. But I'm afraid," he added, sorrowfully, "she'll be ill-treated before I can recover her, poor Rose!"