Sez General Grant, risin’ up: “I haven’t time, madam, to examine them, but put me down as a subscriber to both.” Arvilly wuz in high sperits all the way back. As we wended our way to the tarven agin who should we find but Waitstill Webb, and we wuz dretful glad on’t, for we wuz layin’ out to leave Manila in a few days, and this would be our last meetin’ for some time, if not forever. Though I wuz glad to see when questioned by me about her return that she didn’t act so determined as she had acted about devotin’ her hull life to nursin’ the sick.
She told Arvilly confidential that she had had a letter from Ernest White since we had seen her. Arvilly knew that he had wanted to make her his bride before she left Jonesville. But the two ghosts, her murdered love and her duty, 158 stalked between ’em then, and I spozed wuz stalkin’ some now. But as I said more previous, the sun will melt the snow, and no knowin’ what will take place. I even fancied that the cold snow wuz a little more soft and slushy than it had been, but couldn’t tell for certain.
CHAPTER XIV
A dretful thing has happened! I am almost too agitated to talk about it, but when I went down with my pardner and Tommy to breakfast ruther late, for we wrote some letters before we went down, Miss Meechim broke the news to me with red eyes, swollen with weepin’. Aronette, that dear sweet little maid that had waited on all on us as devoted as if we wuz her own mas and mas, wuz missin’. Her bed hadn’t been slep’ in for all night; she went out early in the evenin’ on a errent for Dorothy and hadn’t come back.
She slept in a little room off from Dorothy’s, who had discovered Aronette’s absence very early in the morning, and they had all been searching for her ever sence. But no trace of her could be found; she had disappeared as utterly as if the earth had opened and swallowed her up. Dorothy wuz sick in bed from worry and grief; she loved Aronette like a sister; and Miss Meechim said, bein’ broke up by sorrow, “Next to my nephew and Dorothy I loved that child.”
And anon another dretful thing wuz discovered. Whilst we wuz talkin’ about Aronette, Elder Wessel rushed in distracted, with his neck-tie hangin’ under one ear, and his coat buttoned up wrong and the feathers of his conceit and egotism and self-righteousness hangin’ limp as a wet hen.
Lucia had gone too; had disappeared jest as Aronette had, no trace could be found of her; her bed had not been slept in. She, too, had gone out on an errent the evening before. She and Aronette had been seen to leave the hotel together in the early evening. Elder Wessel, half distracted, searched for them with all his strength of mind and purse.
I started Josiah off a huntin’ the minute he had got 160 through eatin’. He refused pint blank to go before. “Eat,” sez I, “who can eat in such a time as this?”