But it was not the kind, elderly housekeeper. A moment later Mary Nestor hurried into the room, her face and manner showing that she was worried and excited.
“Have you found Tom?” was her first inquiry, even before she nodded in greeting.
“No, Tom hasn’t showed up yet,” Ned answered with as much cheerfulness as he could put into his voice. “But he’ll be along soon—we hope.” He felt forced to add that last, for as the hours passed and no word came from Tom, even the optimistic Ned began to lose heart.
Then it was that Mary Nestor showed her true grit and spirit. Instead of sitting down and sighing or crying, she assumed a firm air and said:
“When he didn’t come over last night I had a feeling that something had happened to him. I can’t explain it, but I had that feeling. Now what have you done to find him, and what else remains to be done?”
“There’s system for you!” exclaimed Ned admiringly. “Well, here’s the situation.” Then he related to Mary what they knew of the case, stating that he had met Tom the evening before just outside the big fence.
“Then that was the last any one has seen of him?” said the girl.
“Yes, the last, as far as we can find out,” Ned answered. “When all the men report for work we will have each one questioned. It is possible some of them may have seen Tom after I did.”
But this hope soon faded. A check-up of the entire factory force resulted in nothing.
“The next thing to do,” decided Mary, “is to begin at the point where you saw him, Ned, and make a careful examination of the ground, to see if there is any evidence of a struggle. It is possible that Tom was overpowered and carried off soon after you left him.”