had disappeared. She was not with her
mother!

"She's gone," was all he said, and, wheeling, went out.

* * * * *

Not one of the servants could tell Madelene or the distracted mother any
more than they had told the father.

The search began without the slightest clue of the child's whereabouts.
Elsie had disappeared, as if she had been snatched into the sky. The
storm, already very severe, had thickened the early twilight into dense
darkness. The light snow that had fallen earlier in the day to the
depth of several inches drove in swirling clouds before the wind and
piled in deep drifts, while the congealed air pelted icy particles of
frozen moisture into the confused uproar upon forest and field. Fear
that the child had started out to find her mother and had been overtaken
by the blizzard obsessed Waldstricker. He sent messengers in all
directions, and himself rode furiously through the snow inquiring
everywhere. Finding no trace of her at the neighboring houses, he
instituted a systematic search of the locality.

* * * * *

All the afternoon Young had sat with Tessibel, most of the time in
silence. She showed no desire to talk, and he knew not what to say.
Watching from the sitting room window, Tess seemed to find diversion in
the wind-driven snow, as though the blizzard's riot met and matched the
aching bewilderment in her own breast.

Nor did she pay any attention to a knock which resounded above the
beating of the storm. Deforrest went to the door and carried on an
undertoned conversation with some one outside. Then after dispatching
the caller, he went back to the girl.

"Tess," he hesitated, but his voice broke and he was unable to complete
his sentence. In responsive inquiry, she turned from the window and
looked up at him. The deep dejection of her attitude depicted her
despondency and despair. The brown eyes, dull and lustreless, staring
out of the drawn white face, expressed the hopeless wonderment the man
had seen in the glazing orbs of a stricken deer. A great wave of pity
welled up in him. How could he break this frozen composure and bring to
the overwrought heart the healing blessing of flowing tears?

"Tessibel," he continued, sitting down, "what were you thinking about?"

"I was wondering what I could do to ... hurt Waldstricker," she replied,
gripping the arms of her chair. Then she rose suddenly, throwing up her
head. The inte