rom
all others Thyrza might hide away, but could she persist in cruelty to
her sister? Surely in some way a message, if only a message, would be
delivered; at least there would come a word to relieve this unendurable
suspense. Every added day of silence was an added fear.

Unable to associate with acquaintances to whom Thyrza's name had become
an unfailing source of vulgar gossip, she changed her place of work.
Work had still to be done, be her heart ever so sore; the meals must be
earned, though now they were eaten in solitude. And she worked harder
than ever, for it was her dread that at any moment she might hear of
Thyrza in distress or danger, and she must have money laid by for such
an emergency. All means of inquiry were used, save that of going to the
police-court and having the event made public through the newspapers.
Neither Lydia nor Gilbert could bear to do that, even after they felt
assured that the child was somewhere wandering alone.

Totty Nancarrow was an active ally in the search, though Lydia did not
know it. Totty, as soon as that unfortunate game of cross-purposes with
Luke Ackroyd had come to an end, experienced a revival of all her
kindness for Thyrza. Privately she was of opinion that no faith
whatever should be given to Egremont's self-defence. In concert with
Ackroyd, she even planned an elaborate scheme for tracking Egremont in
his goings hither and thither. They discovered that he was very seldom
at his rooms in Great Russell Street, but their resources did not allow
them to keep a watch upon him when he was away from town, which
appeared to be very frequently the case. Circumstances of a darkly
suggestive kind they accumulated in abundance, and for weeks constantly
believed themselves on the point of discovering something. Bunce was
taken into their confidence, but he, poor fellow, had occupation enough
for his leisure at home, since Bessie was at Eastbourne. Little Nelly
Bunce often fretted in vain for the attentions of 'Miss Nanco,' upon
whom she had begun to feel a claim. 'Miss Nanco,' for the nonce a
female detective, had little time for nursing.

And Gilbert Grail was once more going to his daily labour, not at the
same factory, however, for he too could not mix with men who knew him.
About a fortnight after the day on which he should have been married,
he got a place at candle-works in Battersea. He could not leave the
house in Walnut Tree Walk, for he, as persistently as Lydia, clun