to the
neighbors', but this was in the summer, when doors were open and he
could easily get out. He had never before been known to run away in
winter.

"Oh, where can he be?" exclaimed Janet.

"We'll find him," declared Teddy.

He saw that Janet was almost ready to cry.

"Help me look, children," said Mrs. Martin. "He may be in one of the
rooms here. We must look in every one."

So the search began.

The Curlytops and their mother had gone through about half the rooms of
the house without finding Trouble when Uncle Frank and Aunt Jo came
back.

"Did you find him?" they asked Baby William's mother.

"No," she answered. Then she asked eagerly: "Did you?"

"He hadn't been to any of the neighbors' houses where we inquired," said
Uncle Frank.

"Dick is going to ask farther down," added Aunt Jo. "I think he said at
a house where a little boy named Henry lives."

"Oh, yes! Henry Simpson!" exclaimed Ted. "Trouble likes him. But Henry's
house is away down at the end of the street."

"Well, sometimes William goes a good way off," said his mother. "I hope
he's there. But we must search all over the house."

"And even down cellar," added Uncle Frank. "I know when I was a little
fellow I ran away and hid, and they found me an hour or so later in the
coal bin. At least so I've been told. I don't remember about it myself.
I must have been pretty dirty."

"Oh, I don't think Trouble would go in the coal," said his mother. "But,
Nora, you might look down there. We'll go upstairs now."

With Uncle Frank and Aunt Jo to help in the search the Curlytops and
their mother went up toward the top of the house. Mother Martin looked
in her room, where Trouble slept. He might have crawled into her bed or
into his own little crib, she thought. But he was not there.

"He isn't in my room!" called Ted, after he had looked about it.

"Are you sure?" asked the anxious mother.

"Yes'm."

"And he isn't here," added Janet, as she came out of her room. "I looked
under the bed and everywhere."

"In the closet?" asked Uncle Frank.

"Yes, in the closet, too," replied Janet.

"Maybe he's in my room," said Aunt Jo. "It's a large one and there are
two closets there. Poor little fellow, maybe he's crying his eyes out."

"If he was crying we'd hear him," remarked Ted.

He and Janet followed Aunt Jo into her room. The light was turned on and
they looked around. Trouble was not in sight and Aunt Jo was just
starting to look in her larg