g, when she entered the office, Mr. Raider met
her with more excitement in his manner than she had ever seen before.
As a rule, excitement does not sit well on nicely-rounded, pink-skinned
men.

"Lark," he began hurriedly, "do you know the Dalys? On Elm Street?"

"Yes, they are members of our church. I know them."

He leaned forward. "Big piece of news down that way. This morning at
breakfast, Daly shot his daughter Maisie and the little boy. They are
both dead. Daly got away, and we can't get at the bottom of it. The
family is shut off alone, and won't see any one."

Lark's face had gone white, and she clasped her slender hands together,
swaying, quivering, bright lights before her eyes.

"Oh, oh!" she murmured brokenly. "Oh, how awful!"

Mr. Raider did not observe the white horror in Lark's face. "Yes, isn't
it?" he said. "I want you to go right down there."

"Yes, indeed," said Lark, though she shivered at the thought. "Of
course, I will." Lark was a minister's daughter. If people were in
trouble, she must go, of course. "Isn't it--awful? I never knew
of--such a thing--before. Maisie was in my class at school. I never
liked her very well. I'm so sorry I didn't,--oh, I'm so sorry. Yes, I'll
go right away. You'd better call papa up and tell him to come, too."

"I will, but you run along. Being the minister's daughter, they'll let
you right up. They'll tell you all about it, of course. Don't talk to
any one on the way back. Come right to the office. Don't stay any longer
than you can help, but get everything they will say about it,
and--er--comfort them as much as you can."

"Yes,--yes." Lark's face was frightened, but firm. "I--I've never gone
to the houses much when--there was trouble. Prudence and Fairy have
always done that. But of course it's right, and I'm going. Oh, I do wish
I had been fonder of Maisie. I'll go right away."

And she hurried away, still quivering, a cold chill upon her. Three
hours later she returned to the office, her eyes dark circled, and red
with weeping. Mr. Raider met her at the door.

"Did you see them?"

"Yes," she said in a low voice. "They--they took me up-stairs, and--"
She paused pitifully, the memory strong upon her, for the woman, the
mother of five children, two of whom had been struck down, had lain in
Lark's strong tender arms, and sobbed out the ugly story.

"Did they tell you all about it?"

"Yes, they told me. They told me."

"Come on into my office," he said