go into daddy's room."

But inside the door of daddy's room, with the younger girls clinging to
her, and Fairy looking odd and disturbed, Prudence stopped abruptly and
stared about the room curiously.

"Fairy, didn't father leave his watch hanging on that nail by the
table? Seems to me I saw it there this morning. I remember thinking I
would tease him for being forgetful."

And the watch was not there.

"I think it was Sunday he left it," answered Fairy in a low voice. "I
remember seeing it on the nail, and thinking he would need it,--but I
believe it was Sunday."

Prudence looked under the bed, and in the closet, but their father's
room was empty. Should they go farther? For a moment, the girls stood
looking at one another questioningly. Then--they heard a loud thud
down-stairs, as of some one pounding on a door. There was no longer
any doubt. Some one was in the house! Connie and the twins screamed
again and clung to Prudence frantically. And Fairy said, "I think we'd
better lock the door and stay right here until morning, Prue."

But Prudence faced them stubbornly. "If you think I'm going to let any
one steal that fifty dollars, you are mistaken. Fifty dollars does not
come often enough for that, I can tell you."

"It's probably stolen already," objected Fairy.

"Well, if it is, we'll find out who did it, and have them arrested.
I'm going down to telephone to the police. You girls must lock the
door after me, and stay right here."

The little ones screamed again, and Fairy said: "Don't be silly, Prue,
if you go I'm going with you, of course. We'll leave the kiddies here
and they can lock the door. They'll be perfectly safe in here."

But the children loudly objected to this. If Prue and Fairy went, they
would go! So down the stairs they trooped, a timorous trembling crowd.
Prudence went at once to the telephone, and called up the residence of
the Allans, their neighbors across the street. After a seemingly
never-ending wait, the kind-hearted neighbor left his bed to answer the
insistent telephone. Falteringly Prudence explained their predicament,
and asked him to come and search the house. He promised to be there in
five minutes, with his son to help.

"Now," said Prudence more cheerfully, "we'll just go out to the kitchen
and wait. It's quiet there, and away from the rest of the house, and
we'll be perfectly safe." To the kitchen, then, they hurried, and
found real comfort in its s