"
"I--we won't talk of that, Black. Tell Mrs. Scoville to keep me
informed--and bring me any message that may come. The boy, even if
he leaves the first thing in the morning, cannot get here before
to-morrow night."
"Not possibly."
"He will telegraph. I shall hear from him. O God! the hours I must
wait; my boy! my boy!"
It was nature's irrepressible cry. Black pressed his hand and went
out with the telegram.
BOOK III
THE DOOR OF MYSTERY
XXVII
HE MUST BE FOUND
Three hours later, an agitated confab took place at the gate, or
rather between the two front gates. Mr. Black had rung for
admittance, and Mrs. Scoville had answered the call. In the
constrained interview which followed, these words were said:
"One moment, Mrs. Scoville. How can I tell the judge! Young
Ostrander is gone--flew the city, and I can get no clew to his
whereabouts. Some warning of what is happening here may have
reached him, or he may be simply following impulses consequent
upon his personal disappointments; but the fact is just this--he
asked for two weeks' leave to go West upon business,--and he's
been gone three. Meanwhile, no word has come, nor can his best
friends tell the place of his destination. I have been burning the
telegraph wires ever since the first despatch, and this is the
result."
"Poor Judge Ostrander!" Then, in lower and still more pathetic
tones, "Poor Reuther!"
"Where is Reuther?"
"At Miss Weeks'. I had to command her to leave me alone with the
judge.
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