climax; he led up to it by degrees as slow as his audience would
permit.
'Returned? I did not know she intended to go away. Her yacht party is
next week, I understand.'
'Yes, madam.'
'Where has she gone?'
'To Tuxedo, madam.'
'Tuxedo?'
'Mrs. Winfield has just rung us up from there upon the telephone to
request that necessaries for an indefinite stay be despatched to her.
She is visiting Mrs. Bailey Bannister.'
If Mrs. Porter had been Steve, she would probably have said 'For the
love of Mike!' at this point. Being herself, she merely repeated the
butler's last words.
'If I may be allowed to say so, madam, I think that there must have
been trouble at Mrs. Bannister's. A telephone-call came from her very
early this morning for Mrs. Winfield which caused Mrs. Winfield to rise
and leave in a taximeter-cab in an extreme hurry. If I might be allowed
to suggest it, it is probably a case of serious illness. Mrs. Winfield
was looking very disturbed.'
'H'm!' said Mrs. Porter. The exclamation was one of disappointment
rather than of apprehension. Sudden illnesses at the Bailey home did
not stir her, but she was annoyed that her recital of the squelching of
the publishers would have to wait.
She went upstairs. Her intention was to look in at the nursery and
satisfy herself that all was well with William Bannister. She had given
Mamie specific instructions as to his care on her departure; but you
never knew. Perhaps her keen eye might be able to detect some deviation
from the rules she had laid down.
It detected one at once. The nursery was empty. According to schedule,
the child should have been taking his bath.
She went downstairs again. Keggs was waiting in the hall. He had
foreseen this return. He had allowed her to go upstairs with his story
but half heard because that appealed to his artistic sense. This story,
to his mind, was too good to be bolted at a sitting; it was the ideal
serial.
'Keggs.'
'Madam?'
'Where is Master William?'
'I fear I do not know, madam.'
'When did he go out? It is seven o'clock; he should have been in an
hour ago.'
'I have been making inquiries, madam, and I regret to inform you that
nobody appears to have seen Master William all day.'
'What?'
'It not being my place to follow his movements, I was unaware of this
until quite recently, but from conversation with the other domestics, I
find that he seems to have disappeared!'
'Disappeared?'
