For hours the two little girls lay with their heads close together by the loft window, peering toward the house, listening for any sound that would let Cynthy know her baby brother was awake and being properly cared for. But no sound came. For a time Stephen shared their vigil but the poor boy was too wearied by the heavy work imposed upon him during the day to keep awake long. He finally crawled off to his corner and fell asleep almost at once. As darkness finally settled down upon the lonely farm the two little watchers in the loft window succumbed to tired bodies and overwrought nerves, and also fell asleep. It was a troubled sleep, broken by low sobs from Cynthy; now and then a moan from Mollie, nervous starts and subdued cries. For each was haunted in dreams by the terrifying experiences through which they had passed and by forebodings of what was to come. Once in the night Mollie thought she awakened. But after a moment of lying with her eyes wide open she decided that she was still asleep and dreaming. She knew she was very tired and miserable and did not want to wake up, so she just lay very still and watched the dream events unfold before her eyes. Whatever it was, it was vague and did not seem to greatly concern her. She saw a house with a light within. The light was that of a pine torch. It moved from room to room. She heard low voices. She saw a tall, shadowy figure come out from the house and walk off into the night. She heard a faint, sharp cry and dreamed that one of the baby pigs had fallen and broken its leg. Then the dream passed on to other vague and fragmentary illusions and at last, when an old rooster crowed under the barn window she knew it was morning and that she had slept all night. Then came the morning chores and finally the children's entrance to the house for something to eat. They looked anxiously about for the baby. Buddy was nowhere in sight! "Where is he? Where's th' baby!" asked Cynthy of Maria. "Hain't yo-uns got hit?" the woman replied, somewhat nervously. "I hain't seed hit sence I got up. Yo' better look out in th' barn." They looked, wildly, frantically. But Buddy was not in the barn nor could they find a trace of the baby anywhere. CHAPTER VIII MOLLIE MAKES A DISCOVERY "For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed and hid that shall not be made known."--Matt. x, 26 Mollie strove to comfort Cynthy. She told her the story of Moses in the bulrushes and of the wonderful care taken of the sparrows.