"Get out of the room--Get out of my sight before I kill you," shouted Wayne as he sprang toward the telephone. "Call James--get the gardners--everybody--search the grounds. Never mind the rain--turn on the lights--raise the devil--but find the man who's got my baby or I'll break every one of your necks." Then, getting an answer to his violent rattling of the hook on the telephone, he shouted to the operator: "Call the chief of police--Send men and detectives to Harris Wayne's and drive like hell. Baby kidnapped. Five thousand dollars reward--" The receiver dropped limply from his hand, his body lurched heavily to one side and his head drooped forward upon the table. For the first time in his life Harris Wayne had fainted. CHAPTER XV IN THE WATCHES OF THE NIGHT "Until the Day break and the shadows flee away,"--Song of Sol. iv, 6 "Oh, my tooth! Oh, my tooth! Mollie, hain't ther nawthin' ye kin do?" Bobbie, tearful and angry, was almost rebellious. "Wow! Lawsey! Hain't thet thunder turrible? Mollie, does thunder strike?" Johnnie wanted to know. "What ef hit set fire ter th' barn! Would we burn up, Mollie?" That was Leon. "Mollie, Mollie, I'm afeared. Didja ever see sich a storm, Mollie? Hain't yo' afeared? D'y s'pose Stevie's out in hit?" "Don't--don't none o' yo' talk about Stevie. Hit makes me feel bad. He's gone 'n' Cynthy's gone, an' ther's only me left ter look arter all yo' young-uns an' I cain't do hit alone--I jist cain't. I'm a-nigh sick thinkin' erbout hit. An' I dunno what's become o' ary one on 'em. Mebbe they're worsser off en ary o' us! When I think thet, I feel ter set me right down an' die.--Hyar, Bobbie, I'm a-makin' a poultice now fer thet that tooth. Come hyar til I tie hit on.--Shore, the thunder strikes, jist same as th' light'nin', but hit don't strike good little boys an' girls. Go ter bed now an' fergit hit. I'll read yo' all some stories soon es I kin.--Is thet Amy a-cryin'? Leathie, give her thet that sugar teat I made. Hit fell on th' floor. I wisht she hed a dollie!" Poor Mollie was almost distracted. She did not wonder that the children were frightened. The storm that was raging was unusually severe. They could hear the trees bending and snapping under the strain of the wind, and the rain pouring in torrents upon the roof of the old structure in which they were so precariously sheltered. All the farm animals were uneasy and restless and the children were as wakeful as young hawks. If any of them didn't really have an ailment or need some kind of attention they were in a mood to imagine something.