"What poor little fellow? Oh, how you terrify me," said Miss Ford. "Little Ralph Durrant," said the doctor. "The fact is, Harriet brought him to my house this afternoon--" "You dared!" began Miss Ford. "Oh yes," said the doctor; "she dared a good deal. She was very naughty, we know that, but there's no use in thinking of her at present. She left Ralph in my drawing-room, and when she came back for him, he was gone." "Oh!" said Miss Ford, "what is to be done?" "You are certain he has not returned here?" "Certain?" said the poor teacher; "of course I am certain. But I will go and enquire: I will look everywhere." Miss Ford did look. She searched the house; she questioned the maids, she went to Ralph's own little bedroom, she even penetrated to that snug nest where Curly Pate lay like a ball of down. Nowhere was Ralph to be found. She came back at last, with a pale face, to the doctor. "The child has not returned," she said. "What is to be done?" "We must lose no time," said Dr Pyke. "Harriet--" Harriet had seated herself on the first chair. She sat there huddled up. There is no other word to describe her appearance. Her hat was pushed forward over her eyes, and those eyes were red with crying. Now, however, her great terror prevented any further flow of tears. "Harriet," repeated the doctor, sternly. "Yes, sir." "You know more about Ralph than I do. Have you the least--the slightest idea where he may have gone?" Harriet thought of the gipsies. She remembered how she had promised Ralph to take him to see them; how she had failed in her promise. "Perhaps,"--she said--"oh, I don't know--but he was very much excited about the gipsies; he may have gone to them." "We will send at once to enquire," said Miss Ford. "We must on no account wait until Mrs Burton returns; there is not an instant to lose." "I will go myself," said the doctor. "I know where their encampment is. It is really scarcely likely that they have the child. Gipsies don't often steal children now-a-days. We may find the little fellow anywhere. I will also call at the police station, and get the police to begin to search for him." When Dr Pyke left the house, Miss Ford turned to Harriet. "A nice sort of school-mother you have made," she said. "You don't suppose that you will win your pony after this, you bad girl. Come with me at once into the third form parlour, and wait there until Mrs Burton returns. She will then decide what is to be done with you." "I don't want any pony," suddenly sobbed Harriet. "I only want Ralph. I know I am desperately naughty, but I don't want anything in all the world now but Ralph." "It is easy for you to talk like that now that you have neglected the poor little fellow so shamefully, and disobeyed Mrs Burton's strictest orders. Come with me at once, you bad child."