“No, you must not,” said the physician. “Well, I will go back to my
little patient,” and he sighed, for even he was affected by Dodo’s
suffering.
Grace sought out Paul, who was with his aunt, whom Grace knew slightly.
Mrs. Carr greeted her warmly, and put her arms about her in sympathy.
Paul looked up at the familiar face and asked:
“Oo dot any tandy?”
“No, dear,” said Grace, gently, “but I’ll get you some soon. Mollie
will bring some, perhaps.”
With this promise Paul was content, and Mrs. Carr left him with Grace.
Poor Grace! With all the whirl that her head was in, feeling as
wretched as she did, one thought was uppermost in her mind—the papers
in the saddlebag. So much might happen to the valuable documents that
were needed now—this very instant, perhaps—by her father. She almost
wanted to go out in the storm and search for Prince.
“But perhaps he ran straight home to the stable,” she reasoned. “In
that case it will be all right, if only they think to go out and get
them from the saddle, and take them to papa. Oh, if only Will were home
from that ball game. What can I do? The telephone! They will be worried
when they see Prince come home, cut, and will think I am badly hurt. I
must let them know at once.”
Mrs. Carr took her unexpected guest to the telephone, and Grace was
soon talking to her mother.
“Don’t worry, Momsey,” she said. “Prince ran away with me—an auto hit
him—now don’t faint, I am all right. I’m at Mollie’s Aunt Kittie’s.
Poor Dodo is hurt, I’ll tell you about that later. But, listen. Go out
to the stable—I suppose Prince ran there: Get those papers from the
saddle, and send them to papa at once. Grandma’s papers. They are very
important. What? Prince has not come home? Oh, what can have become of
him? Those missing papers! Oh, telephone to papa at once! He must do
something,” and Grace let the receiver fall from her nerveless hand as
she looked out into the storm. The rain, after a long dry spell, was
coming down furiously.
CHAPTER V
THE GEM
Grace and Mollie were riding home in the carriage that had been sent to
bring Mrs. Billette to the home of her relative, for the anxious
mother, on hearing that Dodo could not be moved, had come to look after
the injured child. Paul went home with his sister. He was munching
contentedly on some candy, and all thought of the recent accident and
scare had vanished in the present small and sweet happiness.
“Oh, it must have been perfectly dreadful, Grace,” said Mollie,
sympathetically. “Perfectly terrible!”
“It was! And are you sure you don’t feel resentful toward me?”
“The idea! Certainly not. It was poor Dodo’s fault, in a way; but I
blame those motorists more than anyone else. They should be found.”
“They certainly made a lot of trouble,” admitted Grace. “But I would
rather find Prince than them. I wonder where he could have run to?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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