fall about 5
o'clock
`` One of the girls has disappeared , and we are afraid that something serious has happened , '' he told the officer over the telephone . The latter soon drove up to the house in an automobile and was admitted by Mr. Stanlock . The conference lasted half an hour , but before half this time had elapsed Lieut. Larkin had the station on the wire and was giving instructions to the desk sergeant . To add to the difficulty of the problem , snow began to fall about 5 o'clock , and developed almost into a blizzard in three or four hours . Next morning the two newspapers of Hollyhill carried big headlines and column-and-a-half stories of the new strike development , suggestive of a far-reaching plot that might result in tragedy . Mr. Stanlock had during the evening received all newspaper calls over a special wire in his private room , so as not to disturb the guests with the publicity end of the affair . In the afternoon Mrs. Stanlock announced that she , being an officer of the woman 's club with an important duty to perform , must attend a committee meeting from 3 until 4:30 o'clock , and she asked Miss Ladd to accompany her .