the hour of
eight
Call Elsie ! '' Patience sprang toward the bedroom , but it was empty . The open doors through the kitchen showed how she had fled . As she searched frantically for her sister , the little clock on the mantel slowly struck the hour of eight . `` She 's gone , '' cried Patience . A premonition of the tragedy of Elsie 's flight flashed upon her mind . `` Oh , '' she cried , `` my little lost sister !