Leverick, who was listening calmly to the sugges-
tions and the reports of hia sympathizing flock, and
every now and then giving a new comer the little
information he had of the child's departure. The
housekeeper had missed him late in the evening, and
her inquiries in the village had come to nothing,
and she had no idea how or why the child had gone
oS. A dozen people had seen a child, or fancied
they had seen a child, in a dozen different places, but
had paid no attention to it, thinking it a neighbor's
going home, and the excitement of the fire had so
confused their recollection that their testimony came
to nothing. It was only plain that the child had
been lost since last evening, and no one could say
where he had gone.
