Mrs. Daniels frowned, but made no objection, and after getting as
minute a description as possible of the clothing worn by the girl the
night before, we left the house.



CHAPTER IV

THOMPSON'S STORY


"An affair of some mystery," remarked Mr. Gryce, as we halted at the
corner to take a final look at the house and its environs. "Why a
girl should choose such a method of descent as that,"--and he pointed
to the ladder down which we believed her to have come-- "to leave a
house of which she had been an inmate for a year, baffles me, I can
tell you. If it were not for those marks of blood which betray her
track, I would be disinclined to believe any such hare-brained
adventure was ever perpetrated by a woman. As it is, what would'nt I
give for her photograph. Black hair, black eyes, white face and thin
figure! what a description whereby to find a girl in this great city
of New York. Ah!" said he with sudden gratification, "here is Mr.
Blake again; his appointment must have been a failure. Let us see if
his description will be any more definite." And hurrying towards the
advancing figure of that gentleman, he put some questions to him.

Instantly Mr. Blake stopped, looked at him blankly for a moment, then
replied in a tone sufficiently loud for me to hear: