absence, called from below, "Mr. Mudge!"

"Well, wife?"

"What in the name of wonder keeps you up there so long?"

"Just come up and see."

Mrs. Mudge did come up. Her husband pointed to the empty bed.

"What do you think of that?" he asked.

"What about it?" she inquired, not quite comprehending.

"About that boy, Paul. When I called him I got no answer, so I came up,
and behold he is among the missing."

"You don't think he's run away, do you?" asked Mrs. Mudge startled.

"That is more than I know."

"I'll see if his clothes are here," said his wife, now fully aroused.

Her search was unavailing. Paul's clothes had disappeared as
mysteriously as their owner.

"It's a clear case," said Mr. Mudge, shaking his head; "he's gone.
I wouldn't have lost him for considerable. He was only a boy, but I
managed to get as much work out of him as a man. The question is now,
what shall we do about it?"