LITMIR.BIZ

      A LOUD bong from the grandfather’s clock in the hall downstairs made Ellie Pride close her book and lay it in her lap. She tilted her head and listened hopefully for some sound from her brother’s room. Wasn’t Tony ever going to finish his homework? It was eight-thirty. If he didn’t get done soon there wouldn’t be time to play Canasta or even have a game of checkers before they had to go to bed.

      The house was utterly silent after the chime of the clock had died away. Outdoors the October wind was rising to a howl. It struck the walls of the Pride mansion in gusts and made the windows rattle. There was a sharp tick, tick of dry leaves scraping against the glass. It sounded as if a storm was blowing up.

      Ellie turned out her light and pressed her nose against the windowpane. Was the sky cloudy or were the stars shining? She couldn’t see well enough to tell, because the tall columns that rose from the porch floor to the overhanging roof, and the trees at the corners of the house, shut off her view of the sky.

      Right on a level with Ellie’s eyes a row of dark windows stared blankly at her from the empty buildings of the mill across the street. She hated those buildings with their rows of staring eyes, even if Grandfather Pride had built them. No men were left in the Pride family now to manage Darkwater Mill. It had been idle for years.

      If Aunt Rachel would only sell the mill and the hulking warehouse building on the slope above it, everybody in Darkwater Falls would be happy, and Ellie would be the happiest of all. Then perhaps Aunt Rachel could forget the tragic things that had happened in the past. The Pride mansion might become a cheerful place to live in, as it must have been long ago.

      She shook her head. It was no use dreaming that her aunt would ever sell the mill, though it made Ellie’s gray-green eyes light up just to think of it.

      She heard footsteps in the hall, a few minutes later, and lifted her head expectantly. Tony must have finished his homework. There would be time for a game, after all.

      But when her brother stepped into her room the brightness faded from her face. He had his jacket on, and his dark eyes were excited.

      “You’re going out,” she said, with a note of disappointment in her voice.

      “Just a little while. I’m going uptown to meet some kids I know. You don’t need to tell Aunt Rachel, unless she happens to miss me.”

      “Oh, Tony, you ought to ask her. What if she doesn’t want you to go?” Ellie protested.

      But he was already on his way. He peered back into the room with his impish grin. “Be a sport, Ellie. You know I’d never get out if I asked her every time.”

      She listened nervously while he tiptoed down the hall and the back stairs. When she heard the door close she shook her head until the short dark red curls fell over her cheeks. She whispered furiously, “Oh, he makes me so mad!”

      It wasn’t fair of Tony. It really wasn’t. Now she would have to spend the rest of the evening alone, and she would have to worry every minute until he got back. If Aunt Rachel found out about him—if she knew how many nights he slipped out of the house like this—what would she do?

      “Elinor!”

      Her aunt’s voice came so clearly to her ears it made her jump. What if she asked for Tony?

      She ran into the hall and leaned over the railing. Her aunt was at the foot of the stairs, gazing anxiously upward.

      “Have you seen Kim?” she asked. “Is he up there with you?”

      Ellie’s pounding heart quieted. Kim was Aunt Rachel’s Siamese cat, whom she loved more than she seemed to love anyone in the world, except maybe Tony.

      “I haven’t seen him,” she replied. “He isn’t up here.”

      “He might be in Tony’s room,” her aunt suggested.

      “I’ll look.”

      Ellie ran into her brother’s room. It was empty, as she had known it would be.

      “Kim’s not there, either,” she said.

      She started down the stairs. “I’ll help you look for him, Aunt Rachel.”

      “He came in at dinnertime and I haven’t let him out since then. But I can’t find him anywhere.”

      Ellie was alarmed. Could the cat have slipped out when Tony opened the back door? She ought to step outside and call him, but if she did that, Aunt Rachel would wonder why.

      “I’ll find him,” she said reassuringly.

      She hurried through the big rooms that were arranged in a gloomy row, one behind the other, in this old house. If she could get far enough ahead of her aunt, she might have a chance to give a quick call or two from the back door.

      Kim wasn’t in the kitchen, although it was his favorite room.