e Mrs. Orban had made--that everything of value
must be put away under lock and key. She had no fancy to be
perpetually paying away rewards for recovered goods. She
believed Sinkum Fung to be quite capable of setting people
to do these little pilferings just in order to obtain the
rewards. Disagreeable as was the idea, it frightened her far
less than the thought of genuine black-fellows lurking about
the place; they were really dangerous, cruel, and lawless.

Mrs. Orban took Peter back with her into the dining-room, and he
sat cuddled up on her knee while she finished dinner.

They were all sitting listening to just one "good-night" story
before going to bed, when Mary came into the room, gave a
frightened glance round, and exclaimed,--

"Lor', ma'am, haven't you got Miss Becky here? I made sure you
had."

Every one stared at Mary, and thought she looked rather white and
queer.

"Did you, Mary?" asked Mrs. Orban rather hurriedly. "Why?"

"Well, ma'am," said Mary in an unsteady voice, "because she isn't
in her bed."

Mrs. Orban sprang to her feet.

"Not in her bed?" she exclaimed. "My good woman, what do you
mean?"

Setting Peter down on the ground, she turned swiftly and left the
room.

"I just went in to turn down the beds," explained Mary to the twins
as they hurriedly followed, "and went over to Miss Becky's corner
to take a look at her, and she wasn't there. I didn't stop a
minute, I was so took aback, but came straight off to see if maybe
she was in the dining-room. You might have knocked me down with a
feather when I saw she wasn't."

Mrs. Orban rushed to Becky's bed. She was standing beside it as if
petrified when the others entered. The bed was empty. This was no
dream. Becky really and truly was not there.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE WITCH.

Of course Peter's story jumped to every one's mind, and with a
horrified cry Mrs. Orban fell forward, fainting, on to the empty
bed.

The recent hunt through the house had been, as Eustace guessed, a
greater strain than she had allowed any one to see; she could not
be certain that they were on a wild-goose chase. This, coming on
the top of it, was just too much for her.

Instances of children being stolen had from time to time come to
her knowledge--stories of little ones silently, mysteriously
disappearing and never being heard of again. The twins had heard
the same from the servants, among other disturbing stories. This
last terrible event seemed