m in surprise.

"Why, I thought you wrote you'd come next Tuesday," she cried.

"So I did, Grace. But this time I've come about Tom. Have you seen
him?"

"Tom? No. Did he come here?"

"I thought he might have come. Mr. Sanderson saw him on the road,
headed in this direction."

"Oh, Sam, you look so--so alarmed! What is it? What do you think has
happened?"

"I don't know what has happened, Grace. But something is wrong, I feel
sure of it," answered Sam, with conviction. "Tom is missing, and I
can't imagine what has become of him."

CHAPTER XI

WHAT THE GIRLS KNEW

After that, Sam related the particulars of what had occurred, to which
Grace listened closely. As she did this, tears streamed down the
cheeks of the girl.

"This will break Nellie's heart--if it isn't broken already," she
faltered. "You know I wrote that I had something to tell you, Sam. It
was about Nellie. But I can't tell you here--let us take a walk."

"All right. But I can't stay long--I must go back with Mr. Sanderson
and continue this hunt for Tom."

"To be sure--I won't keep you but a few minutes." Grace led the way
outside and down one of the campus walks. "You remember that time we
came back from the auto ride?" she said.

"Of course."

"Well, when Nellie and I got to our room she threw herself on the bed
and cried as if her heart was breaking. I couldn't do anything with
her. I wanted to find out what it was all about, but at first she
wouldn't tell me a word. Then she said it was Tom--that he had acted
so queerly when they took a walk in the park he had scared her."

"What did he do?"

"Oh, he talked so queer! He told Nellie tie wished he had the
_Dartaway_ back, so that they could go on a honeymoon trip to the moon.
And then he laughed and asked her if she would go on a camelback ride
with him through the Sahara desert. And then he said he didn't want to
get married until he could lay a big nugget of gold at her feet--and a
lot of nonsense like that. She was awfully scared at first, but after
a while he got more rational and then she felt a little better. But
she couldn't get it off her mind, and it made her feel dreadful! And
then, the other day, Tom sent her the queerest letter, full of all
sorts of the wildest kind of nonsense--about going to the North Pole
and bringing the pole back with him, and about sending her a pair of
slippers, to wear in place of gloves, and asking her to send him a re