ce value
and waited hopefully for an early return of her daughter and her
daughter's guests. Half an hour went by and the girls did not appear.
Darkness was now visibly gathering. Mrs. Stanlock was becoming uneasy
and called up her husband's office, but Mr. Stanlock had already
started for home. By the time he arrived, the good woman was almost
prostrated, so rapidly were fear and apprehension taking possession of
her.

The big coal operator scented danger at once. Immediately after
gathering the principal details of the day's occurrences, he got the
police station on the wire and communicated them to the officer in
charge.

Drastic measures were resorted to at once. The day shift of uniformed
and ununiformed guardians of the law was summoned back to duty, and a
posse of available citizens were sworn in.

About 7 o'clock a posse of citizen policemen, led by three or four
uniformed members of the regular force, began a canvass of the
neighborhood to discover information that might suggest a clew as to
the whereabouts of the missing girls. Half an hour later a woman
informed one of the canvassers that she had seen eight or ten girls
enter the yard of the old Buckholz place between 3 and 4 o'clock, but
had not noticed whether they went into the house or not. The man to
whom this statement was made blew a whistle as an agreed signal to the
other searchers that he had important information and soon a score of
them were running toward him from all directions.

A comparison of notes disclosed the fact that another member of the
party of canvassers had received a similar statement from another
resident in the neighborhood. It was decided, therefore, to delay no
further but to proceed at once to the house in question, while one of
the men hastened to Mr. Stanlock with news of developments in order
that he might be present and direct the next move.

The latter was waiting at home, ready to answer a telephone or
personal call from any of the central points of investigation. The
nervous strain of the apparent certainty, by this time, that the
disappearance of Marion and her guests portended serious developments
had compelled Mrs. Stanlock to take to her bed and summon a physician
and a nurse. The call from the searchers in the neighborhood took Mr.
Stanlock from her bedside, and so speedily did he respond to it that
he was at the entrance of the Buckholz house almost as soon as the
party of citizens and uniformed policemen.