Benjamin Corvet, of Chicago, aboard.'"

"You've received nothing later than this?" she asked.

"Nothing regarding Mr. Corvet, Miss Sherrill," the clerk replied.

"Or regarding-- Have you obtained a passenger list?"

"No passenger list was kept, Miss Sherrill."

"The crew?"

"Yes; we have just got the names of the crew." He took another copied
sheet from among the pages and handed it to her, and she looked swiftly
down the list of names until she found that of Alan Conrad.

Her eyes filled, blinding her, as she put the paper down, and began to
take off her things. She had been clinging determinedly in her thought
to the belief that Alan might not have been aboard the ferry. Alan's
message, which had sent her father north to meet the ship, had implied
plainly that some one whom Alan believed might be Uncle Benny was on
Number 25; she had been fighting, these last few hours, against
conviction that therefore Alan must be on the ferry too.

She stood by the desk, as the clerk went out, looking through the
papers which he had left with her.

"What do they say?" her mother asked.

Constance caught herself together.

"Wireless signals from No. 25," she read aloud, "were plainly made out
at shore stations at Ludington, Manitowoc, and Frankfort until about
four o'clock, when--"

"That is, until about six hours ago, Constance."

"Yes, mother, when the signals were interrupted. The steamer
_Richardson_, in response to whose signals No. 25 made the change in
her course which led to disaster, was in communication until about four
o'clock; Frankfort station picked up one message shortly after four,
and same message was also recorded by Carferry Manitoulin in southern
end of lake; subsequently all efforts to call No. 25 failed of response
until 4:35 when a message was picked up at once by Manitowoc,
Frankfort, and the _Richardson_. Information, therefore, regarding the
fate of the ferry up to that hour received at this office (Corvet,
Sherrill, and Spearman) consists of the following..."

Constance stopped reading aloud and looked rapidly down the sheet and
then over the next. What she was reading was the carbon of the report
prepared that morning and sent, at his rooms, to Henry, who was not yet
down. It did not contain therefore the last that was known; and she
read only enough of it to be sure of that.

"After 4:10, to repeated signals to Number 25 from _Richardson_ and
shore stations--'Are you in danger?