t what hour he left. Now,
go; we have not a moment to lose. Mary," (this was the next in order to
Sammy), "will look after the children's breakfast. Make haste!"

Mr Twitter made haste--made it so fast that he made too much of it,
over-shot the mark, and went down-stairs head foremost, saluting the
front door with a rap that threw that of the postman entirely into the
shade. But Twitter was a springy as well as an athletic man. He arose
undamaged, made no remark to his more than astonished children, and went
his way.

Mrs Twitter immediately followed her husband's example in a less
violent and eccentric manner. The superintendent of police received her
with that affable display of grave good-will which is a characteristic
of the force. He listened with patient attention to the rather
incoherent tale which she told with much agitation--unbosoming herself
to this officer to a quite unnecessary extent as to private feelings and
opinions, and, somehow, feeling as if he were a trusted and confidential
friend though he was an absolute stranger--such is the wonderful
influence of Power in self-possessed repose, over Weakness in
distressful uncertainty!

Having heard all that the good lady had to say, with scarcely a word of
interruption; having put a few pertinent and relevant questions and
noted the replies, the superintendent advised Mrs Twitter to calm
herself, for that it would soon be "all right;" to return home, and
abide the issue of his exertions; to make herself as easy in the
circumstances as possible, and, finally, sent her away with the first
ray of comfort that had entered her heart since the news of Sammy's
disappearance had burst upon her like a thunderclap.

"What a thing it is," she muttered to herself on her way home, "to put
things into the hands of a _man_--one you can feel sure will do
everything sensibly and well, and without fuss." The good lady meant no
disparagement to her sex by this--far from it; she referred to a manly
man as compared with an unmanly one, and she thought, for one moment,
rather disparagingly about the salute which her Samuel's bald pate had
given to the door that morning. Probably she failed to think of the
fussy manner in which she herself had assaulted the superintendent of
police, for it is said that people seldom see themselves!

But Mrs Twitter was by no means bitter in her thoughts, and her
conscience twitted her a little for having perhaps done Samuel a slight