Directly afterward she would retire to her room.

There she would pore over the first page, reading and rereading every personal in it.

Sometimes she would try reading them backward and transposing the words, as if the message they contained might be in the form of a cryptograph.
The strain and the suspense began to show on her.

Day after day passed, until it was nearly two weeks since the parting in New York.

Day after day she grew more worn by worry and fear.