Yet some one had done it, and who had a greater incentive than Charlie Mershone?
Poor Mrs.Merrick was inconsolable as the days dragged by.

She clung to Patsy with pitiful entreaties not to be left alone; so Miss Doyle brought her to her own apartments, where the bereft woman was shown every consideration.

Vain and selfish though Mrs.Merrick might be, she was passionately devoted to her only child, and her fears for the life and safety of Louise were naturally greatly exaggerated.
The group of anxious relatives and friends canvassed the subject morning, noon and night, and the longer the mystery remained unsolved the more uneasy they all became.
"This, ma'am," said Uncle John, sternly, as he sat one evening facing Mrs.Merrick, "is the final result of your foolish ambition to get our girls into society." "I can't see it that way, John," wailed the poor woman.

"I've never heard of such a thing happening in society before, have you ?" "I don't keep posted," he growled.

"But everything was moving smoothly with us before this confounded social stunt began, as you must admit." "I can't understand why the papers are not full of it," sighed Mrs.
Merrick, musingly.