Gerald soon discovered that neither were the children in that either.
In an instant she was down the stairs and out on the porch to meet Patrick at
the door.
"It isn't possible you have no word of the children?" she cried excitedly.
"Patrick Kirk says they started home by the ford in time to reach here an hour
before the storm," gasped Patrick, "but we came back by the ford ourselves and
not a sign have we seen of them, till Barney ran out of the woods ahead of us
five minutes ago."
And then a dreadful thought flashed through her mind. Could it be possible
they had been drowned in the ford? But that moment her eyes saw something that
made her heart leap for joy, something that looked drowned enough, but wasn't.
Rudolph was running up the hill as fast as his soaking clothing would let him,
and, reaching the door breathless enough, he sank down on the floor of the
porch.
"Oh, Mrs. Gerald," he said, as soon as he could catch his breath, "Mabel
and Tattine are all right; they're safe in the log play-house at the
Cornwells', but we've had an awful fright. Is Barney home? When the hail came
I tied him to a tree and we ran into the log house, but he broke away the next
minute and took to his heels and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.
Barney's an awful fraud, Mrs.
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