"I don't know that anything has broken," replied Mrs. Passford, with a
smile, after she had said good-morning to her son.
"You and Florry are not in the habit of setting the table, mother; and
the first bell rang an hour later than usual," added Christy.
"We were all disturbed last night, and I did not wake till the cook
knocked at my door. She told me she could not find Walsh, and breakfast
had been ready half an hour. That is the reason why everything is late
this morning," Mrs. Passford explained.
"But where is Walsh?" inquired Christy.
"I am sure I do not know. I called in the coachman, and he has been to
his room and looked all over the place without finding him."
"That is very odd," mused the officer, wondering whether this sudden
disappearance had anything to do with the principal event of the
preceding night.
"Peach says he has taken his valise with him, which indicates that he
has gone for good."
"Who is Peach?" asked Christy, who had been at home so little that he
hardly knew the names of the servants.
"He is the coachman. I am not sorry that Walsh has gone, for he has
saved me the trouble of discharging him. Wilder, who had been with us so
many years, took it into his head to enlist in the army, and I was not
willing to persuade him to shirk his duty.
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