About two hours after, Polly said merrily:

"I'm going to call Phronsie in, mammy; she must be awfully tired
and hungry by this time."

She sang gayly on the way, "I'm coming, Phronsie, coming--why,
where!--" peeping under the tree.

"Baby" lay on its face disconsolately on the ground--and the
orchard was empty! Phronsie was gone!

"It's no use," said Ben, to the distracted household and such of the
neighbors as the news had brought hurriedly to the scene, "to look
any more around here--but somebody must go toward Hingham;
he'd be likely to go that way."

"No one could tell where he would go," cried Polly, wringing her
hands.

"But he'd change, Ben, if he thought folks would think he'd gone
there," said Mrs. Pepper.

"We must go all roads," said Ben, firmly; "one must take the stage
to Boxville, and I'll take Deacon Brown's wagon on the Hingham
road, and somebody else must go to Toad Hollow."

"I'll go in the stage," screamed Joel, who could scarcely see out of
his eyes, he had cried so; "I'll find--find her--I know.