It was writing! A word had been feebly traced on the back of her frock.

I made out something like the letter "H." Then a letter which it was impossible to read.
Then another next to it, which might have been "L," or might have been "J." Then a last letter, which I guessed to be "P." Was the word--"Help"?
Yes!--traced on the back of the child's frock, with a finger dipped in blood--"HELP.".