In spite of a certain temperamental aversion to worry, the boy's mother and sisters were wont to become quite actively agitated if he failed to appear at expected times and seasons.

Eddy Carroll, in the course of a short life, had contrived to find the hard side of many little difficulties.

He had gotten into divers forms of mischief; he had met with many accidents.

He had been almost drowned; he had broken an arm; he had been hit in the forehead by a stone thrown by another boy.
When Arthur Carroll reached home that afternoon he found his wife in hysterical tears, his sister trying to comfort her, and the two daughters and the maid were scouring the town in search of the boy.
School was out, and he had still not come home.

Carroll heard the news before he reached home, from the coachman who met him at the station.
"Mr.Eddy did not come home this noon," said the man, with much deference.