"Ruth Armstrong is--" The yell died away to a gurgle, pinched short by the Winslow fingers.

Then the door leading to the kitchen, the door behind the pair, opened and Ruth Armstrong herself came in.

She was pale and she stared with frightened eyes at the little man struggling in the tall one's clutch.
"Oh, Jed," she breathed, "what is it ?" Jed did not reply.

Phineas could not.
"Oh, Jed, what is it ?" repeated Ruth.

"I heard him shouting my name.