“For the two youngest little Delaneys are missing,” she said, “and found they must be, if heaven and earth are moved to accomplish the job.”

The superintendent of police remembered that he had already had notice of two children being missing somewhere in the North of England, but as he thought it extremely unlikely that such children would come to the southwest, he had not troubled himself much about them.  Fortune’s words, however, stimulated his zeal, and he promised to keep a sharp lookout.  The printer also was full of enthusiasm, and agreed to print posters which should even satisfy Fortune.  He certainly did his best; and a day or two later flaming posters, in red and black ink, were pasted up all over the little town.  In these, Fortune had given a most accurate description of little black-eyed Diana and Orion.  Their ages were mentioned, their sizes, the color also of their eyes and hair.

The immediate effect of these posters was to frighten Uncle Ben Holt considerably.  He had been in a dreadful rage when first he discovered that Diana and Orion had taken him at his word and had decamped.  He had been very cruel to every member of the troupe, and in especial to his poor wife.  He vowed, and vowed, loudly, that he would not leave a stone unturned to find the children, and he also informed his wife that he would start off the following morning to acquaint the police with the fact that two of his troupe were missing.

“Why,” he said, “there’s a fortune in that little gal; I must have the little gal.  I don’t think nothing at all of the boy.  She was quite the most sperited little ’un I ever come across.  Fact is, I would not lose her for a fifty-pund note.”

For two days Uncle Ben stormed, and the performances at the circus went languidly; but when, on the third morning, he saw the posters about the town, and when one happened to be pasted up exactly opposite his own circus, he began to cool down and to change his mind.

“Where are you, Sarah?” he called out.

His wife flew to answer the fierce summons of her lord and master.

“I’m here, Ben,” she answered.

“‘I’m here, Ben,’” he retorted, mimicking her tone.  “There you are, Sarah, without the sperit of a mouse.  Have you seen, or have you not, what’s up all over the town?”

“Yes, to be sure,” replied Sarah Holt; “and it’s a faithful description of the children.  Why, they are as like what that description says of ’em as two peas, Ben.”

“I’m not saying they aint,” snapped Ben, in a very indignant voice; “but what I do want to know is this—­what’s to be done if they are found and we are discovered to have bought ’em?  We had all our plans arranged, and we have taken this field for a fortnight; but, bad as the loss will be to ourselves, it’ll be better than the perlice discovering that we had anything to do with them children.  The fact is this, Sarah:  I’m going to pack our traps and be off out of this, to-night at the latest.”