I feel sure Cecily preserved it . But she walked past Cyrus next morning at school with a frozen countenance , evincing not the slightest pity for his pangs of unrequited affection . Cecily winced when Pat caught a mouse , visited a school chum the day the pigs were killed that she might not hear their squealing , and would not have stepped on a caterpillar for anything ; yet she did not care at all how much she made the brisk Cyrus suffer . Then , suddenly , all our spring gladness and Maytime hopes were blighted as by a killing frost . Sorrow and anxiety pervaded our days and embittered our dreams by night . Grim tragedy held sway in our lives for the next fortnight . Paddy disappeared . One night he lapped his new milk as usual at Uncle Roger 's dairy door and then sat blandly on the flat stone before it , giving the world assurance of a cat , sleek sides glistening , plumy tail gracefully folded around his paws , brilliant eyes watching the stir and flicker of bare willow boughs in the twilight air above him . That was the last seen of him . In the morning he was not . At first we were not seriously alarmed . Paddy was no roving Thomas , but occasionally he vanished for a day or so . But when two days passed without his return we became anxious , the third day worried us greatly , and the fourth found us distracted . `` Something has happened to Pat , '' the Story Girl declared miserably . `` He never stayed away from home more than two days in his life . '' `` What could have happened to him ? '' asked Felix . `` He 's been poisoned -- or a dog has killed him , '' answered the Story Girl in tragic tones . Cecily began to cry at this ; but tears were of no avail . Neither was anything else , apparently .
We searched every nook and cranny of barns and out-buildings and woods XXXXX both the King farms ; we inquired far and wide ; we roved over Carlisle meadows calling Paddy 's name , until Aunt Janet grew exasperated and declared we must stop making such exhibitions of ourselves .
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