Free Searching for Shona by Margaret J. Anderson

worse the thing you say about people, the quicker it is passed on. There have been remarks already about two old spinsters like us taking it on ourselves to bring up two young girls. But we can’t think about ourselves. There’s Anna. We’ve got to have help finding her before any harm comes to her.”
    Miss Morag went out into the hall to use the phone. When she came back Marjorie and Miss Agnes looked at her expectantly.
    “They were of no help,” she said angrily. “They say that most children who run away come back of their own accord, and there’s no sense in going out now in the blackout. They’ll keep a lookout for her in the morning. What I couldn’t get through to them is that there’s a little girl out there, now, in the dark … afraid …”
    Her voice trailed off in a sob.
    “Maybe she will come back this evening,” Marjorie said.
    “Maybe she won’t be able to find her way,” Miss Agnes said in a trembly voice.
    They all stayed up late, but at last Miss Agnes said they might as well go to bed. If they could just sleep, morning would come sooner, and then they could all go out and look for Anna. That would be better than waiting.
    Marjorie fell asleep surprisingly quickly, only to be awakened by the dreaded sound of the air-raid siren. She lay rigid for a moment, waiting for a whimper from Anna’s bed, because Anna often cried when the siren awakened her. Then she remembered Anna wasn’t there. Anna was outside, lost in the darkness of the night, and wherever she was, she would be hearing the awful wail of the siren.
    One of the Miss Campbells came into the room, lighting her way with a small paraffin lamp.
    “We’re not going downstairs tonight,” she told Marjorie. “I expect the planes are just passing over as they did the other nights.”
    “Anna will hear the sirens and be frightened,” Marjorie said.
    “I’d thought of that too,” said Miss Campbell. “Poor little Anna! But we’ll find her in the morning—as soon as it’s light.”
    When the wailing siren stopped, Marjorie lay waiting for the drone of the German bombers. She tried to imagine Anna listening for them too, and wondered where she could be. Where would she go if she wanted to run away, she wondered.
    Then she sat bolt upright in bed. Suddenly Marjorie knew exactly where Anna must be! The little turret room! It wasn’t dark when she left. She would have gone there to get away from all of them and to play with the toys. After it grew dark, she’d be afraid to come home.
    Marjorie imagined her now, squeezed up on the couch with the curved arms, waiting for the sound of the bombers, alone in that huge dark house. She must go to her. It was the least she could do.
    Straining her ears for any sound from the Miss Campbells’ room, Marjorie pulled on her clothes. Carrying her shoes, she crept downstairs in stocking feet. She took her red coat from the big, shadowy coat stand in the hall and then felt her way to the door.
    Once outside, she put her shoes on, but walked on the grass to avoid making any sound on the gravel path. She made her way to the gate and walked quickly down the road that led toward Clairmont House.

Chapter 8
A Long Night
    The clouds had thinned and the moon, not quite full, shed a glistening light on the wet hedgerows and fields. Everything looked strange and unreal to Marjorie, and when she heard the droning sound of planes overhead, the dreamlike quality of her surroundings took on the aspects of a nightmare.
    Although she knew that the people in the planes couldn’t possible see her, she hid in the shadow of the hedge, wet weeds brushing coldly against her legs. She put her hands over her ears to shut out the throbbing engines, but the sound stayed with her, right inside her head.
    They came in waves, three waves of heavy bombers, and then there was silence again. She forced herself to go on until, at last, she reached Clairmont House. The gate was slightly ajar and she squeezed inside. The house