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"Not too far," Mommy said and started toward the woods.

"I'll be with you in a moment," he said. "I'm calling in to let them know back at the post office."

"Celeste!" Mommy screamed, and we ran toward the woods.

The postman came after us, but we stayed ahead of him until we reached the creek. There. I led Mommy to where I had seen the shoe. The postman followed and stood by, looking at the shoe.

"That's hers?"

"Yes," Mommy said. "Where is she?" She screamed and screamed for Celeste. The postman ran downstream and then ran back.

"We better get some help," he said. "I don't like what he's telling us." he added, nodding at me.

"Where's my daughter?" Mommy shouted at him, as if it was his fault.

He shook his head.

"Take it easy. Mrs. Atwell. Let's get help. Don't panic. Maybe its nothing."

He ran back through the woods.

Mommy plucked the pink and white shoe off the sand and then put her arm around my shoulder.

"I fear she's gone, Noble," she said. "but you must not blame yourself. You must never blame yourself."

It didn't take the local policeman long to get to our home, but a little more than a half hour later, he was followed by the fire thick and a half dozen volunteer firemen. After that came two state policemen.

Just as Mommy had predicted, they questioned me repeatedly about the events. I led them back to where I had been and then where I had found Celeste's shoe, The firemen fanned out and searched both sides of the creek until one of them shouted and we all converged on the discovery of the fishing pole. It was stuck on shore, caught in some tree roots.

Word spread back to the village, and more volunteers arrived to help search for some sign of Celeste. Someone found a piece of cloth on a thorny bush. and Mommy confirmed it came from Celeste's skirt. Later, the county sheriff brought in some bloodhounds, and they went barking and chasing in small circles.

Mommy and I returned to the house, where we waited in the living room. Mommy lying on the sofa, a cold, wet cloth over her forehead. Outside, groups of men and some women conferred. The postman was questioned repeatedly and quickly became the most popular person. I watched and listened to him. He seemed to enjoy retelling the events.

"Some sick person must have been watching those kids, just waiting for an opportunity like this,- I heard a sheriff s deputy tell another.

Night fell, and with the darkness came retreat and a promise to continue the search in the morning. Mommy was asked to produce as recent a picture of Celeste as she could and had to admit that she had nothing more recent than two years previous. She gave a full description.

The sheriff brought a detective to question me. and I told him how I thought I had heard noise across the creek and then a scream. I told him why we had separated. and I cried. He thanked me and told me to do what I could to help my mother.

"She'll need you to be strong," he advised and left.

When I went to sleep that night. I felt terrible for so many reasons, most of which I couldn't understand. I had never seen so many people on our farm. The lights, the police cars, the dogs, were overwhelming.

Mommy came up the stairs slowly, her footsteps slow and heavy. She appeared in my doorway, silhouetted by the hall

"Are you all right. Noble?" she asked.

"Yes." I said in a small voice, more Celeste's voice, which was something that was happening less and less. Mommy had been teaching me how to think before I spoke and bring my voice up from a deeper place. She said it would soon come natural to me.

She walked into the bedroom and sat on my bed. Then she reached out and stroked my hair and my cheek.

"You did very well today,' she said. "I know they will be proud of vou. We can expect them to return."

"Who?" I thought she might mean the firemen and the

"You know who, and Daddy, too. I am sure. Just a little longer, and those people from town will leave us alone forever, my darling.''

She leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek.