Willie ran all the way to Hanson's Mill and Mr. Ingalls said:

"Willie, why aren't you in school?"

"I had to come talk to you. Mrs. Beatle sent me."

"What is it Willie?"

"It's about L aura."

"Is she in trouble?"

"Sort of."

"What do you mean Willie?"

"She's not in the kind of trouble that you are thinking of."

"What kind of trouble is she in?"

"I have a theory that she has been kidnapped."

"How did you come to this conclusion?"

"We were all outside eating lunch, except for Nellie. She was in trouble. Actually, we both were."

"What for?"

"We were late to class. I obeyed Mrs. Beatle, but Nellie didn't. She made excuses about being late, blaming it on father. She then started to argue with Mrs. Beatle. Mrs. Beatle just had me stand in the corner for about fifteen minutes while she severely punished Nellie. Mrs. Beatle asked Laura to help her punish Nellie. Laura did. Mrs. Beatle spanked Nellie fifty times with a leather belt."

"I see. Nellie must have really made Mrs. Beatle mad."

"She did."

"Go on with your story Willie."

"Ok. Laura almost got in trouble for daydreaming."

"Oh."

"Yes. But Mrs. Beatle got on to her about it."

"What happened?"

"Laura apologized and obeyed Mrs. Beatle when she told Laura to pay attention. Mrs. Beatle was going to give Laura a note to give to you and told Mary to make sure that Laura gave it to you."

"I see. Go on."

"Towards the end of the lunch break, Laura tells Mary that she is going to go use the outhouse before school resumes. She never came back. Mrs. Beatle told me to go to the outhouse to check to make sure Laura was alright. She wasn't there. The door was wide open. There were tracks in the sand, but they were no tracks that I recognized. They were an even width as far as I could see. They curved slightly as they dodged trees and other objects. I saw a strange wagon leaving. It did not look like a wagon that any of us had ever seen. It did not have any horses. It was black. The sun reflected off of it as if it was made of metal. It drove pretty quickly away. It's probably several miles away by now. Possibly 50 miles or so. That's how quickly it moved."

"Willie, thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome Mr. Ingalls."

"Go back to the schoolhouse and sound the bell."

"Yes Mr. Ingalls."

"Edwards and I will be there in a few minutes."

"Yes Mr. Ingalls."