"Runaway! Look out for the runaway!" the girls heard several persons shout.
"It"s a horse running "away," declared Belle. "Let"s stay where it"s safe--up here."
But Cora had started down the path, and Bess followed her.
"It"s a runaway motor--a car!" exclaimed Cora as she caught sight of something flashing through the trees. It was a runabout, dashing along the avenue without a hand to guide it, and as it gathered speed it swerved from side to side.
"Why, it"s Jack"s car!" cried Cora as the auto flashed past her.
"Can he be hurt? Where is he? "Oh, Jack!"
She started to run, leaving Bess on the path.
"I must stop it!" thought Cora. "It may run into a person or a team and kill some one."
Before she thought of the uselessness of her act she found herself running down the street, along with a shouting crowd of men and boys. As if she could catch up to an auto!
She hardly knew what she was doing.
"Oh, can"t some one stop it?" she cried. "Turn off the power! It must be stopped!"
"By Jove! That"s a plucky chap!" exclaimed a stranger. "There!
He"s lost his hold! He"ll be run over!"
A young man, who had made a daring attempt to stop the runabout, was seen to be slipping beneath the wheels. But as the car sped on he pulled himself up to the seat. He grasped the wheel just in time to prevent the car from running up on the sidewalk, and an instant later he had shut off the power and applied the brakes.
"Why, it"s Ed Foster!" exclaimed Cora as she came up beside the halted runabout. "Oh, Ed, are you hurt? I"m so glad you stopped Jack"s car. There might have been a bad accident."
"Oh, I"m all right. I nearly slipped out, though. How did it happen?"
"I don"t know. We were sitting on our piazza when we heard the cry, and I saw the car speeding away."
"Where"s Jack?"
"I don"t know that, either. I"m afraid he"s hurt."
"The car doesn"t seem to be damaged," remarked a man who had been nearly run down.
The crowd, rather disappointed, on the whole, that no accident had happened, turned away. Cora got in Jack"s car beside Ed, who started the machine back. They were met half way to the Kimball home by Paul Hastings.
"Any damage done?" he called out as soon as he saw them. He appeared very anxious.
"None, but it was a narrow squeak," answered Ed.
"Where"s Jack?" asked Cora.
"We took him home."
"Oh, is he--is he badly hurt?"
"No; only a sprained leg, I believe, and some bruises. The doctor is there."
"How did it happen?" asked Cora quickly.
"Why, Jack brought his machine to the garage to have a little repairing done. I had finished it, and he and I were in the office talking, when a fellow named Lem Gildy came along and threw in the clutch, starting the car off."
"Jack saw him do it and ran out, trying to stop his runabout, but he wasn"t quick enough, and was knocked down. I hurried out to pick him up, and I forgot all about the runaway car until I had taken Jack home. There was considerable excitement, as there was a brand-new car, a very expensive one, belonging to the Blends, in front of our garage, and the runabout nearly crashed into it. If it had, the new machine would have been wrecked."
"And what became of Lem Gildy?" asked Ed.
"Oh, he sneaked off, after whining out that he didn"t mean any harm.
But I think he did. He"s a suspicious character."
"Hurry home. I want to see Jack," begged Cora.
Ed started Jack"s runabout off again, after telling Paul what had happened down the street. The handsome young chauffeur said he would presently call at the house and inquire after Jack.
Cora found her brother in bed, where her mother had insisted that he go, though he declared he was not hurt much. Dr. Dearborn had examined him, and said he would be all right in a few days.
"Oh, weren"t you awfully frightened, Cora?" asked Bess, who, with her sister, had remained at the Kimball home.
"Indeed I was, but I knew the car had to be stopped."
"And it was going some," added Ed.
"I can"t see what motive Lem would have in starting the car," said Cora. "I never knew him to be malicious--only worthless."
"I believe he planned this," declared Paul, who had just arrived.
"Why so?" asked Cora.
"Well, he"s been hanging around the garage for several days past, and numbers of times I"ve ordered him away. I heard him asking one of the men, the other day, how to throw in a clutch on a car like Jack"s, and that made me suspicious."
"But what could his object be?" asked Ed, rubbing one arm, that was strained from his exertion in stopping the car:
"I believe him to be in the pay of some one," declared Paul with flashing eyes, "and I believe his object was to get me into trouble.
As I told you, there stood in front of the garage a valuable new car belonging to the Blends. Their chauffeur was about to take it out for a run. If Jack"s car, started by Lem, had smashed into it I would have been blamed, for I ran the car out of the garage, for their chauffeur. Then I would have lost my position here, and probably would not get that new one in New City, for the garage people would have blacklisted me."
"Oh, mercy!" gasped Belle. "Wouldn"t that have been dreadful!"
"Bad for me," admitted Paul with a smile. "But I"m sorry Jack was hurt."
"Thank goodness it"s no worse!" exclaimed Cora. "But, Mr. Hastings, whom do you think paid Lem to do such a mean thing?"
"I"d rather not say," answered the young garage manager. "But I shall keep my ears and eyes open, and if I find out what I suspect to be true--well, there"ll be trouble for somebody."
He spoke with flashing eyes, and Cora looked at him admiringly.
"Well, since we know how your brother is, I think we"ll be going, Cora," said Bess, and she and her sister took their departure, followed by Paul and Ed.