The other girls were spellbound. Cora, too, left her place--she knew Cecilia"s recklessness and felt it her duty to stand by her.
The two strange men looked first at the girls and then at the car.
"Had an accident?" asked the taller of the two politely.
"Oh, no, it"s chronic," answered Clip flippantly, much to Cora"s dismay.
The men were evidently gentlemen. They were well dressed, and had the mannerisms of culture.
"Perhaps I can help you," suggested one, taking from his pocket a wrench. "I always carry tools--meet so many "chronics,"" and he laughed lightly.
"Come on," called Hazel from the Whirlwind. "You know, Paul will be waiting, Cora."
At this the men both started. He with the wrench ceased his attempt to open the motor hood. The other looked toward Hazel.
"Oh, I see," he said with affected ease. "Your friend promised to meet you, and you are late."
"My brother," said Hazel curtly.
"Paul Hastings," said Cora quickly, before she knew why.
"Oh!" almost whistled the taller man. "I see; of the Whitehall Company?"
"Do you know him?" demanded Cora rather sharply.
"Slight-ly," drawled the stout man, he with the wrench.
"Well, we had best not detain you, young ladies," said the other, "as you have so important an engagement," and with that they both turned off.
"What do you think of that?" exclaimed Cora.
"The utmost!" replied Clip, in her favorite way of expressing "the limit."
"They knew Paul!" gasped Hazel.
"Seemed to," answered Cora evasively. She had her opinions and doubts as to who these gentlemen might be.
"Just my luck," murmured Clip. "I rather liked the tall fellow, but I noticed that the other carried a gold filigree fountain pen, had a perfectly dear watch charm, and he talked like a lawyer."
"Oh, my!" exclaimed Cora. "You did size him up. I only noticed that he was a joint short on his right-hand thumb."
"That, my dear, is termed a professional thumb-mark. We will know him if we meet him in the dark," said Clip.
Cora laughed. She felt, however, more serious than she cared to have the others know. "Well, let"s be off this time," she said. "We will hardly make town before dark now."
CHAPTER VIII
JACK AND CLIP
"A deliberate trick of Cecilia"s," murmured Daisy.
"She pretends to be so off-hand," answered Maud. "I have always noticed that that sort of girl is the greatest schemer."
"To leave her car out on the road, and then boldly ask Jack Kimball to go with her to fetch it. Who ever heard of such a thing? I wonder Cora tolerates her."
"Cora is what some people call "easy,"" said Daisy with uncertain meaning. "She takes her chances in choosing friends."
"Did they fetch the car back?"
"I saw it at the garage this morning. I do hope it cannot be fixed. I mean," Maud hurried to say, "I hope she will not hamper us with it on our tour. It is only fit for the junkman."
Daisy and Maud were walking toward the post office. It was the morning after the adventure on the road, and the two girls had heard from Ray Stuart something of the news they were now discussing. The hold-up of Paul Hastings was to them not so important as the fact that Cecilia Thayer had gone over to Kimball"s and actually asked Jack Kimball to take her out Woodbine way to tow home the balky Turtle.
But, precisely as her friend had said, Clip was a schemer. In the first place, she had no idea of detaining her companions on the lonely road to "monkey with the machine," so soon after Paul"s hold-up. Next, she had no idea of leaving the car there at the mercy of fate.
Instead, she deliberately went over to Kimball"s after dinner, asked Jack to take her out Woodbine way, and incidentally suggested that he take along a gun. Jack had two good friends, each opposite the other in type. Bess Robinson was very much admired by him; and Cecilia Thayer, she who always played the tomboy to the extent of affording a good time for others when she could actually disguise a serious reason in the joke, she who affected the "strained" nurse costume for fun, when it was a real necessity--Jack Kimball liked Cecilia Thayer. Her rather limited means often forced her to make sport of circ.u.mstances, but, in every case, Cecilia "won out." She was, the boys said, "no knocker."
So it happened as Daisy related. Clip did ask Jack to go with her to fetch home the car. It also happened that they encountered Sid Wilc.o.x on the way. He seemed to be returning alone in his auto from Cartown.
Sid told Ida, Ida told Ray, Ray told Daisy and Daisy told Maud.
Daisy and Maud were inseparable chums. They agreed on everything--from admiration for Jack Kimball and Walter Pennington, to dislike for Cecilia Thayer, and something akin to jealousy for the Robinson girls.
Cora was beyond criticism--they simply "regarded her."
"And," spoke Daisy, as they turned into the green, "I do believe that the boys played that trick on Paul. I thought when they hurried so to get away that they were up to something."
"Queer joke," commented Maud.
"Didn"t you think those strange men acted suspiciously?" asked Daisy.
"How could they do otherwise when Cecilia acted as she did? I never saw a girl so forward."
"I suppose she will have some boys tagging after us on our tour, if her car is fixable," went on Daisy in sarcastic tones. "Likely she will find some excuse for stopping at hotels, and such places. Mother insisted I should not go to any public eating place unless we have some older person along. But Cecilia--she is old or young, just as it suits her."
"There"s Bess and Belle!" exclaimed Maud, as the Robinson twins"
runabout swerved into the avenue.
"And there are Jack--and Cecilia!" Daisy fairly gasped the words.
At that instant the two last named persons, in Jack"s little car, came up to the turn. Cecilia looked almost pretty--even her critics admitted that, secretly. Of course, Jack was always handsome.
"I wonder how Bess feels," remarked Daisy with scornfully curled lip.
"She thinks a lot of Jack," replied Maud, as both bowed to the occupants of the runabout.
"Where do you suppose they are going?" went on Daisy.