Part 10 (2/2)
”'Bread upon the waters,'” quoted Cora. ”I was wondering where she got it when the man mentioned it. To think of hearing about her again. Girls, I'm sure she must be, in some way, tragically mixed up in our lives. We are destined to meet her again, I'm sure.”
”Well, I can't afford another silver purse,” said Belle, smiling. ”It will have to be plain leather next time.”
”We'll all chip in,” declared Jack.
”Well, we must make time now,” a.s.serted Cora.
They found a rather anxious restaurant keeper looking down the road up which they came, but he became all smiles when he saw the merry party, and soon they were sitting down to a plain, but well-cooked and substantial meal. And they all had appet.i.tes, too!
”We will spend the night at the Mansion House, in Fairport,” spoke Cora, consulting a list after dinner. ”I will telephone for rooms.”
”Perhaps you had better let me,” suggested Cousin Mary, and she made the arrangements over the wire.
Once more they were under way again, and all went well until Jack shouted that his tire had gone flat and would have to be pumped up.
”Go ahead--don't wait for us!” he called to his sister. ”We can speed up and catch you.”
”Don't take the wrong road,” Cora cautioned, and then Jack and Ed got out the repair kit. The work took them longer than they had expected, and it was getting dusk when they were ready to proceed.
”We'll never make it before dark, old man,” said Ed.
”Oh, I guess we will. I'm going to fracture some speed limits,” and Jack opened wide the throttle. The _Get There_ did make good time, but it was not worthy of its name. For, after going for some time, Jack felt that he must be nearing Fairport. He got out to look at a sign post, lighting a match to distinguish the directions. Then he uttered an expression of dismay.
”What is it?” asked Ed, anxiously. ”Something else gone wrong, Jack?”
”Yes--_we've_ gone wrong!”
”How so?”
”Why, we're on the Belleville turnpike, and to my certain knowledge we're about fifteen miles off the right road for Fairport. I thought that fellow we asked, about sunset, didn't seem very sure of his directions.
He told us wrong--maybe not on purpose--but wrong just the same. Ed, old man, we are lost in a dismal country with night coming on. Please groan and s.h.i.+ver for me, while I think of the proper thing to say. We're lost!”
”Well, the only thing to do is to go back,” remarked Ed, philosophically.
”Come on. Luckily the roads are good.”
”Hark! Some one is coming!” exclaimed Jack, as he heard footfalls on the hard highway. ”I'll ask him. Maybe there's a short cut to Fairport.”
The figure advanced out of the darkness into the glare of the lights on Jack's car. Then he exclaimed involuntarily:
”It's a girl!”
CHAPTER VII
WORRIES
”Where shall we leave our cars?” asked Belle.
<script>