Part 23 (1/2)
”What have you to do with it, young man?”
”I drove one car and my brother here drove the other. We didn't hurt the machines and you ought to be glad we brought them back in good condition.”
”Humph! You hadn't any license to run them.”
”We took the liberty of doing so,” said d.i.c.k. ”If you want to get angry about it, I'll get angry myself. You had no right to place those cars in the hands of unreliable men. You risked our lives by so doing.”
”Those men are reliable enough. One of them telephoned to me you had run away with the autos.”
”The folks at the Dardell Hotel will tell you how reliable they were. I warned them not to drink, but they did, and they were in no condition to run any automobile.”
”I don't allow just anybody to run my machines,” stormed the man. ”They are expensive pieces of property.”
”Well, they are not worth as much as our necks, not by a good deal,”
said Tom.
”Don't you get impudent, young fellow!”
”He is not impudent,” said d.i.c.k. ”Your machines are all right--we didn't hurt them in the least. But I can tell you one thing,” he proceeded earnestly. ”We don't propose to pay for the hire of the chauffeurs.”
”That's the talk,” broke in Fred. ”Pay him for the use of the cars only.”
”You'll pay the whole bill!” growled the automobile owner.
”Not a cent more than the hire of the two cars,” said Tom.
The man began to storm, and threatened to have them locked up for running the cars without a license. But in the end he accepted the money d.i.c.k offered him.
”Maybe you haven't heard the end of this,” he muttered.
”If you make trouble, perhaps I'll do the same,” answered d.i.c.k, and then he and the others went aboard the yacht, where a late supper awaited them. Mr. Rover had heard of the unreliable chauffeurs and he was even more indignant than his sons.
”I don't think that owner will show himself again,” he said. ”If he does I'll take care of him.” The man was never heard of; and that ended the affair.
”We had a splendid time anyway,” declared Grace, and the other girls agreed with her.
Tom had not forgotten about his fireworks, and after supper he invited the crowd to the deck and gave them quite an exhibition.
”Here, Hans, you can set off this Roman candle,” he said, presently.
”Show the ladies how nicely you can do it. But take off your coat and roll up your s.h.i.+rt sleeve before you begin,” he added, with a dig into Sam's ribs, which meant, ”watch for fun.”
Quite innocently the German lad took off his coat and rolled his s.h.i.+rt sleeve up over his elbow. Then he took the big Roman candle and lit it.
”Now swing it around lively,” cried Tom, and Hans began to describe little circles with the Roman candle. Soon the sparks began to pour forth, and not a few came down on the bare wrist and forearm.
”Ouch! ouch!” yelled Hans, dancing around. ”_Ach du meine zeit!_ Say, somepody sthop dot! I vos purn mineselluf ub alretty!”
”Swing it around quicker!” cried d.i.c.k.