Part 14 (1/2)

But little did the girls know that in the weeks to follow they would have more and more startling thrills than they had ever experienced before.

Chapter XIV

Nothing Human

They might have reached Wild Rose Lodge before dusk, in spite of Grace's gloomy prediction, if everything had gone well then. But it seemed that the evil genius of bad luck was not yet through with them.

They were scarcely five miles from their destination when, bang! went a report that made the girls clutch at each other wildly. At first they jumped to the conclusion that they were being held up again, but close on the heels of the first thought came the conviction of the truth. Mollie had had a blowout!

Betty, looking behind, saw the big car stop and brought her own little roadster to a standstill once more. ”There is nothing wrong with our tires, is there?” she asked of Grace. ”Look over your side, Gracie, and see.”

Finding nothing amiss, they jumped out and ran back to Mollie to offer a.s.sistance. Mollie was eyeing the flat tire gloomily and saying things under her breath that none of the girls could catch. Then as Betty spoke to her she seemed to come to life and ran around to the back of the machine.

”Of course you can help,” she answered, working to release the extra tire.

”I would like to see you get out of it. Lucky I bought an extra tire before we started, though I did hope,” here she glared at the girls as if it were all their fault, ”that I wouldn't have to use it so soon. We've had more trouble on this ride than any I can remember. A hold-up, sheep and--this!”

”Well, there is no use talking about it,” Betty reminded her cheerfully.

”The less we talk, the harder we can work and the sooner we shall get started again.”

”Yes, that's all very well,” grumbled Mollie, as she fumbled for her tools; ”but you don't know this place as well as I do.”

”You talk,” said Amy, her eyes widening, ”as though there were wild animals or something in the woods. I didn't know they came as far east as this.”

”They don't, goose,” said Mollie grumpily, as she pulled at the tire. ”I didn't say anything about wild animals, did I? Only we have to ride about two miles through the woods before we get to the lodge and I must say I didn't want to do that in the dark.”

”But there is some sort of road, isn't there?” asked Grace.

Mollie, bending over the lifting jack, shot her a withering glance.

”Of course there's a road,” she said shortly. ”How else could we expect to use the cars?”

”It must be a sort of wagon road,” suggested Betty as she deftly helped her chum. ”And I don't blame you for not wanting to try it at night, Mollie. I don't much like the idea myself.”

”I believe if we hurry that we can get there before dusk,” said Mrs.

Irving confidently, though it might have been noticed that she kept her eyes rather anxiously on the fast sinking sun.

At last, after what seemed an eternity to the impatient girls, the new tire had replaced the old one, the old one was safely strapped on the back of the car, the tools were put away, and they were ready to start once more.

”Give her plenty of gas this time, Betty,” Mollie sung after her as the Little Captain climbed into her car. ”If we can manage to get to the woods before dark we will be doing good work. Let her go.”

With which advice she settled herself behind the wheel of her own car and they were off once more.

Betty did ”give her plenty of gas,” the result being that they succeeded in reaching the wagon road that led into the woods to the lodge just on the edge of dusk.

However, when they started along the road they were dismayed to find that what was only dusk outside on the road became almost dark in here, and Betty had all she could do to keep to the road at all.