The Motor Girls on the Coast: or, The Waif From the Sea

“Of course. Don’t be silly.”

“I’m not. I’m only trying to think of something else to say.”

“You needn’t try then!” and Cora’s voice had a tint of snap in it.

“Don’t get mad,” Ed advised her. “Give my love to the girls, and tell ’em we’ll be with ’em soon. Do you want to talk to Jack again?”

“No, only tell him to please come to-night. I want to talk to him.”

“About that girl, I expect.”

“I don’t believe a word about her.”

“Ha! I’ll show you a lock of her hair.”

“Then I’d surely know you were fooling. Say, listen, you will make Jack come; won’t you, Ed?”

“Surest thing you know. Shall I say good-bye?”

“If you can’t think of anything else to say.”

“All right. See you soon.”

“You’ll have a sweet telephone toll to pay.”

“I’m going to make Jack do it. He’s asking the clerk here how to get to Fairport the quickest way. The clerk’s another girl.”

“Oh, I’m not going to talk another word. Good-bye,” and a click in his ear told Ed that Cora had hung up the receiver. He laughed and joined Jack, who had gone away from the booth.

CHAPTER X

REUNITED

“Who was she?”

It was Cora who demanded this when, an hour or so later, Jack and Ed had been reunited to their party in the Mansion House at Fairport.

“Who was she?” and Cora looked appealingly at her brother, who smiled in a tantalizing fashion.

“We told you everything,” remarked Ed. “Over the wire, you know.”

“It’s very easy to tell things–over the wire,” remarked Belle, with a laugh. “One doesn’t have to–blush, you know.”

“And if one does, even the central operator can’t see it,” spoke Bess. “Oh, you boys have given us a big scare!”

“Scare? How?” demanded Jack, with a look at his sister. “We couldn’t help getting on the wrong road.”

“Perhaps not, Jack,” said Mrs. Fordam, gently. “But Cora was quite worried, and has been telephoning to police stations all along the route to see if she could get any word about you and Ed.”

“Did you?” asked Ed, quickly.

“There was one report of an auto accident,” spoke Cora, “and I was so frightened, Jack, until I heard that it was a big car, and then I knew it couldn’t be yours. But did it all happen as you’ve told?”

“Exactly,” exclaimed Jack.

“Girl and all?” Walter wanted to know.

“The girl most of all,” answered Ed. “How about it, Jack old man?”

“I’m with you. She – ”

“Stop!” commanded Cora. “We don’t want you to incriminate yourselves any more than you have to. Besides it’s getting late, and we must get some rest to be ready for an early start to-morrow morning.

“But I have been quite worried, Jack, and I couldn’t get much satisfaction by telephoning. However, you’re here now, and we will forgive you. Did you have supper?”

“We had–dinner,” answered Ed, with a tantalizing smile. “It was a good one, too. Then we got on the right road and made pretty good time over here.”

The little party of young people was in the hotel parlor. As Cora had said, it was getting late, the hands of the clock approaching the midnight hour, and they all had had rather a strenuous time that day.

Jack and Ed had left their car in the garage with the others.

“Me for the downy feathers!” exclaimed Jack, with a yawn. “You look sleepy, too, Eline.”

“I’m not, even a little bit, really,” and she smiled brightly.

“They keep late hours–in Chicago,” remarked Belle, with a laugh.

“I really think we had better retire,” said Mrs. Fordam.

“That’s what I’m going to do–in the morning,” spoke Jack.

“You’re not going to stay up until morning, Jack!” cried Cora.

“No, that was only a joke,” he explained. “I mean I’m going to have a new tire put on the Get There– have it re-tired you see. Get the idea? It was a joke.”

“A tired one,” yawned Ed. “Come on to bed.”

“Say, if we try to get off any more smart sayings we’ll all have the nightmare,” suggested Walter.

“And it’s no fun to make a tour on one of those creatures instead of in an auto,” put in Norton.

The young travelers were soon on their way to that part of the hotel set aside for them. Mrs. Fordam had seen to it that the girls got the most comfortable rooms. The boys were not so particular.

“We’ll try and get started by nine o’clock,” suggested Cora, as she bade her brother good-night.

“That’s too early,” he protested. “Why, we’d have to get up and have breakfast at seven. Make it ten, Sis, and that will give me time to have that tire looked after. Otherwise I may be holding you back all along the route.”

“All right,” Cora assented. “We’ll make it ten.”