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

“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.”

“Say, old man, who was she?” asked Walter, as he and Jack strolled along the corridor together. “Tell a fellow; can’t you? I won’t give you away if you were stringing the girls.”

“I wasn’t stringing them!” declared Jack. “It all happened just as I’ve said.”

“But who was she?”

“A mystery of the road,” put in Ed.

“Pretty?” Norton wanted to know, quickly.

“Pretty–pretty,” echoed Jack. “Really all she told us was that she had been working in an office, had become tired of it and was traveling about as a sort of vacation.”

“Did she look as though that might be the case?” asked Walter.

“Eminently so, my august cross-questioner,” answered Jack. “And that’s all I’m going to say. I’m dead tired. See you later,” and he went to his room.

“Who do you suppose that girl could have been?” asked Bess of Cora a little later, as they were putting up their hair for the night.

“I haven’t the least idea.”

“Why, how queer. I thought you did have!” and Bess looked at Cora in rather a searching manner.

“No. Why should I?”

“Oh, I haven’t any special reason for saying so, and yet–oh, well, it doesn’t make any difference I suppose, but – ”

“Bess Robinson, just what do you mean?” and Cora’s eyes lost their slumberous inclination as she faced her chum.

“Why, Cora dear, nothing at all,” and Bess spoke very sweetly. “Only, from the way you spoke to Jack, and the way he answered, I fancied–oh, really it’s nothing at all. I shouldn’t have said it.”

“I don’t like those half-formed questions, Bess. If you think anything – ”

“No, really I’m too tired to think, Cora. I’m going to bed.” They had adjoining rooms.

“Perhaps you have some theory yourself?” suggested Cora.

“None in the least. I don’t even know what a theory is. Is it that algebra affair?”

“No,” answered Cora, with a laugh. “You are hopeless, Bess. Good-night!”

Jack and the other boys were up early, despite the former’s objection to a too-soon breakfast. They ate before the girls had come down, and then went around to the garage to see about the cars, Jack to get a new tire for his, while Norton wanted the ignition system of his engine gone over.

It was when these attentions had been given that Norton, with a twinkle in his eyes, exclaimed:

“Fellows, I’ve thought of a joke!”

“What is it?” demanded Jack.

“Hush! Listen, as the telephone girl says. Pray thee come hither,” and he led the three to a corner of the garage. Then ensued some whispering.

“How’s that?” demanded Norton, when he had concluded. “Won’t it be rich? The girls won’t know what is up, for we can get Bess and Belle into the car, without them seeing the rear of it.”

“It’s a good trick all right,” admitted Jack rather slowly, “I only hope they won’t get angry about it.”

“Angry!” cried Norton. “How could they be? According to your story they’ve done worse than that to you fellows lots of times.”

“Sure they have,” declared Ed. “Go ahead and do it.”

“I have my doubts,” spoke Walter, deliberately, “but I’m not going to be the kill-joy. Go ahead, I’ll do my share,” but he was not very enthusiastic.

“We can get the cloth and paint here,” went on Norton. “I’ll do the lettering. You can make the pudding, Jack.”

“All right. But who’s to get in the car with Belle?”

“I will,” exclaimed Norton, quickly. “You fellows can make some excuse. I’ll let Walter drive my car, and Bess can ride with him.”

“All right,” assented Jack. “It’s a go,” and they proceeded to carry out their little joke, over the outcome of which Walter and Jack, at least, had some anxiety.

CHAPTER XI

THE GIRLS RETALIATE

“But why should we change our plans?” asked Cora, when, a little later, the boys had brought their own cars up in front of the hotels and had gone back for those of the girls. “I don’t see why Bess should ride with Walter.”

“No, but I see it,” said Walter, quickly. “I want to talk to her, and – ”

“Oh, that’s a different story,” admitted Cora, with a smile. “But what will Norton do?”

“I’d like to drive the Flyaway, if I might,” put in the latter. “There’s a bad stretch of road ahead, and perhaps Belle may not be equal to it.”

“Don’t you dare intimate there’s danger ahead,” cried Belle.

“Not exactly danger,” returned Norton, with a wink at the other boys, “but the road is rough. If Cora wants to I guess Ed could drive her car for her, too.”

“Thank you, I’ll wait until I see what sort of a road we are going to encounter, and if I can’t negotiate it, I’ll let Ed take the wheel,” assented Cora. “But I’ve driven over some very hard stretches myself; haven’t I, Jack?”

“Indeed you have, Sis. But it’s all right if Belle wants Norton to drive for her for a change.”

“Well,” began the Robinson twin, “it all came so suddenly. I don’t know yet whether I want Norton to drive for me. Of course I’d like to have him in the car, if Bess wants to go with Walter for a change, and – ”

“That’s it,” broke in Norton. “Just for a change. Hurry up now, girls, get in the cars and we’ll be off.” He ran here and there, helping lift in the luggage, and appeared anxious to make a start. In fact, the boys had seemed in a hurry ever since they brought up the girls’ cars, and this very haste might have made the motor maids suspicious, but it did not seem to.

Then came the proposal for the change in companionship for a time, and this took the attention of Cora and her friends. Jack had run his car close up to the rear of the Flyaway, so that the back of the tonneau was not easily seen.

“All aboard!” cried Ed. “We’re off!”

Quite a little throng had gathered on the sidewalk in front to see the start, and among the persons might have been noticed a certain number of boys, with paper bags concealed in their hands. These same boys might have been observed to be receiving signals–in the way of nods and winks from Jack and his chums, from time to time.

“I am sure those boys are up to something!” exclaimed Cora to Eline, as they took their places.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean some trick.”

“How can you tell?”

“Why, Jack’s so anxious to get us off. He paid the hotel bill for me, bought me a magazine and some candy. He never does things like that unless there is something queer about to happen. Does anything seem wrong? Do I look all right?”

“Perfectly charming, Cora. That’s a stunning sweater you have.”

“Yes, I like it. Then it can’t be me that he’s going to bother. I wish I could tell what it was.” She looked back to where Jack, with hurried politeness, was helping Belle into her car. He did not want her to have a glimpse at the rear of it.

“Well, we’ll see what develops,” spoke Cora, as she slipped in first speed, and prepared to set the clutch. She gave a last look back. The little cavalcade of autos was all ready to start. That of Norton, with Walter at the wheel, and Bess on the seat beside him, was directly behind Cora’s big maroon beauty, then came the machine of the twins and lastly that of Jack.

“Let her go!” shouted Jack.

Cora’s machine shot forward. Norton’s jumped as Walter let in the clutch. Then Jack, with a quick motion, pulled from the back of the Robinson car, that Norton was driving, a strip of white muslin. It left revealed another, containing the words:

ON THEIR HONEYMOON

“Let ’em have it!” cried Jack.

Instantly the urchins with the paper bags opened them and a shower of rice fell over Norton and Belle, being scattered liberally over Mrs. Fordam.

“Mercy!” cried the chaperone. “What is this? Stop it at once!” she ordered to the boys, but laughingly they persisted.

“Good luck!” cried the street lads.

“Hurray!”

“Send us a piece of wedding cake!”

Cora, turning, seeing the showers of rice and hearing the calls, guessed what had happened.

“This was Jack’s trick!” she exclaimed. “He’s given the impression that this is a big wedding party. Oh, wait until I get a chance to retaliate. Hurry up!” she cried back to Norton, who was grinning cheerfully, and trying to summon a blush to his cheeks to make him fit the part of the bashful bridegroom.

Walter shot Norton’s car ahead, and Norton guided that containing the placard out into the middle of the street. There the words were more plainly seen, and good-natured laughter came from the throng, who thought they understood the situation. The rice continued to fall, for the boys had bought liberally of it, and had bribed the street urchins to throw it.

“This is terrible!” exclaimed Bess, in the car with Walter, seeing what had happened.

“It’s only a joke,” he said. “But I was afraid you girls wouldn’t like it.”

“Like it? I should say not. I’m going to take that sign off our car at once.”

She made a motion as though to alight from the moving auto, but Walter detained her.

“We’ll take it off when we get around the corner,” he promised.

“What does this mean?” demanded Belle, rather indignantly, of Norton.

“I guess they take this for a wedding procession,” he replied.

“And who are – ”

She stopped suddenly.

“I see!” she exclaimed, as the meaning of the rice came to her. “Well, I don’t think this a bit nice. I’d rather have my sister back here with me,” she went on coldly. “Mrs. Fordam, is there anything on our car–any of those silly white satin ribbons, or – ”

“Old shoes?” suggested Norton, rather abashed at the way his joke had been received.

The chaperone looked over the rear of the tonneau.

“There’s a strip of cloth on here, with some letters on it,” she answered, “but I can’t read it upside down without my glasses. Surely – ”

She hesitated for a moment, and then cried:

“The rice! Oh, I see! Boys, you shouldn’t have done it!” but she laughed nevertheless, and Norton felt more relieved.

“It was only in fun,” he protested.

“A boy’s idea of fun, and a girl’s, often differ exceedingly,” spoke Mrs. Fordam. “I really think it had better be taken off.”

The crowd had been following along the sidewalk, tossing rice and showering congratulations on those in the “bridal-car.” Norton saw that Mrs. Fordam meant what she said. So he stopped the machine and got out to remove the placard, just as Cora was about to turn around to learn more of the cause of the merriment. Norton ripped off the lettered muslin and tossed it aside.

“It may do for someone else to play a joke with,” he remarked. “I guess I got myself in bad here. I’ll have to make up for it.”

“There, you needn’t get out–Norton is fixing it,” said Bess to Walter. “But I think I’ll ride in my own car, if you don’t mind,” and she prepared to get out as he put on the brakes.

“Not mad; are you?” he asked, and there was a note of anxiety in his voice.

“No, not exactly,” she replied with a smile.

Cora, who had made the turn, and had learned what had happened, said nothing. She looked at Jack rather reprovingly, however. Then, the crowd seeing no more chance for fun, began to drop back. The autos went on, the twins in their own, and Walter back with Norton, while Jack and Ed rode together, Cora being with Eline up ahead–a pacemaker.

There was a little coldness among the girls and boys–on the side of the girls–when they stopped for dinner at a country hotel. Nothing of moment had occurred on the road, save that Cora got a puncture, and Jack and the other boys had no little difficulty in getting off an old shoe that had not been removed in some time.

A little later something went wrong with the carbureter on the car of the twins. The boys took turns trying to adjust it, as they were far from a garage. It was Norton who discovered the trouble–a simple enough matter–and remedied it.

“Doesn’t that entitle me to a rebate of punishment?” he asked of Belle.

“I’ll see,” she answered, but her glance was not as stern as it had been, and she ventured to smile a little.

With the offending placard removed, the cars proceeded onward again. They had planned to take the trip leisurely, and to stop over night at another hotel. The day following that would bring them to Sandy Point Cove in good time to settle the bungalows before dark.

“We’re going to the theatre to-night,” Jack announced, shortly after the arrival in Duncan, where they were to spend the night. He had gone out after reaching the hotel, and purchased the seats for a popular comedy then running.

“Oh, are we?” asked Cora with a lifting of her eyebrows, a signal, that had Jack but known it, meant more than he suspected. “That’s awfully nice of you, really.”

“It’s a fine show,” declared Norton. “A friend of mine saw it in New York.”

“What time are we to be ready?” asked Belle, with a look at Cora.

“It begins at eight, if you start now putting on your hats you’ll be ready in time, it’s only a little after six,” remarked Ed.

“Smart!” exclaimed Bess. “We can be ready as soon as you!”

After supper–or dinner whichever you prefer to call it–the boys went to their rooms to get ready for the little theatre party. The girls, with much whispering and not a little laughter proceeded, apparently, with the same object.

But a little later the motor maids, accompanied by their chaperone, Mrs. Fordam, slipped down a rear stairway, out into the ladies’ parlor of the hotel, and thence into two big limousine cars that awaited them. The girls had on semi-evening dress, with some flimsy chiffon veils over their heads in place of hats, which might account for the speed with which they got ready.

“Isn’t it nice we met those boys!” exclaimed Eline.

“They came just in time to make it possible for us to retaliate,” remarked Cora. “And our boys need a lesson.”

In the somewhat luxurious autos that had drawn up in front of the hotel were four young men in evening dress. They greeted the girls enthusiastically.

“It’s awfully nice of you to come on such short notice,” said one to Cora.

“Oh, we were only too glad to” she answered.

CHAPTER XII

AT THE COVE

“Well, what do you know about that?”

“It–well, so long as there are none of ’em here I’ll say it–it’s the limit!”

“They got back at us all right!”

“And to think we never suspected.”

“What will we do with these theatre tickets?”

Four young men, in freshened attire after their auto ride, stood disconsolately in the hotel parlor. Jack was fingering a note that a bell boy had brought him. Walter, Ed and Norton, with the assistance of Jack, had given voice to the expressions with which we have begun this chapter. The note read:

“Dear Jack:

“We don’t seem to care about the theatre this evening. I met Harry Dunn, and his two cousins–also another young man–Ralph Borden–and they asked us to go to a little private dance. Mrs. Fordam is with us. We met Harry at Lake Como last year, you remember. He is that tall, dark, distinguished-looking fellow. So we thought we’d prefer the dance to the theatre, especially as Belle and Bess have seen the play. Sorry to have to waste so many good tickets, but perhaps you boys will have time to paint another honeymoon sign.

“Cora.”

It was this note which had been handed to Jack as he and his companions had been waiting in the parlor for the girls, that had caused all the trouble.

“So, that’s their game!” exclaimed Cora’s brother, as he crumpled the paper up in his hand. “They’ve played a trick on us all right!”

“To get back at us for that sign on the auto, and the rice,” added Ed.

“I wonder if they really did go off to a dance?” asked Walter.

“Oh, yes, I know this Dunn chap–not half-bad,” put in Jack. “Sis and I did meet him last year. His folks have a country place somewhere round here. But how did he meet the girls and get them to come?”

“I have it!” cried Norton.

“Pass it over!” commanded Walter.

“You know that time my car developed a kink,” he continued, “and you stopped yours, Jack?”

“Sure,” assented Cora’s brother.

“Well, the girls went on, you know, and when we caught up to them I saw a couple of autos speeding down the road, as though they had been acting as escorts. I guess those fellows must have met the girls on the road, proposed the dance, and the girls accepted.”

“That’s it!” declared Jack. And so it proved, as they found out later.

“Well, there’s no help for it,” sighed Walter.

“We’ll have to go to the show alone,” added Ed.

“If we could only find some nice girls,” spoke Norton.

“We don’t know a soul in town,” declared Jack. “If that Dunn fellow had been half-way decent he’d have made some arrangement about us after he stole away the girls. Well, there’s no use wasting all the tickets. Come on to the show.”

So the boys went, but they did not have a very good time by themselves, and there was some amusement among the audience over four good-looking boys occupying eight seats.

As for Cora and the girls, they had a delightful dance. It had turned out as Norton had said. The girls, proceeding on ahead with Mrs. Fordam, after Jack and the boys had stopped to look after Norton’s car, had met young Dunn and his companions out for a spin. Cora knew them at once, and the young men, delighted at the prospect of such charming partners at a dance they had almost elected to forgo, invited the motor girls to it.

Mrs. Fordam, who was a distant relative of young Dunn’s father, had consented to the arrangement. The girls and she slipped away after Jack came in with the theatre tickets, proceeded to attire themselves most becomingly, and had been met by their escorts, who lavishly hired big cars to take their friends to the affair. Then Jack and his chums had been handed the note which Cora left for them. It had all been very simple.

“Wasn’t it glorious!”

“The floor was just splendid!”

“And those boys knew so many nice fellows.”

“My card was filled almost before I knew it.”

“The music was lovely!”

Thus chattered the motor girls as they came back to the hotel rather late–or was it early? with Mrs. Fordam. They saw Jack sitting disconsolately in the parlor, trying hard to keep awake by reading.

“Well, so you’re back!” he exclaimed to Cora, rather shortly.

“Yes, brother mine!” she laughed tantalizingly.

“Well, it’s about time,” he growled.

“Why, how long have you been back?” she asked. “I hear that it was quite a long and–tiresome–show. I’m sorry we had to disappoint you, but really we had no other way of telling you where we were going. It was a lovely dance!”

“Yes,” said Jack, coldly.

“And we hope you had time to embroider another sign for our car,” added Bess. Really, she said later, she could not help it.

“Um!” grunted Jack. “I sat up for you,” he added to his sister.

“There was no need, Jack. We had Mrs. Fordam. It was a very pretty dance. I am glad the girls had a chance to go.”

The girls seemed glad too, and really looked quite effective in their party growns, which were carried in the trunks that were strapped on the autos.

“Oh, it was lovely!” sighed Bess.

“And that tall young fellow was such a fine dancer!” echoed Eline.

“Huh!” growled Jack. “I’m going to bed.”

“I guess we’re all tired enough to re-tire–joke!” exclaimed Cora. “Good-night, Jack. Sorry we couldn’t go with you, but we had a–previous engagement!”

The boys did not say much next morning, though the girls were enthusiastic about their affair.

“If we could only have one two or three times a week,” sighed Belle, who was a fine dancer.

“We may, at Sandy Point Cove,” spoke Cora. “There is a pavilion there–also moving picture shows, to which the boys can take us,” and she glanced at Jack. He said nothing.

Once more they were on their way. The roads were good, and save for the fact that they took a wrong one shortly after lunch, and went a few miles out of their route, nothing of moment happened.

“Ten miles to Sandy Point Cove!” read Jack, as they stopped at a cross-road, to inspect the signboards. “We’ll make it in an hour.”

“And then for a bath in the briny deep!” cried Walter.

“I hope the fishing is good,” remarked Ed. “I haven’t caught anything in a month.”

“I hope the Pet has arrived,” Cora exclaimed. “I am just dying for a motor boat ride.”

“Let us hope it has then; we don’t want you to expire,” came from Norton.

In less than an hour they had reached the shore road and were spinning down it toward the cove where they were to spend the summer. As they mounted the bluff, around the end of the cove, from which a magnificent view of the ocean could be had, Cora uttered a cry: