idental, and sat down on the steps.

"I've been thinking, Ellis," he said, "that I'd like to enter my car."

"What!" said Ellis. "Not that--"

"My racer. I'm not much for speed, but there's a sort of feeling in the
town that the locality ought to be represented. As I'm the only owner of
a speed car--"

"Speed car!" said Ellis, and chuckled. "My dear boy, we've got Heckert
with his ninety-horse-power Bonor!"

"Never heard of him." Jasper lighted a cigarette. "Anyhow, what's that
to me? I don't like to race. I've got less speed mania than any owner of
a race car you ever met. But the honor of the town seems to demand a
sacrifice, and I'm it."

"You can try out for it anyhow," said Ellis. "I don't think you'll make
it; but, if you qualify, all right. But don't let any other town people,
from a sense of mistaken local pride, enter a street roller or a
traction engine."

Jasper colored, but kept his temper.

Aggie, however, spoke up indignantly. "Mr. McCutcheon's car was a very
fine racer when it was built."

"_De mortuis nil nisi bonum_," remarked Mr. Ellis, and getting up said
good-night.

Jasper sat on the steps and watched him disappear. Then he turned to
Tish.

"Miss Letitia," he said, "do you think you are wise to drive that racer
of his the way you have been doing?"

Aggie gave a little gasp and promptly sneezed, as she does when she is
excited.

"I?" said Tish.

"You!" he smiled. "Not that I don't admire your courage. I do. But the
other day, now, when you lost a tire and went into the ditch--"

"Tish!" from Aggie.

"--you were fortunate. But when a racer turns over the results are not
pleasant."

"As a matter of fact," said Tish coldly, "it was a wheat-field, not a
ditch."

Jasper got up and threw away his cigarette. "Well, our departing friend
is not the only one who can quote Latin," he said. "_Verbum sap._, Miss
Tish. Good-night, everybody. Good-night, Bettina."

Bettina's good-night was very cool. As I went up to bed that night, I
thought Jasper's chances poor indeed. As for Tish, I endeavored to speak
a few word of remonstrance to her, but she opened her Bible and began to
read the lesson for the day and I was obliged to beat a retreat.

It was that night that Aggie and I, having decided the situation was
beyond us, wrote a letter to Charlie Sands asking him to come up. Just
as I was sealing it Bettina knocked and came in. She closed the door
behind her and stood looking at us both