u? She'd send me home--I know
she would!"

"I won't tell her, and I'm not going to be angry, either, Dolly. But I'm
very much afraid you'll be sorry yourself before we get back to the
farm, and I don't see how Miss Eleanor can help finding out, because I'm
pretty sure Mr. Holmes isn't going to get us back in time for lunch."

"Why, Bessie, he said he would--he promised! Don't you think he means to
keep his word?"

"I hope so, Dolly, but he told me something once that wasn't so,
and--oh, well, let's not worry about it now, anyhow. I can't explain
everything to you now, there isn't time. It's a lovely ride, isn't it?
We might as well enjoy ourselves, now that we're in for it."

"That's what I say, Bessie. There's no use crying over spilt milk, is
there? And I guess it will be all right. I think he's awfully nice, I
don't see why you don't like him."

"You will when you know as much as I do, Dolly, I'm afraid. But we won't
talk any more about that. Oh, look, there is a town, right here! We're
coming into it now, do you see? Probably this is the place Mr. Holmes
meant he was going to bring us to."

But Bessie's fears were redoubled a minute or so later, when the car,
without slackening speed at all, shot through a street that was lined
with shops, two or three of which, as they could see, were drug stores
with ice-cream soda signs that they could easily read even from the fast
moving car.

Looking at Bessie as if she were already a little frightened and sorry,
Dolly leaned over and touched Mr. Holmes on the shoulder.

"Aren't you going to stop here?" she asked, "I'm sure those are awfully
nice looking stores Mr. Holmes."

He slowed up the car at once, and turned to them with a pleasant smile.

"Oh, this isn't the place I meant at all," he said. "I don't know
anything about the stores here. The place I was thinking of is much
better, and it's not very far away. Besides, it's early yet, and I think
we ought to have as much of a ride as we can, don't you?"

Dolly looked dubious. One glance at Bessie had show her that her chum
was not prepared to accept this explanation. But they had no choice, for
Holmes, seeming to take their assent to his plan for granted, had turned
on full power, and the car was roaring out into open country again, but
now in a direction almost at right angles to its former course. They
were traveling due west, and Bessie, without anything definite to alarm
her, felt herself growing more and m