up to, and my heart was not of the rubber-ball description, to be
caught in the rebound. If Molly cherished a secret intention of
springing her peerless friend Mercédès upon me, during this tour which
she had organised, it seemed better for everyone concerned that the
hope should be nipped in the bud. It was with unwonted meekness that
she yielded to being suppressed, and I suffered immediate pangs of
remorse. To atone, I did my best to be agreeable. All the way to
Southampton I praised automobiles in general and hers in particular;
admitted that in half a day I had become half a convert; and soon I
had the pleasure of believing that the divine Molly had forgotten my
sin.

[Illustration]

[Illustration: "SOMETIMES JACK DROVE, WITH MOLLY BESIDE HIM".]




CHAPTER III

My Lesson

"The broad road that stretches."
--R.L. STEVENSON.


Forty-eight hours later we drove out of Havre, bound for Paris and
Lucerne, where I was to "pick up" that mule, and become a lone
wanderer on the face of the earth. Gotteland had seen to the shipping