CHAPTER I

A SPOILED DINNER


The big maroon car glided along in such perfect rhythm that Cora
Kimball, the fair driver of the Whirlwind, heard scarcely a sound
of its mechanical workings. To her the car went noiselessly - the
perfection of its motion was akin to the very music of silence.

Hazel Hastings was simply sumptuous in the tonneau - she had
spread every available frill and flounce, but there was still
plenty of unoccupied space on the luxuriously cushioned "throne."

It seemed a pity to passers-by that two girls should ride alone on
that splendid morning in the handsome machine - so many of those
afoot would have been glad of a chance to occupy the empty seats.

Directly following the Whirlwind came another car - the little
silver Flyaway. In this also were two girls, the Robinson twins,
Elizabeth and Isabel, otherwise Belle and Bess. Chelton folks
were becoming accustomed to the sight of these girls in their
cars, and a run of the motor girls was now looked upon as a daily
occurrence. Bess Robinson guided her car with unmistakable skill
- Cora Kimball was considered an expert driver.

Sputtering and chugging close to the Flyaway came a second
runabout. In this were a girl and a boy, or, more properly