"For heaven's sake, Mollie, get out of the way! Start the car!" she
screamed.

"I can't!" Mollie answered, tight-lipped. "Something's wrong. The
motor's dead."

But with Grace's scream, Betty had come to her senses and had
scrambled out of the car, dragging the still paralyzed Amy after her.

"Grace, get out! Mollie, are you crazy?" she shouted wildly. "You'll
be killed----"

Automatically Grace started to clamber to the road, but Mollie still
fussed with brakes and levers, her lips in a tight line, her eyes
blazing.

"Something's wrong-- but I'll get her started," she muttered over and
over to herself while Betty raged at her from the road.

"Get out! get out!" fumed the Little Captain, "Jump, or I'll come
after you and we'll both be killed. Mollie!"

Luckily for Mollie's suicidal stubbornness, the great tree had been
halted far a moment in its downward plunge by some particularly heavy
foliage and branches, but the girls could see that it was only a
matter of seconds until the giant should tear itself loose and come
plunging down upon them.

And still Mollie fumbled with levers in a vain and foolish attempt to
save her beloved car at the risk of her own life.