Out into the country road, scudding northward, it sped. Dauntless
increased the speed, not to the limit, on account of the fog and
uncertainty of the road, but enough to add new thrills to the girl who
crouched beside him. Neither spoke until they were far from the town
line; the strain was too intense.

"What will everybody say?" she finally cried in his ear--the most
natural question in the world. "And the newspapers? Oh, dear!"

"You're not weakening, are you?" he cried. "Shall I turn back?"

She was silent for half a mile.

"No," she replied at last, "I couldn't climb UP that ladder. And
besides--" with a gasp as the car shot over the railroad tracks,--"we
never could get as good a start as this again."

"Bully for you!" he shouted.

"How far is it to Fenlock, Joe?" she asked, a quaver in her high-
pitched voice.

"About seven miles. We'll take the short cut through O'Brien's Lane
and strike Cobberly Road again at the crossroads. Then it will be easy
going. We'll catch the flyer all right, Nell. Everything's arranged.
You go into Car 5 and I in Car 7--"

"With a whole car between us? Heavens!"

"It's safest, dear. There might happen to be some one on board who'd