"Why, why--Phineas!" she cried a little sharply.

Phineas swallowed the lump in his throat and steadied himself in his
seat.

"Ye see I--I can stop her real quick if I want to," he explained
jauntily. "Ye can do 'most anythin' with these 'ere things if ye only
know how, Dianthy. Didn't we come slick?"

"Yes, indeed," stammered Diantha, hastily smoothing out the frown on her
face and summoning a smile to her lips--not for her best black silk gown
would she have had Phineas know that she was wishing herself safe at
home and the automobile back where it came from.

"We'll go home through the Holler," said Phineas, after she had retied
her veil and they were ready to start. "It's the long way round, ye
know. I ain't goin' ter give ye no snippy little two-mile run, Dianthy,
like Colonel Smith did," he finished gleefully.

"No, of course not," murmured Diantha, smothering a sigh as the
automobile started with a jerk.

An hour later, tired, frightened, a little breathless, but valiantly
declaring that she had had a "beautiful time," Diantha was set down at
her own door.

That was but the first of many such trips. Ever sounding in Phineas
Hopkins's ears and spurring him to fresh endeavor, were Diantha's words,
"I could 'a' rode on an' on furever"; and deep in his heart was the
determination that if it was automobile rides that she wanted, it was