“Go ahead,” he commanded, in a low voice.
Vench reached down, released the brake and started the engine. He backed the car around in the driveway and sent it out of the school yard in low speed, keeping his lights low. It was not until he had rolled out onto the main highway that he switched them on again and picked up speed.
Inwardly, he thanked his lucky stars even while he wondered. He was glad that he had run with the hares on that day, and that he had run with his partner through Spotville Point. The other boys had told him of Dennings and his home at Spotville Point, and Vench knew that this place was to be his destination. He did not know where the house itself was but he did know where the town was. The location of the house would come later.
But what puzzled the cadet was the man who had come out of Clanhammer Hall. Vench had fully expected to see Don brought out, and the sight of the portly colonel astonished him. He quickly arrived at the correct answer, although he had no means of knowing how the colonel had come to be in Clanhammer Hall or why he was being taken away.
The drive to Spotville Point took longer than Vench had thought, for he was only vaguely familiar with the roads and was following a general sense of direction more than anything else. He was worried for fear that some happening might come up which would spoil his game, in which case he planned to make a sudden and savage attack on the two men, counting on the colonel to come to his aid. But at the end of half an hour he had arrived safely at Spotville Point, and now his only difficulty lay in not giving away the fact that he did not know where Denning’s house was. He was turning over in his mind the advisability of pretending that his engine was breaking down and stopping somewhere when one of the men pulled down a sliding glass window back of him and spoke into his ear.
“Take the back road, Garry,” he said. “We don’t want to go up the main street. Slow down, or you’ll miss it.”
Vench obediently slowed down, and the man ducked back, closing the slide. To his right was a lane, and Vench turned the car into it.
“You’ll never know how much I thank you for that one, mister!” he thought.
The car lurched for a short distance down this lane and then two houses loomed up out of the blackness. Vench was not sure which one was Denning’s but noting that one was not in as good a state of repair as the other one he took a desperate chance and drove into the yard. It was evidently all right, for nothing was said, and he brought the car to a stop before the front steps.
The men immediately jumped out and helped the colonel after them. Without paying any attention to Vench they took the colonel up on the porch, and one man produced a key from his pocket and unlocked the front door. All three of them walked in, the door was closed and Vench was left alone.