“Oh, I’ll get there!” declared Roger, and, with laughing good-byes, the two girls drove away.
“Don’t you love your car, Patty?” asked Elise, as they went swiftly along.
“Yes, I do, Elise. I love it almost as I would a human being. I’ve never told any one this, because it seems sort of silly. But sometimes, when I’m out alone in it, I talk to it just as I would to a person, and she seems to understand. I’ve named her the Swift Camilla, and somehow Camilla seems to understand everything I say to her, and she almost talks back. Then, when I take other people with me, Camilla likes or dislikes them. If she dislikes them, she shows it by not running quite so smoothly. She jumps and balks and shies, for no reason at all, except petulance. Isn’t that so, Camilla?” and Patty patted the side of the car with a caressing gesture.
“Does she like me?” asked Elise, anxiously.
“Yes, indeed! Don’t you see she’s flying along like a bird! She knows you understand her, Elise, and you don’t think she’s merely an inanimate object.”
“Inanimate object! No, indeed! With her pulses thrilling and her sensitive nature alive to every passing incident, she’s far from inanimate!”
Patty looked at Elise in surprise. “Why, girlie,” she said, “I didn’t know you had so much imagination in your make-up.”
“I’ve always felt that way about motor cars, Patty. Our great big car is lumberly and fat, and a little bit stolid of disposition; but father has a little runabout that’s the nervousest thing you ever saw. But this Stanhope! Well, I’ve simply got to have one like it, that’s all! Father’ll give it to me in a minute, if I only could persuade mother to let me run it alone. But I’m ’most sure she never will.”
“This car of mine seems to sell others for the company,” said Patty, laughing. “There’s a girl down here, next door to me, who says she’s going to get one, too. And I know the boys will all fall in love with this little beauty!”
“Meaning the car or the girl next door?” asked Elise, smiling.