Marie went to the front door and looked down the street just as Thornton, gesticulating wildly, disappeared around the corner of Fortieth Street.
“Oh, why didn’t she come sooner!” said he aloud to himself. “At least they would know why I’m late. And she’ll be gone before I come round again. Was there ever such luck? Oh for a good old horse that could stop, a dear old nag that would pause and not go round and round like a blamed carrousel! Say, driver, isn’t there any way of stopping this cursed thing? Can’t you run it into a fence or a house? I’ll take the risk.”
“But I won’t, sir. These automobiles are very powerful, and one of them turned over a news-stand not long since and upset the stove in it, and nearly burned up the newsman. But there’s a plenty of time for it to stop. I don’t have to hurry back.”
“That’s lucky,” said Orville. “I thought maybe you’d have to leave me alone with the thing. But, say, she may run all night. Here I am due at a dinner. I’m tired of riding. This is no way to spend Christmas. Slacken up, and I’ll jump when I get around there again.”
“I tell you I can’t slacken up, and she’s going ten miles an hour. You’ll break your leg if you jump, and then where’ll you be?”
“I might be on their sidewalk, and then you could ring their bell, and they’d take me in.”
“And have you suing the company for damages? Oh, no, sir. I’m sorry, but it can’t be helped. The company won’t charge you for the extra time.”
“No, I don’t think it will,” said Thornton savagely, the more so as his foot gave a twinge of pain just then.
“There was no one in sight, ma’am,” said Marie, when she returned.