“Yes, I’d like to find out whether they were your Girls Scouts,” added Ned, “just for the fun of it. I am sure that I should recognize them immediately—”
“In other words,” snapped the old lady sharply, “you are hinting in every way possible for an invitation. Well, I’ll gratify you: come to dinner tonight!”
“Oh, thanks,” murmured both young men, gratefully.
“But to call your bluff,” continued Miss Vaughn, “how would you be able to identify people whom you merely saw in another machine—both probably going at a pretty good rate of speed?”
“But we weren’t,” objected Ned “Both the girls’ cars were stopped, and we went slowly; in fact, we practically stopped, so that we could offer assistance. Both their cars were in hard luck.”
“Punctures?”
“Yes—though the big one was fixed before we got there.”
“And the little one?” questioned Miss Vaughn, with a triumphant gleam in her eyes. “Those girls turned down your offer for help?”
“Yes, they did,” replied Jo, stolidly.
“I knew it! I knew they would!”