About 11 o’clock we reached home. I went in with Sally. Her mother seemed worried. She said she had been very much distressed by our non-arrival the night before and looked at me searchingly. I told her I had been very stupid but she must remember I had run a car only a short time and was not very experienced. Sally said she was sure I was not to blame.
The next day I needed some money and went to the bank. Jim Barkley waited on me and after he had cashed the check said:
“I hear you were stalled the other day because you had no gasoline? Pretty slick excuse.”
“No,” I said, “do you think so?”
“Ho, ho,” he said, “ho, ho!”
“He, he,” I said, “he, he!”
He looked pretty black at this but said nothing more.
I went to call on Sally that evening and she greeted me with smiles. She wanted to know whether I had caught cold? I said no, I had not. She told me she thought Jim Barkley was very disagreeable. He had been making nasty remarks about me. He had told Hetty Poiret that I was a prig. She thought he was very ugly-tempered and very stupid. Before I left she asked me whether I often took cold. I said I did. She advised me if I felt I was taking cold to soak my feet in hot water in a wooden bucket, the water should be very hot and contain a teaspoonful of soda. Then I must wipe my feet with a dry, hot towel and get into bed. She did not say retire, she said get into bed. I had not had such advice since my mother died two years before. She looked very earnest and very much concerned as she said it. It was not a romantic speech but somehow I liked to have her say it.
IV
The following Saturday I planned to take a trip to Doylestown. I had some relatives there whom I had not seen for some time and Fanny and Mary Hillpot had agreed to go with me. Their cousin lived there. I was doubtful about my ability to drive my car to the Hillpot house and experiment proved my doubt to be well founded. By making a strong spurt I succeeded in getting up the first hill but stuck fast on the second. I climbed the rest of the hill afoot. Mary was as pretty as a picture and I admired her very much. She certainly had beautiful teeth and was all smiles when I arrived. The girls were soon ready and we walked to the car and started. Mary was beside me and Fanny in the tonneau with some wraps, two umbrellas and some lunch. We were nearing Kintnersville when dark clouds began to pile up on the horizon and presently it began to rain. The girls were in the tonneau each with an umbrella and I was on the front seat with a rubber coat and hat. The rain came down in bucketfuls and then began to blow. The water collected in a pool on the front seat and ran down my leg into my shoe. The girls’ feet and skirts got wet and Mary began to cry. Fanny was just as wet but she laughed and seemed to be enjoying herself. I drove as rapidly as possible and got under a shed at Ferndale. Mary was as cross as a wet hen. Her hair had lost its curl, her hat was awry and she showed neither smile nor white teeth. The girls went into the hotel and after quite a long stay came out somewhat drier and ready to proceed. But Mary was sulky and disagreeable. After the shower passed over we started again, but now there was mud everywhere—thin splashy red mud that flew over everything. At Pipersville Hill it was necessary for the girls to walk up the hill and their feet were very muddy and wet. Between Pipersville and Plumstedville there was a swampy spot where the car stuck fast. Fanny helped me get stones to put under the wheels while Mary sat on the fence and glowered at us. Finally we got started again and reached Doylestown. Here we separated. While I was visiting my cousins a hostler washed the car and after it was ready I drove around, took the girls in and started for home. We got back without accident and then I visited the Oldit place. Sarah and Jane were at home but Miss Horner had not arrived. We sat on the front porch and the girls raked over the characters of all the neighbors. I found they had had a disagreement also with Miss Horner. There were several vicious digs given after she arrived and I departed somewhat depressed.