“I thank you, sir,” said the man. “It was handsome of you, handsome. And after I treated you so meanly, too! Say, do you know how I feel? I feel like two cents!”
“Let us drop it,” said Jack, and walked away. But the man came after him, and his voice was full of emotion.
“Don’t go off that way. I want to tell you something. I—I acted like a fool the other day. It wasn’t fair at all. And now you’ve done the handsome thing. It was great, simply great! I thank you, and I ask your pardon at the same time. Won’t you shake hands?”
“Certainly!” cried Jack, and held out his hand, which the other grasped tightly. “It’s all right—only please give us a little more show when we’re on the march after this.”
“You shall have the whole road—you deserve it!” answered the man, heartily. “This has taught me a lesson I’ll not forget,” he added, as he turned back to look after his wife and inspect the automobile. It took some time to repair the big machine, and in the meantime the cadets walked away, and Jack delivered the wheel to the owner.
“That was a great ride of yours,” said the boy. “And that jump into the auto was grand. Do you know that man?”
“No.”
“His name is Carl Reuterman. He is a rich brewer. He runs all over these roads, and he is rather careless. But I guess he’ll be more careful after this.”
“He’ll have to be—or he and his family will get into trouble,” returned Jack.
“Did he reward you, Jack?” asked Pepper, later on.