“Of course,” said Linda, in a relieved tone. “That would be the thing to do.”
“Now,” she said, “I must be excused a few minutes till I clean up so I am fit to go on the streets. I hope you won’t think I forgot you were coming.”
Donald laughed drily.
“When ‘shoes’ was the first word I heard,” he said, “I did not for a minute think you had forgotten.”
“No, I didn’t forget,” said Linda. “What I did do was to become so excited about cleaning up the car that I let time go faster than I thought it could. That was what made me late.”
“Well, forget it!” said Donald. “Run along and jump into something, and let us get our tires and try Kitty out.”
Linda reached up and released the brakes. She stepped to one side of the car and laid her hands on it.
“Let us run it down opposite the kitchen door,” she said, “then you go around to the front, and I’ll let you in, and you can read something a few minutes till I make myself presentable.”
“Oh, I’ll stay out here and look around the yard and go over the car again,” said the boy. “What a bunch of stuff you have got growing here; I don’t believe I ever saw half of it before.”
“It’s Daddy’s and my collection,” said Linda. “Some day I’ll show you some of the things, and tell you how we got them, and why they are rare. To-day I just naturally can’t wait a minute until I try my car.”