Geoffrey turned to the girl.
“Shall we try?” he asked. “Is it worth while going after him?”
“I can’t leave the car on the side of the road all night,” she said. “If we can’t get Jones, I must walk back and try again.”
Geoffrey made a heroic resolve.
“I’ll leave you at home first,” he said, “and then I’ll go and drag Jones out of that dinner party of his. I’m sure you must be very tired.”
But the girl firmly refused to go home without the car. Her plan was to go back with Jones, if Jones could be persuaded to start, and then drive home when the car was set right.
“Very well,” said Geoffrey, “let’s go and get Jones. We’ll all go back together. I can stop the night in Hamley and go on to-morrow morning.”
He rather expected a protest from the girl, a protest ending in warm thanks for his kindness. He received instead a remark which rather surprised him.
“I daresay,” she said, “that you’d rather like to see what really is the matter with the car. It will he so much knowledge gained for you afterwards. And you do take an interest in mechanics, don’t you?”
Geoffrey, in the course of his operations on the car, had several times professed a deep interest in mechanics. He recollected that, just at first, he had boasted a good deal about his skill and knowledge. He suspected that the girl was laughing at him. This irritated him, and when he reached the George Inn he was in no mood to listen patiently to Jones’ refusal to leave the dinner.