“How many miles have I come, I wonder?” she asked herself, looking about.
She was on a ridge of land overlooking a narrow valley. At the end of the valley the road seemed to dip from the ridge, and it disappeared in a thick haze of blue smoke.
“The fire must be over that way,” she thought. “Shall I run that far and see what it means? The wind is not blowing toward me.”
She started the car once more. The auto rolled on, but she noticed that it wasn’t firing regularly.
“Hullo! Is it going to kick up rusty now and here?” muttered Hester, and she stopped. Having learned that much, she opened the carburetor to see if the gasoline was flowing all right. Then she tried a dozen times to start the car, without success. Suddenly she stood up with a jerk. In the distance she heard a growing roar—the oncoming rush of a powerful car.
Fortunately she had stopped on the side of the road. There was room for another car to pass. And out of the blue smoke ahead it appeared with startling suddenness, hurled like a missile from a gun directly up the road toward her.
She knew the car almost instantly. It was the Beldings’ auto and it was crowded with young folk. She knew where they had been. The next week the girls of Central High had been invited to Keyport to play the first team at basketball of the High School in that town.
Hester had heard all about the game the day before with the West High girls. With Roberta Fish in Hester’s old position at forward center, the girls of Central High had swept all before them. They had beaten their opponents with a good lead. Of course, the West High team was not as strong as the East High had been; but Roberta had done well and victory had, for the first time in months, perched upon the banner of Central High.
A committee had been appointed to go over and see the Keyport managers, and now it was returning. The big car was driven by Chet Belding, with Launcelot Darby beside him. Laura, Jess, Bobby, Nellie, and the Lockwood twins filled the tonneau comfortably.
Hester hoped that the Belding car would wheel right by and that her school fellows would not notice her. But Chet saw the car stalled, and Laura’s quick eye detected the lone girl standing with her back to them, looking off across the valley.