The Elder came after her in half a minute. She noticed that in his excitement he had slipped his overcoat on over his dressing-gown and still wore the carpet slippers.
CHAPTER XXVI
“A RUN FOR HIS MONEY”
Elder Concannon jerked open the tonneau door and plunged inside. “Go on, girl!” he gasped. “Heaven forgive me! I don’t know that I am doing right. But it’s any port in a storm. If you can get me there in time——”
The rest of his speech was jerked back into his throat by the leap the Kremlin gave as Janice threw in the clutch. She bothered little with the low speed, but sent the car on, out of the yard, and along the country road at a pace that made the old man cling to the robe rail.
Fortunately there was nobody in sight at first to see him. The Elder felt that something dreadful ought to happen to him for riding in the automobile. It would be a judgment upon him if something broke!
Faster and faster flew the car. Janice, sitting well under the wheel, paid no attention to him, but was watching the road ahead as keenly as a terrier watches a rat hole.
The Elder leaned forward and shouted something to her. She paid no heed, though she thought it was something about her driving. But Janice was not driving her car recklessly; she was only driving fast.
When, on coming to a cross road, they took a sharp turn, the Elder uttered a loud and prayerful ejaculation. He leaned forward again, tried to say something, but the wind of their passage choked him.
He lost his hat. His long hair and beard whipped about his austere face. His cheeks grew pink. His lips parted and his eyes brightened. There was something very exhilarating about this speedy traveling. He had not felt the same emotion since he was a young boy and had raced colts on the county road with his young and godless friends—and that had been more years before than Elder Concannon cared to remember.
A wagon came into sight. The teamster kept the middle of the road, although he was not heavily laden and he must have heard the tooting of the horn. His horses jogged right along without giving way one inch.