It was fifteen minutes before Dennis and Sara appeared. Sara's face was red with excitement and drawn with weariness. He walked directly to the machine and, looking up into Pen's face, exclaimed:
"If Jim has told you that I gave him a knockout to win the race, it's a lie, Pen!"
Penelope looked from Jim to Uncle Denny, then back to Sara in utter bewilderment.
"Why, Sara! He never said anything of the kind! He said he had a bad fall when the crowd closed in and that it put him out of the race."
"I told you to keep quiet, Sara, that Jim would never say anything!" cried Uncle Denny.
"Get in, both of you," said Jim's mother quietly. "Don't make a scene on the street."
"If Saradokis gets in, I'll take the Elevated home," said Jim slowly.
"Don't worry!" snapped Sara. "I'm meeting my father in a moment. Pen, you believe in me, don't you?"
Pen seized his outstretched hand and gave the others an indignant look. "Of course I do, though I don't know what it's all about."
Sara lifted his hat and turned away and the machine started homeward.