The stranger jumped up quickly, wet his finger and held it in the air.
“The wind’s from the northwest,” he exclaimed under his breath.
As he faced the wind, another group of sparks, borne on the breeze, blew against him.
“By Jove,” he cried. “It must be Virginia’s house. Thanks for your hospitality, I must go,” he added, starting to run down the trail.
“Come back,” called Billie, “we’ll take you in the car quicker than you can cut through the woods.”
Without a word the stranger turned and joined them as they gathered their belongings together and raced through the woods to the Comet.
Silently they piled themselves into the machine and in another ten minutes Billie had guided them safely over the rutty wagon track to the hard beaten automobile road and they were speeding along toward Virginia’s.
As they tore up the avenue of giant trees, over which hung a cloud of dense smoke, Billie said to the stranger who was sitting beside her:
“I know that you are Mr. Ignatius Donahue. I have known it from the first.”
“How did you recognize me?” he asked smiling.