They were still watching the car!
Down to the gate, at the furthest end of the road, a baby boy, chubby and fat, had crawled on two round, turned-in legs. There was something unusual going on down the street. He could hear strange noises, but, though he stuck his small nose through the fence, he was still unable to see. Just as Ruth’s car was almost in front of the house, open flew the stubborn old gate, and the child flung himself out in the middle of the road, just in front of the wonderful red thing he could see flying toward him. The baby was too young to understand the danger.
From the watchers at Mrs. Thurston’s came a cry of horror. A thrill of terror passed through the occupants of the car. Ruth’s face turned white. Like a flash, she slowed a little, turned her steering wheel and with a wide sweep drove her motor to the far side of the road, then straight on out of the path of the wondering baby.
Mr. Stuart’s, “Bravo, daughter!” was lost in his throat. But the little group of waiting friends gave three cheers for the girl chauffeur, which Ruth heard even at such a distance. Truly “The Automobile Girls” were fairly started on their adventures.
CHAPTER VI—WHAT HAPPENED THE FIRST DAY
The car flew along by sunny meadows and farms. New York was the first day’s goal.
“Barbara,” Ruth said to her next-door neighbor, “you are hereby appointed royal geographer and guide-extraordinary to this party! Here is the route-book. It will be up to you to show us which roads we are to take. It is a pretty hard job, as I well know from experience; but then, honors come hard. You don’t need to worry to-day. I know this coast trip into New York as well as I know my A.B.C.‘s. I have often come along this way with father. Let’s have a perfectly beautiful time in New York. We’ll make Aunt Sallie chaperon us while we do the town, or, at least, a part of it. Have you ever been to a roof garden?”
Barbara’s eyes danced. It didn’t sound quite right somehow—a roof garden—but then they were out for experiences, and Miss Sallie wouldn’t let them do anything really wrong.
Ruth glanced out of the corner of her eye at Barbara. Miss Stuart was a good little chauffeur who never allowed her attention to be distracted from running her car, no matter what was being talked of around her, nor how much she was interested, but she couldn’t help laughing at Barbara’s expression; it told so plainly all that was going on inside her head.
“I do assure you, Miss Barbara Thurston, that a roof garden may be a fairly respectable thing, quite well suited to entertaining, without shocking either Miss Sallie Stuart or her four charming protégées.” Ruth called back: “Aunt Sallie, will you take us up on the Waldorf roof to-night? You know we are going to stay at the Waldorf Hotel, girls. Father said we might enjoy the experience, and it would be all right with Aunt Sallie for chaperon.”