Somebody whistled outside, and going to the window the girls saw Ned with Tom Jennings in the Fire Bird.
"Come on," called Ned, "We're going for a ride and want you to come along. Don't keep us waiting." And he turned the machine without waiting for the girls to answer.
"Run along," advised Mrs. White. "You have been in all morning, and the air is delightful."
It took but a few minutes for Dorothy and Tavia to make ready. Storm-coats and scarfs, besides their muffs, seemed sufficient for their touring costumes.
Dorothy climbed into the machine and Tavia followed.
"Wouldn't one of you young ladies prefer to sit here?" inquired Tom, with a view of making it more convenient for the boys to entertain the girls.
Tavia was out of the back seat and ready to take her place beside Ned before any one had a chance to answer. This, of course, left Tom to entertain Dorothy.
"As long as it is not Roland," whispered Tavia into Ned's ear, "you will put up with me this time, won't you?"
Tavia was too frivolous to suit Ned's serious ways. She always bored him, and she knew it, evidently.
Dorothy was glad to get acquainted with Tom. Somehow he made her think of soldiers, of fearless brave men like Major Dale, and perhaps her Uncle Winthrop White, who had died away off in a foreign country, fighting for science. Perhaps he was of this type when at college.