“Disappointed, of course. It was too bad for him to leave the fields,” said Cora.
“Well, the rest won’t hurt his poor back,” ventured Hope. “Pa works harder than any of the hired men, and these are very bad hills to farm.”
“Are you ready, young ladies?” called the man from the road, as he backed the sturdy team of horses up close to the Whirlwind. “I guess this little machine can hitch behind t’other.”
“Really, we do not think we will need any help,” said Cora, rather confused. “We always take hills without trouble.”
“Never been up this one though,” declared the farmer, with a shake of his broad-brimmed hat. “I reckon you’ll not be able to fly over the top.”
“It’s awfully good of you,” put in Bess. “But suppose we try? You see we do not want to break our records.”
“Plucky, all right,” the man commented. “Well, go ahead, and I’ll stop to chat with Hope. If you get stuck just give me five quick toots, and I’ll be there.”
The girls thanked him profusely, and after cranking up both the Flyaway and the Whirlwind, said good-bye to Hope and her father, and started off, both machines on low gear.
“It is steep,” remarked Belle to Bess. “Perhaps it would have been well to have taken his offer.”
“All right?” asked Cora from ahead, as she looked back.