The first car was in sight by that time, and we could see that Mr. Culver and the policeman were in it. They shouted with joy when they saw us, but Tish merely smiled, and let in the clutch. Soon after we heard a series of small explosions, and Tish observed that the enemy attack was checked against our barbed wire, and that she reckoned we could hold the position indefinitely.
Aggie looked back and reported that they were both out of the car, and that the policeman was standing on one foot and hopping up and down.
It had been Tish’s intention, as I learned later, merely to take the young woman for a country ride, and there to strive to instill into her the weakness and folly of being married by Mr. Culver as an exemption plea. But as we had been making forty-five miles an hour by the speedometer, there had been little opportunity.
However, as the last car was now standing on four rims in the barbed wire entanglement behind us, and as Tish’s farm was not far ahead, she improved the occasion with a short but highly patriotic speech, flung over her shoulder.
“I don’t believe it,” said Myrtle, sullenly. “He loves me. We only ran away today instead of some other day later because my father is leading the parade in my town, and mother is presenting a flag at the schoolhouse.”
“Very well,” said Tish. “If he loves you, well and good. When your young man has registered, I’ll see that you get married, if I have to kidnap a preacher to do it. But I’ll tell you right now, I don’t think you’ll be getting anything worth having.”
Well, Myrtle grew quieter then, and I heard Aggie saying Miss Tish never made a promise she could not fulfill. She then told about Mr. Wiggins, and had just reached the place where he had slipped on the eve of his wedding and fallen off a roof, when the car stopped dead.
Tish pushed a few things on the dashboard, but it only hiccoughed twice and then stopped breathing.
“No gasoline!” she exclaimed, in a rage. “We’ll have to run for it.”
The farmhouse was in sight now, about a half mile ahead. Aggie groaned, but got out and turned to Myrtle. But Myrtle was sitting back in the car with a gleam of triumph in her eyes.