“Indeed, we’ll be grateful for a ride!” exclaimed Miss Gordon.
The girls piled into the car. Miss Gordon, Veve and Rosemary sat in the front with the driver. The others scrambled into the rear seat.
“Going far?” inquired the man in a friendly way.
“We had intended to seek shelter at the gate house,” Miss Gordon explained. “If you’re driving to Rosedale though, we’ll ride along—that is, if it doesn’t inconvenience you.”
“Glad to have you,” the man assured her cordially. “This storm sure came up fast.”
He then introduced himself as Sam Vincent, and explained that he was a carpenter by trade. The man said he had been building a porch at a house three miles down the road, but had halted work when the rain started.
“We were in our tree house when the wind came up,” Veve announced.
Mention of a tree house so interested Mr. Vincent that he asked a great many questions. The girls told him about the mysterious person who had built the playhouse, and also about the mischievous boys.
“When I was driving to work this morning I saw four boys climbing the fence into the park,” the carpenter recalled.
“Then maybe they’re the ones who mixed up the trail signs!” exclaimed Veve.