"Nope!" said Hank miserably. "We're locked in like caged mice."
The thought was right, but he expressed it much too masculinely. At his words, both Helens emitted little squeals of fright. And "our" Helen swung into action.
"Then I," she cried, "am getting out of here! Right away! I'm going back where I belong—"
"Helen!" howled Hank, agonized. "Hank—try to—!"
But both roar and plea were bootless. For again my brainy chum's fiancée had clicked the key, the room had faded and all sights and sounds were lost in that gray, flickering veil. Once more we were on our way!
Once when I was a kid in knee-britches I hitched my express-wagon on behind what I thought was a leisurely, local truck. A few minutes later I was startled to find I was tied to a private ambulance on emergency call! Worse yet, I could not unscramble my amateurish knot. I have never forgotten my wild, heart-pounding ride through the crowded city streets ... lashing back and forth giddily like a bob in a boiling cauldron ... glimpsing through terrified eyes the unfamiliar streets through which we whirled at lightning speed ... viewing a weird kaleidoscope of running feet, dodging autos, skyscrapers that seemed to topple precariously toward me as I rocked and swayed and trembled....
What happened now made that childhood memory appear as gentle and undisturbing as Tit-tat-toe Night at the Old Ladies' Home. It was the same thing, only more so! Again I experienced that sensation of wild, headlong, uncontrollable flight—but this time not only was the destination unfathomable, but also were the sights I saw and the sounds I heard so weirdly incredible as to half madden the brain!
And that was because Horsesense Hank would not let bad enough alone. He kept reaching over and fingering studs, keys, and gadgets on the dashboard. He pushed one doojigger, and the sensation of rising joined in with the other stomach-churning feelings we were undergoing; he pushed another, and I felt a swift surge forward; to complete my feeling of utter rout, he kept turning off and on the motivating key. It was whenever he did so, whenever the gray flickering disappeared, that we—we saw things!
And what things we saw!