"Off to Chesterport!" gaily exclaimed Ned, as he sat beside Tom in the driver's seat.
"And the mountain of mystery!" added the young inventor.
They reached Chesterport about the middle of the afternoon, but instead of proceeding up the main street to the residence of the Winthrops, who, Tom had told Ned, occupied a mansion in an exclusive part of the town, the House on Wheels, under the guidance of its inventor, was headed into a vacant lot near an automobile garage.
"What's the idea?" inquired Ned, in surprise. "Something gone wrong?"
"No. Why?"
"Why don't you run her up in front of the Winthrop's and call on Mary in style?"
"That's just it, Ned. I'm afraid the Winthrop family wouldn't like this kind of style. And it might embarrass Mary. You see, the Winthrop people are old-fashioned, conservative people, dating back to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, or something like that. Up to a few years ago the older Mrs. Winthrop would never ride in anything but the family carriage. She did grudgingly consent to an auto, in time. Her daughter-in-law isn't much more liberal, and I'm afraid if we dashed up and stopped in front of their place with this rather gaudy affair, the ladies might have a fit and conclude that I wasn't the sort of person Mary ought to marry."
"I see!" laughed Ned. "Well, maybe the House is a bit too much like a circus van to park in front of a proud old lady's house. I see your point. But what are you going to do?"
"Oh, we'll leave the House here under the eye of this garage man and then you and I will hire a taxi and call on Mary in style."
"Count me out. I'll stay with the House."