geance as will disgust Larry beyond repair;
that the lion may not be too moth-eaten to seize his chance and the
lady, and that Pat may then scramble down from the pyre of
self-sacrifice.

This seems a good deal to expect from a three or four days' motoring
trip, doesn't it? But almost anything can happen in automobiles. And I
haven't told you yet the rest of our programme.

"Tom, Dick, and Harry" don't count. They're simply "on in the scene,"
and like the poor, always with us! They pound through the landscape as
before, with their Hippopotamus; and Captain and Mrs. Winston, who are
to be of the party, will take our bride and bridegroom again, a very
appropriate arrangement. But everything hangs upon the Grayles-Grice.
After a council of war with the Winstons, I advised Miss Moore that it
would be comparatively safe to have Caspian conduct. You see, the two
engagements are announced (Caspian and Mrs. Shuster saw to that, without
letting a blade of grass grow under their feet!), and so it was easy for
me to take it for granted that Patricia would wish to give the wheel of
her car to C. "Of course you'll want to sit in front," I said humbly.
"But if you would still care to have any help I can give, I'd gladly
offer my services. I can perch on one of the fold-up chairs," I went on,
"which will leave plenty of room for any others you like to take, no
matter how large (I thought of the Goodriches). I've had more experience
as a mechanic than Mr. Caspian, perhaps, and I might be useful in
emergencies----"

"Oh you _would!_" broke in the darling, with adorable alacrity. And as
far as she was concerned, the matter was settled. You would have
thought, however, that Caspian would be the rock I'd split on, now that
he has a "say" in the affairs of Patricia. But the Winstons and I hadn't
forgotten this chance in our calculations. We expected C. to take a
fiendish joy in the prospect of kicking me when I was down: "putting me
into my place" and making love to Miss Moore before my starting eyes--a
great triumph for him after the very different Long Island trip in the
same car with some of the same passengers. Well, we were as right as
rain. The yellow dog snapped at the attractive morsel, which we _hope_
we have poisoned. How will _she_ stand the situation he is exulting in?

Next time I write I shall know how our strategy works out. I talk of it
lightly, but honestly, Strickland, I'm not laughing on the right side of
my mouth. An