The young man pulled himself upright, and pressed his lips together.

"I beg your pardon," he whispered.

There was for some time an unhappy silence, and then Winthrop added
bitterly: "Methinks the punishment exceeds the offence."

"Do you think you make it easy for ME?" returned the girl.

She considered it most ungenerous of him to sit staring into the
moonlight, looking so miserable that it made her heart ache to comfort
him, and so extremely handsome that to do so was quite impossible. She
would have liked to reach out her hand and lay it on his arm, and tell
him she was sorry, but she could not. He should not have looked so
unnecessarily handsome.

Sam came running toward them with five grizzly bears, who balanced
themselves apparently with some slight effort upon their hind legs.
The grizzly bears were properly presented as: "Tommy Todd, of my
class, and some more like him. And," continued Sam, "I am going to
quit you two and go with them. Tom's car broke down, but Fred fixed
it, and both our cars can travel together. Sort of convoy," he
explained.

His sister signalled eagerly, but with equal eagerness he retreated
from her.

"Believe me," he assured her soothingly, "I am just as good a chaperon
fifty yards behind you, and wide awake, as I am in the same car and
fast asleep. And, besides, I want to hear about the game. And, what's
more, two cars are much safer than one. Suppose you two break down in
a lonely place? We'll be right behind you to pick you up. You will
keep Winthrop's car in sight, won't you, Tommy?" he said.

The grizzly bear called Tommy, who had been examining the Scarlet Car,
answered doubtfully that the only way he could keep it in sight was by
tying a rope to it.

"That's all right, then," said Sam briskly, "Winthrop will go slow."

So the Scarlet Car shot forward with sometimes the second car so far in
the rear that they could only faintly distinguish the horn begging them
to wait, and again it would follow so close upon their wheels that they
heard the five grizzly bears chanting beseechingly

Oh, bring this wagon home, John,
It will not hold us a-all.

For some time there was silence in the Scarlet Car, and then Winthrop
broke it by laughing.

"First, I lose Peabody," he explained, "then I lose Sam, and now, after
I throw Fred overboard, I am going to drive you into Stamford, where
they do not ask runaway couples for a license, and marry