nce?" he asked politely.

"Oh, please! My aunt is very ill, and I don't know how to drive properly
yet. How am I going to get back to Seaton?" blurted out Winona, on the
verge of tears.

She never forgot how kind the stranger was. With the aid of his
chauffeur he lifted poor Aunt Harriet into his own car, and told Winona
to take her place beside her.

"Now tell me exactly where you want to go," he said, "and I'll run you
straight home as fast as I can. My man shall follow with your car. You
can manage this little two-seater, Jones?"

"Yes, Sir," grinned the chauffeur, inspecting the levers.

The stranger made his big Daimler fly. Winona never knew by how much he
exceeded the speed limit, but it seemed to her that they must be
spinning along at the rate of nearly fifty miles an hour. Aunt Harriet
had recovered a little, though she still moaned at intervals. The hedges
seemed to whirl past them, they went hooting through villages, and
whizzed over a common. At last the familiar spires and towers of Seaton
appeared in the distance. Their good Samaritan drove them to their own
door, helped Miss Beach into the house, and volunteered to take a
message to the doctor, then, evading Winona's thanks, he sprang into
his car, and started away.

The chauffeur arrived later with Miss Beach's car, and considerately
offered to run it round to the garage.

Aunt Harriet was laid up for several days after this episode, and Dr.
Sidwell forbade any long expeditions in the immediate future. He
encouraged the idea of Winona learning to drive.

"You could be of the greatest help in taking your aunt about," he said
to her. "You must have a capital notion of it, or you couldn't have
brought the car three miles entirely on your own. But of course you'll
need practice before you can be trusted to mix in traffic. You'll have
to apply for a license, remember. You'll be getting into trouble if you
drive without!"

Winona looked back upon that outing as a most memorable occasion. She
hoped to try her skill again as soon as opportunity offered. The charm
of the wheel was alluring. She wished she knew the name of the stranger
who had rendered such invaluable assistance. But that she never learnt.

[Illustration: "WINONA STOPPED THE CAR BESIDE THE HEDGE, AND, STANDING
UP, WAVED HER HANDKERCHIEF AS A SIGNAL OF DISTRESS"]

CHAPTER XVI

The Athletic Display

The Easter term was passing quickly away. It had been a strenuous but
never