then with a great creaking and
rattling the hinges gave way, the old brick columns to which the hinges
had been attached crumbled and fell in a cloud of dust and mortar.
Accompanying the crash was the sound of breaking glass. But not a cry
had been raised from the interior of the car, save Ruth's warning.

That cry of warning had set Barbara instantly on the defensive. She
threw both arms about Mollie and Olive. Grace was on the front seat with
Ruth. Bab braced her feet with a mighty effort. Then the crash came.

It seemed to Barbara Thurston as though her arms were being torn from
their sockets. Then the three girls on the rear seat were jerked to
their feet. They toppled over the back of the seat ahead of them,
plunging head first into the forward part of the car, where the
operating mechanism was located.

Ruth and Grace had been hurled against the storm curtain, securely
fastened down between themselves and the glass wind shield. Fortunately
for them, the curtain held for a few seconds until the shower of glass
from the shield had fallen into the roadway, then the curtain gave way
and the two girls tumbled out in the wake of the glass.

The automobile, after the first impact, had recoiled several feet. It
essayed to plunge forward again, but the emergency brake held it
motionless while the motors began to race, making a noise that was heard
in the house, which stood at some distance from the fallen gates.

The "Automobile Girls" lay where they had fallen, Ruth and Grace in the
roadway, Bab, Mollie and Olive in the forward end of the car.

"There they come," cried Mrs. Presby. "Why, what a frightful noise," she
exclaimed, starting for the door, followed by Mr. Presby, with a painful
limp.

Tommy's face turned white when he heard the crash. With a bound he
passed his father and mother, tore down the steps and off down the
drive.

"Something has happened, Richard," cried Mrs. Presby.

"Something will happen to my gout, too, if I have to remain out in this
chill atmosphere," declared Mr. Presby irritably.

"Hurry, hurry!" wailed the distant voice of Tommy.

"Oh, what is it?" cried Mrs. Presby, picking up her skirts and running
down the drive.

"They're killed! They're killed!" howled Tommy. "They've smashed into
the gates. Everything's done. Finished!"

"Run, Richard! Quick! Get help! An accident has occurred," begged
Olive's mother.

The woman was almost beside herself with terror. Tommy's face was
g