her car
went by, and cautioned me to be careful and go slow, and asked me how
many times I had ever driven before, and if I wasn't exceeding the
speed-limit, and no end of things? But Cloudy hasn't batted an eye.
She just sits there as if she was riding a cloud and enjoyed it."

"Well, I do," said Julia Cloud, laughing; "and I never thought of
being afraid. I didn't know enough to. Ought I to? Because I'm having
such a good time that I'm afraid I'd forget to be frightened."

"That's what I said. You're a good sport. I believe you like to go
fast."

Julia Cloud admitted shamedly that she did.

"He's a splendid driver, and so am I," Leslie explained earnestly.
"Guardy had us taught ages ago, and we're driven a lot; only of course
we didn't have our own car. We just had the regular car that belongs
to the house. But we made that work some. And Allison took a full
course in cars. He knows how to repair them, and put them together,
and everything."

"Shall I let her go, Cloudy?" asked Allison eagerly. "Will you be
afraid?"

"I should love it," said Julia Cloud eagerly, and then with a sober
look at the boy: "Don't do anything crazy, dear! Don't do anything
that you oughtn't to do."

"Of course not!" said Allison gravely, sitting up with a manly look in
his handsome young face. And by the look he gave her she knew that she
had put him upon his honor, and she knew that he would take no risks
now that she had trusted him. If she had been a squealing, hectoring
kind of woman, he might have been challenged into taking risks, but
not here, when she trusted him and the responsibility was all his.

Julia Cloud, as she drew a long breath and prepared, to enjoy the
flight down the white ribbon of road, up a hill and down another,
registered the thought that here was a clew to this boy's character.
Trust him, and he would be faithful. Distrust him, and you wouldn't be
anywhere. It did not come to her in words that way, but rather as a
subconscious fact that was incorporated into her soul, and gave her a
solid and sure feeling about her boy. She had seen all that in his
eyes.

He turned around presently, and told her how fast they had been going;
and her eyes were shining as brightly as Leslie's.

"You're a pretty good pard, Cloudy," he said. "We'll make you a member
of the gang and take you everywhere. See! You're being initiated now,
and you're making good right along. I knew we did a good thing when we
came after you. D