sensation of travelling in a motor; Kathleen was
keenly desirous that Denis' plan might succeed; Samuel Quirk feigned
contempt and indifference, but he was in his heart as excited as his
wife.

"Now, come along, mother, and you, too, Miss O'Connor. Will you try a
short spin, Dad?" said Denis.

Samuel Quirk strolled over to and eyed the motor even more
contemptuously than before.

"What's that?" he asked the chauffeur.

"That's the throttle," replied the latter.

"Humph! I suppose you can drive the noisy thing?"

The chauffeur nodded; he was too insulted to reply in words.

"Can you stop it?" asked the old man.

"In a few yards," said Denis. "Step inside, Dad, and see for yourself."

Grumbling and growling, Samuel Quirk followed his wife and Kathleen into
the tonneau. From the front seat Denis directed the driver.

"Easy at first, until they find their legs; then intoxicate them with
the sensation of flying," he half whispered.

To Kathleen it was pure joy from the first; but Mrs. Quirk, and, to tell
the truth, Samuel Quirk, were for half an hour very nervous.

"Can you stop her?" the latter asked as they flew down a steep hill.

In answer to the question, the chauffeur brought the car to a
standstill. Thus assured, Samuel Quirk became confident, and before
they returned home he was urging the chauffeur to increased speed.

"Do you call this fast?" he asked; and when the car began to race along
the road a pleased smile lighted up his face. He even waved his hand
pleasantly to those he passed on the road, and when the car stopped in
front of the house the old man asked the chauffeur:

"How much do you want for it?"

"You don't think of buying this old car?" cried Denis. "You want a new
one, and right up to date."

"Would it go as fast as this one?" asked Samuel Quirk.

"You shall have one out in a few days and try it."

Only a fortnight later a large twenty-horse-power car and a chauffeur
were added to the equipment of "Layton." Samuel Quirk was the most
enthusiastic admirer of, and the most frequent passenger in, the car. He
was curious as to the machinery and the method of driving. Probably this
was the most satisfactory thing that his wealth had brought him.

Mrs. Quirk, too, after her first nervousness, found great pleasure in
the motor; but to Kathleen it was the first of a series of new
enjoyments, for Denis Quirk hurried his mother on from one dissipation
to another--concerts, theatres, even