its brilliant rays over farm and road, the party
left the village hotel for the run back to Baltimore.

Aunt Betty sat sternly in the big rear seat, with Dorothy on one side
and Aurora on the other, her bonnet held firmly in place by a large
veil, her lips tightly compressed in prospect of the fast ride Gerald
had promised was to come. She had little to say. In her heart was a
nameless dread--had been, in fact, since Gerald won her consent to
allow him to run at a faster pace on the return trip.

The highways in this part of Maryland were all that could be desired,
and Gerald was not long in fulfilling part of his promise. Knowing
that something over half way to their destination there was for
several miles a bad stretch of road, he wished to even matters by
making good time until the rough spots were reached.

It was nearly nine o'clock now, and as the auto gathered speed, Aunt
Betty gave a little gasp, then looked at Dorothy and bravely smiled.
Gradually Gerald let the car out until she was doing fully forty
miles an hour. This could be kept up only on the smooth level
stretches which they encountered every now and then. In climbing the
hills, the car did not average over eight. The streams of light from
the gas lamps made a wobbly path in the darkness when occasionally
clouds blew across the sky, obscuring the moon.

The car made very little noise. In fact, the low hum of the engine,
and swish of the tires along the smooth roadway, were all that met
their ears as they went flying up hill and down dale, past farmhouses
and over bridges. The great highway seemed deserted save for an
occasional farm wagon, which turned quickly to one side when its
occupant saw their rapidly approaching lamps.

Gerald was very considerate of horses, knowing that many animals were
unused to automobiles, hence were liable to become frightened at the
slightest provocation.

Through the villages the speed was slackened to not more than ten
miles an hour. Very few of the places had electric lights, hence
Gerald was forced to depend entirely upon the moon and his lamps for
guidance through crooked streets. At times they passed little groups
of people, come out from nearby houses to watch them go by; at others
they were chased for long distances by yelping dogs, who snapped at
the wheels and in other ways tried to show their supreme contempt for
a vehicle driven without horses.

Aunt Betty soon grew used to the bursts of speed, and befo