t in his meditations, when, unnoticed, he had almost reached
the end of the elm-shaded village street, a loud "Honk! Honk!" suddenly
startled him.

He looked up, and his gloom vanished like a summer cloud as he saw
smiling down on him from the driver's seat of the big auto which had just
rolled up beside him, the sunny countenance of Jess Prescott. She was in
automobile attire and looked unusually attractive.

"Oh, I am so glad I've run across you," she exclaimed.

"You almost did," laughed Roy.

"Did what?"

"Run across me, of course," was the response. "But what are you doing in
town? And driving your own car, too. Where is Jimsy?"

"Oh, he had to do an errand for father."

"And so you are acting as chauffeur?"

"Yes, don't I make a nice one?"

"You certainly do," rejoined the lad with a great deal of emphasis.

"Well, that being the case, you are commanded to jump in by me at once.
I've got an errand or two to do and then I'm driving home. We'll go by
your place and I can drop you there."

"That's very good of you----" began Roy, but Jess cut him short.

"It's really selfish," she exclaimed. "I was looking for an escort. I
really need one. You haven't got a revolver with you, have you?"

"Good gracious," exclaimed the astonished boy as he climbed into the big
car; "no, of course not. Whatever do you want one for?"

"Why," confided Jess, as they sped along, "I'm on my way to the bank.
Mother is going to a big dinner party to-night and I volunteered to fetch
out her jewels for her from the safe deposit vault where she keeps them."

"And you were afraid of robbers holding you up?"

"Of course not," laughed the girl, skillfully dodging a vagrant dog that
sped across the road in front of the big car; "but just the same, I'm
glad to have a nice big boy like you with me. You see, some of the jewels
are very valuable, and one never knows what might happen."

"No," agreed Roy; "but in broad daylight, on the road between Sandy Bay
and your home, there could hardly be any risk. For instance, who would
know that you had valuables in the car?"

"Nobody, except some of the servants at home probably," responded Jess.
"But here's the bank."

As she spoke she skillfully manipulated her levers and pedals and brought
the car to a stop against the curb as neatly as any driver could have
accomplished it.

The car had hardly come to a stop before the bank door flew open and
Fanning Harding emerged, his features dra