NO. 45678
At the dinner table Polly told her story of the afternoon’s pleasure.
“I am glad you can take them out,” said Dr. Dudley. “The air will do
them more good than anything else.”
“I know it will,” agreed Polly confidently. “They ought to have it
every day.”
“You may have the car as often as possible,” promised the Doctor. Then
he addressed his wife on another subject.
Meanwhile Polly was busy with captivating new thoughts, and shortly she
sent a question straight into their talk.
“How much money have I in--Oh, I do beg your pardon!” she cried,
meeting her father’s glance. Then she laughed. “I had been thinking and
didn’t even know you were talking.”
“What is it that is so engrossing?” smiled her mother.
“I’ll tell you,” she returned gayly. “Father, how much money have I in
the bank?”
“I don’t know. I can give you some--how much?” He thrust his hand into
his pocket.
“No, no!” cried Polly; “I don’t want any now--none of yours at all.
May I take some of my money and buy whatever I choose?”
“It depends on what you wish it for and how much it costs.”
“It can cost almost any amount, but I’ll try to be contented with a
cheap one. Father, I want to buy an automobile and learn to run it
myself.” Her eyes were bent anxiously on his face.
“No, Robert,” interposed Mrs. Dudley, “don’t let her! I shouldn’t be
easy a minute.”
The Doctor smiled. “She is equal to it, Lucy--you needn’t worry; though
it seems rather unnecessary when there’s a good car in the family
already.”
“But how seldom I can have it,” argued Polly. “And those children need
the rides every day. If you could have seen them this afternoon!” She
stopped--waiting.
The Doctor sat back in his chair and studied the pattern of the
tablecloth. The eyes of both women were on his face.
“I’ll think about it,” he finally said. “I don’t like the idea of your
cutting into that little sum. You know what I have saved it for, Polly.”
The girl’s face flushed. “I know, father.” She faced him with steady
eyes. “There’s no use keeping it for that. I shall never marry.”
“Nonsense, child! you will marry a good deal sooner than I shall wish,
but--I’ll think it over.”
The door had scarcely shut upon the Doctor before Polly clapped her
hands softly.
“Father’s ‘I’ll think it over’ is every bit as good as a straight-out
yes.”
“Polly, I don’t want you to have a car if you must drive it yourself.”
“Why, mother dear, it isn’t anything to run one now.”
“Not simply to run it. In case of emergencies, however, one must
possess nerves that are under perfect control.”
“I know,” Polly answered gravely; “but what is the matter with mine?
Besides, I shouldn’t drive fast or run any risks.”
“I should worry about you every minute. Foolish, you and your father
would say; but I should all the same.”
“Don’t!--for I dreadfully want one. If you could have seen how Little
Duke enjoyed it to-day!” And she repeated his remarks.
Within a week Polly had her license and she and Evan were spinning over
the country roads in the new car, Polly chuckling over her number,
which she declared was the very best in the whole list. She was an apt
pupil, and absolutely without fear. Mrs. Dudley soon decided to take
some of the children and occupy the back seat, rather than wait at home
wondering if anything had happened, and her first ride with Polly at
the wheel seemed to rid her of all apprehension. She argued no more
against the new machine.
The car was in use whenever its owner could take out any of her small
patients or leave them. None needed skilled care throughout the day,
and several of her friends were ready to act as substitute for an hour
or two at almost any time. Patricia or Lilith or Hilda would frequently
be found in charge of Paradise Ward, while Polly and her mother were
downtown on a shopping excursion or on some visit across the city.
She had run down alone one afternoon to make some small purchases,
when, on coming out of a shop, she found herself facing John Eustis.
“I’m glad to know you are still in the flesh,” he began. “I never get
sight of you nowadays.”
“Is it as much as a week since I saw you at Vesta Jordan’s?” smiled
Polly.
He laughed his answer. And then, “Going home? May I walk up with you?”
“You may ride up with me. I drove down, that being the quickest way.”
They were silent until they were beyond the business streets.
“You have a dandy car, and you are an expert in running it,” praised
John Eustis. “That bit of maneuvering was well done.”
Polly looked pleased.
“I am not wholly sure of myself yet,” she admitted; “but I haven’t made
any big break since I gave up Evan. Even mother isn’t afraid to ride
with me.”
“She has no need to be afraid,” he returned.
“I am glad you think so,” was all Polly said.
“I should have come up to your house to-night,” went on John Eustis,
“if I had not met you. Can you get off from your job for a week-end?”
“I am afraid not. I have enlisted and I must stick to my post.”
“You ought not to have enlisted.”
“Oh, yes, I ought! I wouldn’t give it up for anything.”
“Maybe you’ll be more persuadable when you hear where I want you to go.”
Polly looked at him questioningly.
“Do you remember Sally Robinson?”
“How could I forget Sally! She was one of the dearest girls in our
class.”
“She was--and she is. And she is home from Texas--”
“Here?” cried Polly.
“No, at Overlook--up on the mountain.”
“Where is that?”
“In Vermont, just beyond the line. Kate had a letter from her this
morning. She has invited mother and you and Kate and me--and she says
as many more of the girls as we can pile into our car--to come up on
Saturday to stay until Monday, longer if we can.”
Polly’s face had grown bright and grave by turns. “You going?” she
asked wistfully.
“We are, most decidedly. Wouldn’t miss it for a farm.”
“I wish I could,” sighed Polly.
“You can! You must!”
“I am not so sure.” A little scowl troubled her forehead.
“Remember, it is Sally that asks you,” he coaxed.
“I don’t forget,” she returned. “I will go if I can manage it; but when
I am away somebody must stay with my little patients, and it is not
in my plan to call on mother all the time. I promised to take care of
Paradise Ward, and I won’t be a slacker.”
The young man did not reply. Polly was gazing straight ahead into the
distance, as if her thoughts were a long way afield. As he looked,
his face took on alternately grave lines and gladsome. He, too, was
following paths quite afar from the state road.
Soon they were making a slow passage over a thoroughfare that was
being repaired. Polly had thrown aside her other problem and was
concentrating all her knowledge and skill upon her not easy task. The
street was full of pedestrians and automobiles, and one needed a clear
head, quick thought, and ready hands. John Eustis was an expert driver,
yet he discovered no flaw in Polly’s management.
When the road was clear, “Another score in your favor,” he smiled.
“Evan must be a good instructor.”
“He is,” she returned. “John, I have been thinking--I believe I can
see my way to go. How early shall you start?”
“Eight or nine in the morning, if possible. It is better to get over a
good piece in the cool of the day. Something more than a hundred miles,
and we don’t want to take it too fast.”
“It will be a lovely drive, along by the Connecticut.”
He nodded. Things were going happily. “What other girl shall we invite?
The car will hold one more.”
“Have you thought of anybody?”
“Kate spoke of Grace Comstock and Lilith Brooks and Claire House. She
didn’t seem to have any preference.”
“And you have none yourself?” queried Polly.
A dull red crept into his cheeks; but instantly it was not there.
“Anybody that pleases you,” he answered.
Polly hesitated--what made John blush? Had he a choice which he did not
wish to make known? Then she said, “Suppose you invite Lilith. She has
always liked Sally, and she is a good traveling companion.”
“I will ask her to-night and tell her you are going.”
“No, no! Don’t tell her that!” cried Polly. “I can’t say positively
until I have seen father and one of the nurses. I’ll let you know.”
And with that he had to be content.