"THAT'S THE MAN!"
"What will you do with your horse and carriage?" asked Mr. Blackford,
when the girls had made different seating arrangements to accommodate
Mr. Bailey, the farmer. "It won't do to leave it on the road; will it?"
"No, I'll have to fix that some way. We can't very well take it along
with us. But here comes Jim Bates. He'll look after my nag for me. Hi,
Jim!" he called as a man came driving past in a dilapidated wagon, drawn
by a bony horse, "Jim, jest look after my outfit; will you? Maybe you
can leave it in Pierce's barn until I come back. That isn't far. Pierce
is away, but his wife will let you, I guess."
"Where you goin'?" asked Jim. His horse had stopped of its own accord,
it seemed.
"Goin' in to Franklin."
"In that there machine?"
"Yep."
"Gittin' sort of stylish; ain't ye?"
"Mebbe. But I had an accident, and these young ladies was kind enough to
offer me a lift."
"In a hurry?"
"I sure am. I'm after that swindler. Heard he was in Franklin."
"Git out! Feller that sold you the interest in that patent soap?"
"Yep. That's how I was swindled," he explained to our friends. "This
faker come along with a wonderful soap. It would take the spots out of
everything--even the sun, he said. It did do good work when he
manipulated it. Well, I was foolish enough to give up some of my
hard-earned savings for the secret of how to make the soap. I bought the
stuff he told me, but the soap was a failure. He swindled me. Now I'm
after him."
"I hope you catch him," said Jim. "Go along in the buzz-wagon. I'll look
after your rig until you git back. Good-luck!"
They started off, the farmer going into details of how he had been
swindled. He was very thankful for the unexpected "lift" given him, and
declared that he would not have known what to do had not the auto come
along.
"We are only too glad to help you," said Mollie.
[Illustration: "'THERE HE IS!' CRIED THE FARMER, 'THAT'S THE MAN WHO
SWINDLED ME!'"
_The Outdoor Girls in a Motor Car._ _Page 197._]
"We seem to be in the assisting business," remarked Betty, who sat
beside Mollie. "We're helping two birds with one auto."
"You mean Carrie?"
"Yes."
"Poor girl! I do hope we can help her, and get someone to look after her
so she won't worry. Mr. Washburn will know what to do."
"Yes, Allen is getting to be quite a lawyer," admitted Betty, with a
blush.
They swung into Franklin.
"Where do you think would be a good place to look for your man?" asked
Mr. Blackford of the farmer.
"I heard he was selling tooth powder in the public square. He has a
stand, or something."
"Then suppose you head for there," suggested Mr. Blackford to Mollie.
She nodded.
They saw a crowd of people in the square in front of the court house. In
their midst stood a man on a raised platform--a platform gay with flags.
His strident voice could be heard extoling the merits of his wares. The
auto came nearer. The vendor's face could be plainly seen.
"There he is!" cried the farmer. "That's the man who swindled me!" He
stood up in the machine. Those in the crowd gazed wonderingly at him.
A gasp from Carrie caused Grace to look at her. The girl's face was
white.
"What is it?" asked Grace in alarm.
"That man--he--he is my guardian!" cried Carrie. "Oh, don't let him see
me!" and she cowered behind Amy and Grace.