“Is Mr. Mallow in?”
“Mr. Mallow? Oh, you mean Marshall! No, he went downtown about an hour ago. I think he said he intended to stop at Smith’s Garage. Is there a message you wish me to give him?”
The stranger smiled blandly.
“Thank you, no. I’ll call later.”
“Do you wish to leave your card?”
“I don’t believe I have one with me. Never mind the name. I may see him at the garage.” With that the stranger turned away and walked rapidly down the street. Doris did not close the door immediately, but stood watching the man until he disappeared around the corner. Though she scarcely understood her own feelings, she knew that for some reason she did not like the man.
“I wonder why he’s so eager to see Marshmallow?” she asked herself. “He looks like a salesman, and yet if he were one, I don’t see why he would be unwilling to leave his name.”
Returning to Kitty, she told her of the stranger’s queer manner, and described him.
“He’s quite too slick looking to suit me,” she declared with a troubled frown. “I saw him here this morning talking with Jake in the garden. I suppose he was looking for Marshmallow then.”
“Wonder what business he can have with Marshall?” Kitty murmured. “I wish I’d seen him.” After they had exhausted the subject, the girls fell to talking of their proposed trip to Cloudy Cove. Since Doris had learned that her uncle, the late John Trent, had left a sum of money in a bank in that city, she had been eager to make the journey. Cloudy Cove was a pleasant summer resort city, but since it was located some four hundred miles from Chilton, she had not been able to go there as soon as she had wished to.
Her uncle, Wardell Force, with whom she had made her home since the death of her own parents, was frequently called away from Chilton to manage charity campaigns, and this summer, being more busy than usual, he had found it impossible to accompany Doris. However, he had realized the importance of the trip and so had arranged that Mrs. Mallow take the two girls. They planned to spend two weeks at “Mayfair,” one of the summer hotels. There had been some delay in making reservations, and it had been necessary to write to Kitty’s parents. They had promptly agreed that she might make the trip with her chum. When the affair took on the aspect of a vacation jaunt, Marshmallow and Dave Chamberlin, another friend, announced that they, too, wished to be included in the plans.
At first it had appeared that they must remain at home, for neither of the boys felt he could spare the money necessary for carfare. Undaunted, they determined to make the trip in Dave’s roadster.
As luck would have it, a few days before the time set for the start it suddenly developed a case of engine trouble. Since Marshmallow’s car had long been known as the junkiest one in Chilton, prospects of reaching Cloudy Cove were very gloomy indeed.
Then Mrs. Mallow, taking pity on her son, had promised him, that if he could make a good trade for a new car, she would advance the necessary money. Highly elated, Marshmallow and Dave were searching the town for a “bargain.”
“I do hope they find something today,” Doris sighed, “and I think perhaps they will. Mrs. Mallow told me this morning that they had heard of a man who is willing to sell a sedan at a giveaway price.”
“There must be something the matter with the car,” Kitty said suspiciously.
“Dave and Marshmallow will find that out before they buy it. Trust them not to get cheated. They’re both marvels when it comes to automobile engines!”
“I hope Marshall does buy the sedan,” Kitty declared. “It will be so much more fun, if we can all drive to Cloudy Cove together.”
After a time, as the conversation languished, the girls returned to their reading. The tiny clock on the mantel chimed five. Suddenly the girls were startled to hear the loud honking of an automobile horn at the front of the house. Together they rushed to the window.
“It’s Dave and Marshmallow!” Doris exclaimed.
“And just look at that car!” Kitty squealed in delight. “Isn’t it a beauty? Marshmallow must have bought it!”
Dropping their books, they rushed downstairs and out of the front door. Dave and Marshmallow were just stepping from the sedan as the girls hurried up.
“Well, how do you like it?” Marshmallow demanded proudly.
“Oh, it’s wonderful!” Kitty exclaimed, casting an admiring eye over the upholstery. “You haven’t really bought it, have you?”
“Of course I have,” the plump lad affirmed.
“It looks so—so expensive,” Doris ventured doubtfully.
“Believe me, it’s a real bargain,” Marshmallow informed her. “He will take my old car and I gave him only one hundred dollars to boot. The man wouldn’t have given it to us at that price except for cash.”
“Aren’t you afraid there may be something the matter with it?” Doris suggested.
Marshmallow smiled, a trifle condescendingly.
“Isn’t that just like a girl? There isn’t a thing the matter with this car. She’s perfect. Dave and I have gone over her with a fine-tooth comb.”
Doris and Kitty stepped into the sedan and eased themselves into the soft cushions. They tried the gears and examined the various instruments on the dashboard.
“I don’t know much about automobiles,” Doris admitted, “but this looks too good for that price.”
“It was a fair enough bargain,” Marshmallow chuckled.
“Did your mother see the car?”
“No, but she gave me the money and told me to go ahead. She trusts my judgment when it comes to cars.”
Doris could not help but smile as Marshmallow took out his handkerchief and brushed an imaginary speck of dust from tjie windshield.
“There isn’t much room behind the wheel,” she said mischievously. “Are you sure you’ll be able to squeeze in, Marsh?”
Marshmallow ignored the gibe and turned toward his friend.
“Come on in the house, Dave. I want you to help me make out those papers the owner gave me.”
“Oh, don’t go in,” Doris pleaded. “Take us for a little ride.”
“Haven’t time now,” Marshmallow muttered, though he saw that Dave was expecting him to accept.
“Oh, you’re trying to punish me for intimating you were fat,” Doris wailed. “I’ll take it all back —every word! Please take us for a ride—just a teeny, weeny one.”
“Maybe tomorrow,” Marshmallow promised grandly. “Come on, Dave.”
With a regretful glance over his shoulder, Dave followed his friend into the house, leaving the girls in possession of the sedan.
“Now isn’t that just too mean!” Doris exclaimed in disappointment.
“I don’t think he meant to be mean,” Kitty ventured, for she was rather partial to the plump lad.
“I guess I deserved it, but just the same I don’t like to be cheated out of our ride. I know! Let’s take the car out ourselves!”
“Oh, we wouldn’t dare. I can’t run a car!”
“Well, I can, though not so very skillfully, I’ll admit. We won’t go far. Just around the park a few times. Won’t Marshmallow just burn up? It will serve him right. He’s so excited about the grand buy he made.”
“All right,” Kitty agreed, warming to the