Nogales international., 1931-08-29
FOURTH INSTALMENT
COPYRIGHT 1881
1Y TIE AUTHOR


| pany Peter on nationwide tour IN ther
roadster as advertising stunt. AT th'
last minute Little Bobby is engaged to &C
as chaperon.
few miles out Bobby becomes tearfu
at being parted from her sweetheart AM
Rowena insists taking her place in thu
rumble that she can ride with Peter ant
! have him to talk to about Carter. Rowen;
gets Peter to consent to divide the expense
money each week as soon as it arrives
and astonishes Peter by eating too econ
omcally.
passing through Buffalo and Chicago. Pete
and Rowena have many tiffs. while Bobb,
IS enraptured at the way Carter is fuminl
over her flight from New York.
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY
There were bound to be ever sc
many pleasant, cool, shadowy short.
cuts between ST. Louis and Kansas
City.
On the way between. St. Louis and
Kansas City. Peter asked about
shortcuts at no end of filling stations
and garages as they went west. but
no one seemed very well informed
about by-roads, and for the most
part every one advised against at
tempting any such thing
1t was we'll on toward noon when
Peter found a man in a garage who
thought there really was short-cut
Just as Peter wanted. He wasn't al
together sure it was direct route to
Kansas City. but at least it did MOI
lead back toward ST. Louis.
They had driven about twenty
miles along this rambling lane, which
at times seemed to turn uncertainty
toward Kansas City and then made a
dead run for the Nebraska line, when
they saw a stalled car in the road
before them. The driver lay
stretched out on the bank with his
hat over his face
Peter slowed up.
Rowena leaned forward and raped
sharply on the glass. Never ask ad-
vice of a broken-down driver" she
warned him darkly. "If he knew
what he was doing, he wouldn't be
broken down"
But Peter for once had struck the
right party. The man knew every
road in the state.
Peter thanked him for his careful
directions and returned to the car.
He was too much of gentleman to
leer triumphantly back at Rowena
under the awning umbrella in the
rumble seat. He just got in behind
the wheel and started the motor.
He had driven fully twenty mile.
over the worst possible sort of coun
try road when he found that a bridge
was out, that there was no detour
and the only possible way to go on ii
the direction of Kansas City was to
go back to the main road and star
over Very meekly he turned around
to pay homage to her better judg.
ment, but stopped short. staring
open-mouthed. Bobby, who alway:
looked where others did, turned toe
and her amazement surpassed hi:
own.
The rumble seat was empty. Row.
ena was not there
Peter slowly returned over the
roads to where the .elf-styled expert
had given him his directions.
Twenty miles
Bobby closed her eyes. Peter
hoped she was praying. He would
have prayed himself except that the
hard driving over the bad road re-
quired his complete attention But
he did keep breathing over and over
in his heart the one word, God
God! God!' and trusted the Infinite
would understand it for appeal.
Instinctively his foot lifted from
the accelerator and at a noiseless
crawl the car rolled up to the shad-
owy bank under the willow tree
where the stranger with the stalled
motor had mapped out the futile
shortcut.
ooh" whispered Bobby weakly.
"Look-look! Rowena!"
Rowena indeed, lying motionless
beside the road where the afternoon
sun slanted behind the trees to throw
protecting shadows over her slender
figure Peter was out of the car
long before it had come to a stop
and was up the bank and kneeling
beside her. He lifted one limp slim
hand 1t was stained red.
"Rowera he whispered.
Rowena opened her eyes. "Oh,
hello" she said cheerfully. "Gcsh,
you were a long time coming back {"
"Are-are you-hurt?" stammered
Peter.
Hurt? Why, mol What do you
mean, hurt ?" She licked bit of red
raspberry juice from her finger as
she spoke.
"D-did you fall out, darlinge"
asked Bobby in fatuously affection
ate tones.
Fail out?" repeated Rowena. Ger
tain1y not" She stood up, lifted her
arms, stretching her slender figure
comfortably to its utmost height
"Had a grand nap" she said. "And
wrote out just what I think of Mis-
souri,. Poor dears, you must be
dreadfully hot and tired. Come and
sit down-a natures feast to feed
YOU Berries and cold spring water.
knew you would be famished so l
picked heaps"
'You darling" said Bobby, and
greedily fell to. "But will you please
tell us" she mumbled, with a full
mouth. for she was very hungry.