17 4 A.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE
 
 . 
 
 Copyright, I'." 1 ", r - ''' Collier
 
 BY 
 
 MORRIS B. WELLS 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY 
 DODD. MEAD AND COMPANY 
 
 Published, April, 1911
 
 PUBLISHERS' NOTE 
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE was written by the author 
 whose name appears on the title page in collaboration 
 with a well-known writer, who, for reasons connected 
 with the publication of another work entirely his own, did 
 not wish to have his name appear in the present volume. 
 
 2128744 *
 
 To Patrick H. W . Ross, our genial and lovable 
 friend, whose many admirable ways and whose 
 steady British calm formed an inspiration for 
 one of our favoured characters, this book is 
 affectionately dedicated by the Authors.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter I 
 
 IT'S EASY ENOUGH TO ECONOMISE WHEN ONE DOES 
 
 NOT WANT TO Buy ...... . ,., ,. ,., 1 
 
 Chapter II 
 
 BIDDLESON PRESSES THE BUTTON .. ... ... k ., t ., 21 
 
 Chapter III 
 
 BIGGS DEMONSTRATES THAT AN ACTIVE BAROME- 
 TER is BETTER THAN AN ALMANAC FOR EVERY- 
 DAY USE ............ .. 32 
 
 Chapter IV 
 
 A TEMPEST IN A TEAPOT MAY BE FIERCE WHILE IT 
 
 LASTS .56 
 
 Chapter V 
 
 THE LADIES ARE PRESENT AT THE INITIAL PER- 
 FORMANCE OF THE DURABLE . .. ,.. . . 69 
 
 Chapter VI 
 
 BIDDLESON ENLARGES His KNOWLEDGE OF MECHAN- 
 ICS ... ... 84
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter VII 
 A RIDE IN MRS. THOMPSON'S CAR ., ,., m ,., , 106 
 
 Chapter VIII 
 MATRIMONIAL MANOEUVRES ..... ,.. ,.. . 139 
 
 Chapter IX 
 BIDDLESON MAKES THE COFFEE . . ,., ,., ... ,. 162 
 
 Chapter X 
 DOROTHY'S TRIUMPH .....,., ,., ,., .. 191 
 
 Chapter XI 
 DOROTHY EXPLAINS . . . . . . . . .213 
 
 Chapter XII 
 THE PROFESSOR LOSES His SUIT CASE . . .., . 229 
 
 Chapter XIII 
 BIGGS MAKES IT EASY FOR THE PROFESSOR ., ,., ,. 249 
 
 Chapter XIV 
 His BROTHER, ADOLPHUS! . . .., , ; ., . 266 
 
 Chapter XV 
 MORE MATRIMONIAL MANOEUVRES . ... , ,., . 283
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter XVI 
 BIGGS PULLS OFF A REAL STORM H . 298 
 
 Chapter XVII 
 BIGGS BORROWS MRS. THOMPSON'S CAR . ,. ; L . ( .. 313 
 
 Chapter XVIII 
 BIGGS GIVES UP His POSITION . > .., ... 333
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 IT'S EASY ENOUGH TO ECONOMISE WHEN ONE 
 DOES NOT WANT TO BUY 
 
 'You can't show me one good reason," de- 
 clared Harkaway explosively. " If you can, 
 for heaven's sake trot it out!" 
 
 Biddleson looked helplessly at him. 
 
 ' You see, Hark," he slowly began, in a du- 
 bious tone, "my wife objects awfully to the 
 smell of gasoline. And besides, she'd say I 
 was spending money!" 
 
 " Well, how can you get a car without spend- 
 ing money? " retorted Harkaway, unappeased. 
 " Do you think anyone's going to trust you on 
 your face?" 
 
 Biddleson mournfully shook his head, and 
 made one of those incomprehensible replies, so 
 frequent in married men. 
 
 " A fellow mustn't spend money, you know," 
 he insisted obstinately, as much as to infer
 
 a FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 that spending money was a gross extravagance, 
 and wasn't being done by the best people. 
 
 "Bah!" said Harkaway, in disgust, for it 
 looked as if the matter were settled; "spend- 
 ing money is the least of my troubles!'* 
 
 Biddleson and Harkaway had been mak- 
 ing up their minds for several months to buy 
 an automobile. Each had finally picked out his 
 favourite machine, and carried the catalogue 
 describing it wherever he went, ready to point 
 out its special advantages at any moment that 
 the automobile subject might come up. 
 
 But Biddleson's statement about spending 
 money had a sort of finality, somehow. Hark- 
 away couldn't dispute it; an'd He had learned 
 that when Biddleson brought Mrs. Biddleson's 
 opinion forward, there was usually an end to 
 debate. 
 
 " Didn't we decide that it was the only thing 
 to do?" asked Harkaway, pluckily returning 
 to the charge. " Didn't I agree that we would 
 get that three cylindered monstrosity you in- 
 sisted upon? And here, after I give in and 
 submit to your bull-headed assumption that
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 3 
 
 you know it all, you go and object because it 
 costs money! " 
 
 " Anyway, it will cost less with the machine 
 I picked out!" Biddleson said, brightening up 
 a little. 
 
 " That's right," replied Harkaway, as 
 heartily as he could. ;< The ' Durable ' is a 
 good car for the money; and as you say, she's 
 economical of gasoline." 
 
 Secretly, though, Harkaway didn't think 
 much of the " Durable," in spite of a remarka- 
 ble contrivance, described at great length in 
 the catalogue, which Biddleson was always 
 talking about. Biddleson had chosen the Dur- 
 able particularly because of this contraption 
 the "jigger," he called it which was a great 
 saver of gasoline. 
 
 As far as one could understand from Biddle- 
 son's explanations, if you "used" the jigger 
 right, the Durable would run farther on a gal- 
 lon of gasoline than any other car that took a 
 larger quantity to go the same distance. Ac- 
 cording to Harkaway, the "jigger" was a 
 dinky little affair right alongside the seat
 
 4 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 where you couldn't find it because the lap robe 
 was in the way, and you turned it, according to 
 what the catalogue said, one way going up hill, 
 and a little more the same way on a foggy 
 morning, and back again when the engine got 
 hot, and still another way in a high altitude. 
 Harkaway didn't seem to think this last ma- 
 noeuvre would count for much, because he more 
 than suspected that the Durable couldn't 
 climb high enough to make it pay. And be- 
 sides this, he told Biddleson that while he was 
 messing around trying to find the jigger he 
 would miss the road and run into a well, or a 
 hayrake, or a cow, and it would cost more than 
 a whole tankful of gasoline to square up. It 
 was the day on which Biddleson had left his 
 catalogue at home and was helpless that Hark- 
 away brought up this point ; and when he met 
 Harkaway every time thereafter until the end 
 of the week Biddleson talked steadily of some 
 " Investments " he thought were good, or of 
 a house he intended building, or of some other 
 obnoxious way he had of disposing of his spare 
 capital, utterly refusing to be turned aside.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 5 
 
 This was unbearable, and by Sunday Hark- 
 away was ready to capitulate and agree that 
 the jigger greatly lessened gasoline consump- 
 tion, and as the jigger was an exclusively Dur- 
 able feature, naturally they would have to buy 
 a Durable. 
 
 'You bet she's a good car," Biddleson re- 
 sponded with enthusiasm, seeing that he was 
 going to have his own way, " and what's more, 
 you can get at it! You can change front 
 sprockets in five minutes and take out the 
 transmission in ten." 
 
 "What in Hades do you want to take the 
 transmission out for, Bid?" asked Harkaway, 
 somewhat dubious as to the advantage of that 
 mechanism's extreme accessibility. 
 
 "Why er er what do I want to take 
 out the transmission for?" Biddleson repeated 
 confusedly. As a matter of fact, he didn't 
 know a planetary transmission from a leather 
 belt. When he and Harkaway took the first 
 step in buying an auto by acquiring seven dif- 
 ferent catalogues each, Biddleson had the idea 
 that the transmission gear was part of the
 
 6 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 steering apparatus, because two rods that 
 went forward to the front wheels crossed each 
 other; "Trans, across, you know," the "mis- 
 sion " part of it was entirely beyond him. 
 Biddleson had studied Latin in his school days 
 and it was a pleasant recollection with him. 
 " All Gaul is divided into three parts," he used 
 to quote sonorously, in the original, when he 
 had a good chance. The fact that an auto 
 could be divided into a thousand parts, either 
 voluntarily, or accidentally, was probably 
 what determined Biddleson in his choice be- 
 tween a gasoline engine and a horse. 
 
 " What do I want to take the transmission 
 out for?" he repeated a second time, glaring 
 at Harkaway, and angry with himself because 
 he didn't know the answer. " Why, to put it 
 back again, you gump. WTiat does anyone 
 take a transmission out for? " 
 
 "Never mind, old man," Harkaway said 
 soothingly. " Some day I'll be glad you know 
 how to do it. When the flywheel won't go 
 round, we can take out the transmission and see 
 if anything's stuck, and, besides, you can take
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 7 
 
 it out and show it to Mrs. Biddleson. She'll be 
 tickled to death with those cute little wheels, 
 she- -" 
 
 "O-o-oh!" groaned Biddleson uneasily, a 
 look of sad remembrance spreading over his 
 countenance like the gloom of departing day, 
 " I forgot my wife. You know, Harkaway," 
 he said anxiously, " the fact is I never said any- 
 thing to Miriam about this motor business. 
 It's our little surprise, you know, and it would 
 not do to spring it prematurely. You get me^ 
 don't you? When we are all ready we'll an- 
 nounce our intentions firmly and then go 
 ahead. Miriam can say what she pleases, but 
 she'll find it's too late." 
 
 ' Yessir!" continued Biddleson in tones of 
 unalterable resolve. " I've made up my mind 
 I'm going to have some fun once in a while, 
 and when she gets through talking she can 
 she can He stopped. 'You know 
 
 how it is, Harkaway," he burst out after a mo- 
 ment's painful reflection, " Miriam always has 
 a great deal to say, and and, of course, you 
 understand, old man, I love my wife just as
 
 8 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 much as I ever did. She's a mighty good old 
 girl, just as good as any man's wife! You 
 know, Hark, I wouldn't say anything against 
 her for the world. But you're not married, or 
 you'd have some idea how I feel. Now, when 
 you feel like going anywhere, you go; and 
 when you want anything, you get it. Some- 
 times, Hark, I wish I wish that " 
 
 Biddleson did not finish. He thought this 
 time of that darkened period, the bitter six 
 months when he was recovering from a malig- 
 nant attack of typhoid ; he remembered the lit- 
 tle kindergarten that his wife strove to main- 
 tain, the drawing lessons she gave, even though 
 she couldn't draw herself; he was thinking and 
 he knew .that Harkaway knew that he was 
 thinking he knew that Harkaway knew that 
 he knew that Harkaway knew he was think- 
 ing of the complete collapse of his cour- 
 age when their little fortune was all but lost. 
 Neither of them could forget the indom- 
 itable and sweet fortitude of Miriam during 
 that critical period. It wasn't hard to recall, 
 either, how Miriam had humbled herself be-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 9 
 
 fore Mrs. Thompson, the wife of the president 
 of the bank where Biddleson was now cashier. 
 How they both hated Mrs. Thompson! 
 Biddleson' s hatred was, of course, of a subtle 
 and silent type, as became his position in the 
 bank; Harkaway's was of the open, violent 
 sort. Doing business with the other bank, 
 Harkaway was at liberty to hate Mrs. Thomp- 
 son as freely and conspicuously as he wished 
 without fear of financial embarrassment. It 
 is possible that this mutual feeling was not 
 only unchristian but vicious. Perhaps they 
 should both have been grateful to Mrs. 
 Thompson. As a matter of fact they had been 
 grateful when Biddleson got his job as book- 
 keeper in the Farmer and Fisherman's Bank 
 through the efforts machinations, they called 
 them now of Mrs. Thompson. Their grati- 
 tude had continued unabated till it became 
 clear that Mrs. Thompson's philanthropy was 
 merely a dastardly scheme which enabled her 
 to look down from a superior social height 
 upon the wife of her husband's employe. Be- 
 fore that time any attempt in Tidewater to
 
 10 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 look down on Miriam had been achieved from 
 purely physical altitudes. Her visiting cards 
 had read, in beautiful copper-plate, "Mrs. 
 Ezra de Poe Biddleson." It was during their 
 honeymoon that Miriam had wished to make it 
 Esra. She said it looked more foreign and 
 romantic, but Biddleson wouldn't have it. 
 " Ezra," he maintained, was a good old family 
 name that "suited him plenty," and as for 
 genealogy it had that old Spanish swashbuckler 
 of hers, De Poe, backed into the coal hole. 
 
 As a matter of fact the famous De Poe an- 
 cestor had not been a Spaniard at all; instead, 
 he had been a Frenchman with six girls' names 
 in front of the De Poe and a castle somewhere 
 which was of no use to him, as he hadn't money 
 to hire people to sweep it and paint it and put 
 a new roof on it when it rained. At least that 
 was the reason everybody gave for his marry- 
 ing Miriam's other ancestor, Miriam Hicks, 
 whose father ran a store up at Tidewater. 
 The Spanish part of the ancestry, such as it 
 was, came from Ferdinand de Poe, the first 
 De Poe's son, who kept what little money his
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 11 
 
 father left him and spent all his time trying to 
 live the genteel life and imitate his grandfather 
 in the old castle in France or Lomhardy or on 
 the Rhine (Miriam was never quite sure of its 
 location, but it was safe to say it was a castle in 
 Spain) and succeeded in making himself as 
 fine a forefather as anyone in Tidewater 
 could wish. Not that Ferdinand was any 
 more Spanish than his father, only his name 
 appeared to Miriam to be pure Castilian, be- 
 sides being manly and belligerent and socially 
 correct. 
 
 And this Ferdinand de Poe (to straighten 
 the whole matter out once for all) had given 
 his name to the bay just beyond Tidewater, 
 where the Pacific went in and out by tides and 
 washed the front doorstep of the De Poe man- 
 sion, which still stands back of the little bay 
 beach among the hemlocks. Ferdinand was 
 not only the godfather of the little sound on 
 which Tidewater slept, but was Miriam's 
 grandfather as well, so that she had always 
 been known as " one of the De Poes." When 
 she married Biddleson it was generally under-
 
 12 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 stood that Bid was lucky to get Into such a 
 good family and the De Poes were rather con- 
 doled with because Miriam had married a plain 
 American. Miriam's father seemed to think 
 this was a joke, but as he died soon after, this 
 error was overlooked, and Miriam couldn't 
 have wished for more sympathy and respect 
 if she had had six genuine Spanish ancestors. 
 Some of the people of Tidewater thought 
 Miriam enjoyed her forefathers really more 
 than was just to Biddleson; but this was quite 
 natural, considering the great social prestige 
 they gave her; whereas Biddleson was just 
 Biddleson and everybody knew just what kind 
 of a chap he was and how much money he had. 
 It is true she had raised Biddleson to her own 
 level for a while. She had ironed out and 
 starched his name, insisted on his being paid 
 exactly the respect that she required for her- 
 self and managed to impress on Tidewater 
 that her husband had certain claims to social 
 distinction himself. For some months after 
 they were married, the rumour was around that 
 Biddleson once had a grandfather who had
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 13 
 
 been ashamed of him, or an uncle who had re- 
 fused to recognise him, or something of that 
 sort, the idea being that even if Biddleson were 
 a poor worm himself, there had been those in 
 his family who once breathed a loftier atmos- 
 phere, and, classically speaking, were "some 
 pumpkins." But this passed away, the rumour 
 having no foundation in fact, and Miriam was 
 reluctantly obliged to let him slip back into his 
 own social rank as a hopeless case. 
 
 When at last Miriam fully realised that she 
 was only Mrs. Biddleson, the wife of a clerk 
 in the bank, and not Mrs. Ezra de Poe Bid- 
 dleson the haughty queen of Tidewater's so- 
 cially elect, her calling cards suffered a sudden 
 diminution in elegance. They were now 
 printed in plebeian type and read: "Mrs. E. 
 D. Biddleson." While they were distinctly 
 legible and a means of complete identification, 
 they could not be considered a passport to the 
 sacred circle of Tidewater's upper ten. 
 
 Tidewater particularly feminine Tidewater 
 had felt sorry for Mrs. Biddleson. " Poor 
 thing! " it said, " and from such a good family,
 
 14. FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 too. Don't you think we'd better call? " But 
 it didn't call; neither did Miriam with her 
 cheap pasteboard cards. Who, for example, 
 in the olden days would have had the temerity 
 to intrude upon the ever socially correct Mrs. 
 Ezra de Poe Biddleson with nothing to pre- 
 sent as a talisman but a dollar a hundred card? 
 Certainly not the then submissive but socially 
 ambitious Mrs. Thompson whose social star had 
 been slow to rise. 
 
 When Biddleson got to be teller, the printed 
 cards went into the fire and Miriam shifted her 
 social clutch to the intermediate speed and be- 
 came Mrs. Ezra D. P. Biddleson. Thus she 
 remained, not too patiently biding her time 
 when she could resume the aristocratic copper- 
 plate without endangering her husband's job. 
 Then, oh, certainly then, she would put Mrs. T. 
 back where she belonged. She remembered 
 and would never forget tHe bitterest time of 
 all, and this was the time when Ezra and Hark- 
 away violently and explosively invented and 
 instantly ca'st away as unworthy numberless 
 schemes of vengeance upon the now acknowl-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 15 
 
 edged social leader of Tidewater. Mrs. 
 Thompson, the execrable Mrs. T., the super- 
 cilious and ancestoress Mrs. Thompson, the 
 malignant upstart had dared to write to Mir- 
 iam a note addressed to Mrs. Ez. Depot Bid- 
 dleson ! 
 
 How easy it was to despise Mrs. Thompson! 
 In view of this deep-rooted and never-end- 
 ing conflict between Mrs. Biddleson and Mrs. 
 T. one feature of the Durable that particu- 
 larly recommended the car to Biddleson 
 was a detachable tonneau that could be re- 
 placed by an up-to-date rumble seat that made 
 the Durable look like a three thousand dollar 
 forty-horse power roadster. At least it looked 
 that way in the catalogue. So far no one in 
 Tidewater had been progressive enough to 
 buy a Durable. And in addition to this Bid- 
 dleson had it figured out that if they bought 
 two sets of wheels, one yellow, the other ma- 
 roon, people would think Miriam had two cars 
 just like Mrs. Thompson. Or by leaving 
 off the rumble seat and the tonneau and sub- 
 stituting a trunk with a brass lock and trim-
 
 16 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 mings, they might possibly achieve the repu- 
 tation of having three, something that even 
 the president's wife couldn't attain. Biddle- 
 son had a way of being outrageously extrava- 
 gant at very little expense, and when it came to 
 'supporting Miriam's social aspirations, he was 
 quite capable of spending some extra money, 
 even. 
 
 " By George ! " exclaimed Biddleson excit- 
 edly, after a long silence in which these things 
 were thought over, "it's just struck me how 
 we might work it." 
 
 Harkaway remained calm, for he knew that 
 whatever his friend was thinking about he had 
 had it on his mind for a long time, and had been 
 afraid to mention it. Years of rigid suppres- 
 . sion under Miriam had made spontaneity, with 
 Biddleson, a thing of previous preparation and 
 careful planning. 
 
 "The other day," he continued, stealthily 
 laying the grounds for his play, like the poker 
 player who draws only one card when he has 
 three of a kind, " Miriam and I were out walk- 
 ing when Mrs. Thompson dusted by in that
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE IT 
 
 new red car of theirs, and I said something 
 about a cylinder missing. Miriam, she you 
 know how Miriam looks when she thinks 
 you're up to something stopped right short 
 and demanded: 'How did you know what 
 was the matter with that car, Rae Biddle- 
 son?"' 
 
 'You know I wouldn't lie to my wife, 
 Harkaway. We've been married ten years 
 and I've never lied to her yet! But we don't 
 have to tell everything we know, so I said, 
 ' Why, Harkaway, he knows a lot about such 
 things; in fact he is thinking of buying one. 
 He Here Harkaway emitted a chok- 
 
 ing sound, and Biddleson went on hastily: 
 "I'm telling you just how the thing happened, 
 Hark, so you'll understand. Miriam never 
 would let me finish a sentence. 
 
 ' You should have heard her ! ' Harkaway ! ' 
 she snorted. ' It's always Harkaway ! You've 
 been listening to another of these perfectly 
 silly ideas of his. He is always going to buy 
 something. Why, he was going to buy the 
 Cliff House in San Francisco once and tear it
 
 18 
 
 down because he didn't like the looks of it ! If 
 it hadn't fallen into the ocean, or burned, he'd 
 have telegraphed the mayor, or somebody, for 
 an option, or whatever he calls those things 
 that he gets and never manages to take up. 
 Tom Harkaway hasn't any money to waste on 
 an automobile, Rae, and you know it.' 
 
 " Perhaps I made a mistake, Harkaway, but 
 I had to say something," Biddleson explained 
 apologetically. ; ' Oh, yes, he has,' I said. 
 * Anyway, he's got enough to pay his share 
 in ' 
 
 "'Share!' she screeched. 'Share in what, 
 Rae Biddleson?' 
 
 " On the level I thought it was all off, old 
 man, but it wasn't. I didn't have to lie, either. 
 I'm not so slow myself, sometimes," said Bid- 
 dleson proudly. 
 
 ' You see, it's this way,' I told her. I had 
 to fake up some sort of a con in a hurry. 
 ' Harkaway's been talking of a little proposi- 
 tion, but it didn't look like much to me, and I 
 didn't think it worth mentioning- but now ' 
 
 " ' You needn't waste your time talking to
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 19 
 
 me of Tom Harkaway's preposterous proposi- 
 tions,' she sniffed right out. 'Proposition! 
 how I hate that word. It always makes me 
 think of an offer of marriage. Harkaway's 
 forever talking of his " propositions," but I 
 never heard of any that amounted to a row of 
 pins. When he settles down, if he ever does, 
 he'll wish he'd saved his money. The first 
 time I get a chance,' she said, and say, old man, 
 she was hot under the collar all right, ' I'll tell 
 Tom Harkaway exactly what I think of him.' ' 
 Harkaway groaned. "I'm afraid I've got 
 you into trouble, Hark, old boy," continued 
 Biddleson, apprehensively. "Another thing, 
 too, I shouldn't be a bit surprised if Miriam in- 
 tended to marry you off. Why, she'd marry 
 me to someone else if she didn't have to die to 
 do it. Miriam never gives up at match mak- 
 ing. If she has any particular girl in mind, 
 you'd better take to the woods until she gets 
 rid of her. I guess you're safe, though, unless 
 unless Dorothy no, I guess she's too 
 young. You never saw my wife's little sister, 
 did you, Hark ? I haven't seen the kid myself
 
 20 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 for quite a while. Miriam likes you, old man, 
 in spite of what she says. She looks a long 
 way ahead, though, and Dorothy is the only 
 one left. She must be a cute little kid and 
 no, no! of course not. You couldn't marry 
 that baby, an old fellow like you. Anyway, 
 Harkaway, you can see it's up to you to clear 
 up that auto matter. Come home to dinner 
 with me; I told Miriam I might ask you. If 
 it's a good dinner, she'll be proud of it, and 
 that'll give you a chance to lead up. You can 
 tell her that you wanted me to go in with you 
 on buying an auto, but that I wouldn't even 
 think of it. That'll put her on your side 
 right at the start. Tell her tell her oh, it 
 isn't necessary for me to give you pointers on 
 what to tell her. I'll press the button at the 
 right time and you can do the rest."
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 BIDDLESON PRESSES THE BUTTON 
 
 As Biddleson had hopefully prophesied, it was 
 a good dinner and five courses. Harkaway 
 would have enjoyed it, had it not been for Bid- 
 dleson. The blundering idiot "pressed the 
 button" too soon. Harkaway, never argu- 
 mentative when dining, felt particularly ec- 
 static after cream of celery soup. And a vista 
 of clam fritters, China pheasant, crab salad 
 and so on raised him into blissful contemplation. 
 As the last spoonful of the celestial soup 
 passed his lips Biddleson kicked him savagely 
 on the shins from under the table that was his 
 way of pressing the button at the same time 
 giving him a knowing look as much as to say, 
 "TsFow's your time." 
 
 Harkaway scowled ferociously, and the ex- 
 pression wasn't lost on his hostess. "What's 
 the matter, Mr. Harkaway? " she inquired anx- 
 
 21
 
 22 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 iously. "You haven't a toothache, have you? 
 We have some oil of cloves; that's just the 
 thing for " 
 
 " No, Mrs. Biddleson," Harkaway interrup- 
 ted manfully. " Only a slight twinge. I suf- 
 fer frightfully sometimes, though, but just 
 now I was thinking of the soup we had at our 
 boarding house last night. I always look that 
 way when I think of a boarding house." 
 
 " Hope it's not catching," put in Biddleson, 
 facetiously. "TsTo boarding house looks in 
 mine!" 
 
 The next course being clam fritters, Hark- 
 away cheered up greatly. In days gone by 
 the Biddleson functions had become celebrated 
 for the clam fritters which only a few were 
 aware Miriam prepared herself. But her 
 guest had scarcely begun on these delect- 
 ables when Mrs. Biddleson exclaimed sympa- 
 thetically, "Do let me get you the oil of 
 cloves ! " Biddleson had just pressed the but- 
 ton again and accompanied it with a warning 
 grimace. Harkaway recollected himself and 
 returned, " So good of you, Mrs. Biddleson.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 23 
 
 Don't think of it. It has passed. What de- 
 licious fritters ! " 
 
 After the fritters Harkaway detected an- 
 other look of utter imbecility gathering on his 
 host's face. Harkaway knew that he intended 
 to be shrewd and illuminative, and that in a 
 second more he would press the button, as he 
 idiotically called it, again. Harkaway raised 
 his foot carefully to just the right height and 
 Biddleson barked his own shins and was silent 
 till the coffee. 
 
 " That's rather a handsome car of the 
 Thompsons'," Harkaway began, forestalling 
 another of Biddleson's signals by the sixteenth 
 part of a second. " Don't you admire it, Mrs. 
 Biddleson?" 
 
 " Very much," Mrs. Biddleson replied very 
 calmly. 
 
 Harkaway was disappointed. By rights, 
 Miriam should have consumed ten minutes dis- 
 cussing Mrs. Thompson's hats, ancestors and 
 manners things she never could forget nor 
 forgive. In face of her disconcerting calm 
 Harkaway took another tack: " She's a good
 
 24 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 car, too ; has plenty of speed. But she's heavy 
 on her feet and it will take five hundred a year 
 for tires. Got as much machinery in her as a 
 sawmill. And the amount of gasoline those 
 big ice wagons will eat up is a fright! Ain't 
 that so, Rae?" 
 
 " I suppose so. I'll take your word for it," 
 Biddleson said weakly, under his wife's eyes. 
 
 Harkaway went on : 
 
 "Now I know a car that'll answer all the 
 purposes of that clumsy oil tank of the Thomp- 
 sons', and it wouldn't cost a third as much. 
 She has a peach of a carburetor. Got the rec- 
 ord for mileage on five gallons of gasoline, 
 sealed tank contest. The judges couldn't 
 reach the other cars by wireless when the Dur- 
 able finished. Never heard of 'em again!" 
 
 "Now, Rae, here," Harkaway continued, 
 gazing reproachfully at him, " wouldn't have a 
 car, not even a Durable; says they cost too 
 much ; rather have a horse ! " 
 
 Harkaway paused and then went on boldly, 
 " I've been thinking, Mrs. Biddleson ; I've 
 been thinking er "
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 25 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Harkaway, you've been thinking, 
 you said?" 
 
 Miriam's tone suggested that thinking was 
 quite a novelty for Harkaway. 
 
 " I've been thinking," he repeated, not quite 
 so boldly, " that that " 
 
 " I know, Mr. Harkaway," interrupted Mir- 
 iam sweetly, cutting the Gordian knot with 
 skill. "You've been thinking that you and 
 Rae would buy a car together, and that I 
 didn't know anything about it. Let me tell 
 you that I was down town this afternoon and 
 ordered the dearest, stunningest auto coat you 
 ever saw." 
 
 "Ha HA! ha HA!" guffawed Biddleson 
 with a look of triumph. " Didn't I tell you, 
 Harkaway? " Harkaway hated that laugh, 
 with its accent on the second "ha" "You re- 
 member what I said, Harkaway?" 
 
 "Yes, I remember what you said," Hark- 
 away retorted hotly, though he didn't know 
 just what was on Biddleson's mind at that 
 minute he was looking for a chance to get 
 even. " It's easy enough to remember what
 
 26 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 you said," he went on in a menacing manner. 
 " You said that your wife would probably put 
 a kibosh on the whole thing because it was too 
 expensive, and then you invited me to come up 
 here and make an ass of myself. You've tried 
 to let on that I was doing this all of my own 
 accord, when, as a matter of fact, it was just 
 to please you that I consented to buy the 
 dinky Durable affair that you insist on." 
 
 Mrs. Biddleson promptly wanted to know if 
 it was a Durable that Mrs. Thompson had. 
 Biddleson spoke up before Harkaway could 
 stop him. " Certainly not, Miriam. Do you 
 suppose I'm going to sink all that money in a 
 car that is only good for town streets ? Why, 
 that car of Thompson's couldn't make the road 
 to the bay if someone went along and brought 
 the bay to it ! We're going to have a machine 
 that will run on any kind of a road. Hark- 
 away and I wouldn't have any use for such a 
 show window exhibit as that." 
 
 Harkaway had thought at first that Biddle- 
 son might better stop; but when he did stop 
 he was evidently just as anxious for him to go
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 27 
 
 on, for Miriam looked right at him with the 
 eye of a proprietor of a matrimonial bureau. 
 " I should think you'd better be preparing for 
 the future, Mr. Harkaway," she told him 
 mildly. " It's all right for Rae here to get a 
 car that is just good for going around country 
 roads and enjoying oneself in; but I'd think 
 you'd want something stylish you could take 
 out somebody to ride in, and save hiring a 
 horse and carriage. Rae is married and those 
 things don't appeal to him, but for a young 
 man I'd think a really handsome car would be 
 a splendid investment." 
 
 " Hang it! " said Biddleson. " You talk as 
 though I were an old man, Miriam. Why, 
 I'm no older than you are, and Harkaway 
 here " 
 
 " Mr. Harkaway isn't married," Miriam in- 
 terrupted sweetly. "And what he needs and 
 what you need are two different things." She 
 turned pleasantly to Harkaway and went on, 
 " Xow, don't you let him impose on you, Mr. 
 Harkaway. I think it's a shame for him to 
 try and convince you that any old rattle-trap
 
 28 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 will do you. As if you wouldn't want to take 
 some nice girl out riding ever so often ! And 
 you couldn't do it, of course, unless you had 
 a car that would look well." 
 
 "But this is a fine car," Biddleson put in. 
 "Isn't that so, old man? Why, we picked it 
 out because it was such a good, reliable, power- 
 ful machine and looked well; and was cheap 
 besides." 
 
 Harkaway felt that he must help his friend 
 out, so he said, " It isn't the price you pay that 
 makes a handsome car, Mrs. Biddleson. Now 
 Mrs. Thompson probably paid four thousand 
 dollars for her big, ugly machine, while this 
 car will only cost " 
 
 The look on Biddleson's face stopped him. 
 He could see at once that he had done wrong. 
 Of course Miriam was to be convinced and 
 converted, but he could discern from the agony 
 on his host's countenance that the price was a 
 forbidden subject. He tried to think of some 
 way to change the conversation from the price 
 but Miriam was waiting and finally remarked, 
 fixing him with an expectant eye, " How much
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 29 
 
 did you say this car you've picked out will 
 cost?" 
 
 Under such scrutiny Harkaway's mind re- 
 fused to work and Biddleson looked entirely 
 miserable when Harkaway said with what 
 calmness he could muster, " Three hundred 
 dollars." 
 
 Miriam rose to fetch a fresh pot of coffee 
 and while she was gone Biddleson explained to 
 his guest that he was an ass and if that was a 
 sample of his good judgment and wisdom and 
 sagacity he, Biddleson, was glad he had had 
 sense enough to pick out his own car from the 
 catalogue. " After telling Miriam that, I can 
 see that it would be your nature to order a car 
 without a carburetor or lamps," he said. "I 
 wouldn't be at all surprised if, some time, you 
 bought a four thousand dollar car and then 
 painted it over with shingle stain to keep it 
 from looking expensive. Now you've gone 
 and told Miriam that that car will cost three 
 hundred dollars when my share alone will be 
 seven hundred. How am I going to explain 
 now that I must spend seven hundred to buy
 
 30 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 one half of a three hundred dollar auto ? You 
 are a chump, Harkaway." 
 
 Harkaway could not help feeling that Bid- 
 dleson was right; though it occurred to him 
 that Biddleson might better have overcome 
 Miriam's objection himself without dragging 
 him around to fix things up. When his hos- 
 tess returned with more coffee and the cheese 
 he cheered up and tried to think of some way 
 of introducing the subject of automobiles 
 again, with special reference to the variation 
 in price from week to week. But Mrs. Bid- 
 dleson appeared to have forgotten all about 
 automobiles until the cheese had been enjoyed 
 and the coffee pot looked into for the last 
 time, to see whether there was the polite " drop 
 left." Then she suddenly remarked: "Twice 
 three hundred is six hundred dollars. Do you 
 really think we can get a nice car for six hun- 
 dred dollars, Mr. Harkaway?" 
 
 Biddleson looked so relieved that Harkaway 
 said " Yes," and to avoid more awkward ques- 
 tions talked about six hundred dollar cars till 
 Biddleson took him up on the subject of water- 
 jackets, and said he didn't believe any manu-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 31 
 
 facturer could afford to instal copper water- 
 jackets, a good radiator and a decent pump in 
 a six hundred dollar car. 
 
 "Are those the best things to have?" Mi- 
 riam demanded suddenly. 
 
 Before Harkaway could thump his host on 
 the knee Biddleson had got excited because he 
 saw an argument coming and said decisively, 
 " Nothing else is practicable. This air cooling 
 is a mere subterfuge. Now on a hot day " 
 
 " But I thought we were going to get a good 
 car," Miriam interrupted. " You said it would 
 cost only three hundred dollars and here you 
 say you can't get a decent car for six hundred." 
 
 " Six hundred was the price we agreed on," 
 Biddleson said weakly. " I told Harkaway I 
 didn't see how we could afford to spend that 
 much, even, on a car, but he said his judgment 
 was better than mine, anyway, and if he 
 thought it was a good investment to spend six 
 hundred dollars on a Durable that ought to 
 settle it forme!" 
 
 Miriam gazed thoughtfully at her husband 
 and then at Harkaway. 'You poor boys!" 
 she said enigmatically.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 BIGGS DEMONSTRATES THAT AN ACTIVE BAROM- 
 ETER IS BETTER THAN AN ALMANAC FOR 
 EVERYDAY USE 
 
 IT was a great day when the Durable ar- 
 rived. To begin with, it came on a Saturday 
 when Biddleson had a half holiday at his dis- 
 posal. The timely arrival of the car, how- 
 ever, was not a matter left wholly to chance; 
 it was the result of careful planning on the part 
 of Biddleson, assisted by Biggs, the agent of 
 the Tidewater Navigation Company. Biggs's 
 office was opposite the bank and next to the 
 post office. He had been very helpful in the 
 affair and had taken an affectionate and unen- 
 vious interest in the shape, speed, horsepower 
 and mechanical construction of the new ma- 
 chine as described in the catalogue, and dis- 
 coursed upon at length, by its prospective 
 owners. They decided that, for an English- 
 man, Biggs was a mighty good fellow. 
 
 32
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 33 
 
 The fact that the car didn't arrive until the 
 Saturday a week later than it was expected 
 didn't detract, according to Biggs, from the 
 merit of Biddleson's plan. Harkaway had 
 been as anxious as Biddleson about the car's 
 coming and took occasion to drop into the 
 bank two or three times a day to inquire for 
 word of it. At first when he knew that the 
 Durable had passed Ogden Biddleson was 
 very decent about answering Harkaway's 
 questions. But the Thursday after the Satur- 
 day that it should have come and didn't he 
 utterly refused to talk about it. On Friday 
 afternoon having been rebuffed in the morn- 
 ing Harkaway went into the bank, called 
 emphatically for Biddleson and politely asked 
 him why he hadn't had the car sent around the 
 Horn while he was about it. ' You've routed 
 the car and tended to the freight agent and 
 got a tracer after it, so far," he remarked 
 pleasantly, checking off the items on his fin- 
 gers, " and it's just occurred to me that you 
 might have saved all that trouble by having it 
 shipped by sailing vessel."
 
 34 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Having delivered himself of this agreeable 
 suggestion Harkaway waited for Biddleson to 
 say something he would be ashamed of after- 
 wards. But the cashier refrained. He was 
 showing an unusual amount of self-re- 
 straint, too, for every night when he got home 
 he had to put up with careful, searching que- 
 ries from his wife as to just when the car had 
 been shipped, and if he were sure he hadn't 
 made a mistake in the shipping directions, or 
 why didn't Harvey Biggs telephone to Bones 
 to see if it had come, or who was it that boxed 
 it at the factory, and why didn't Rae write to 
 him and ask him if they hadn't sent it some- 
 where else. Miriam was sure the moths would 
 eat it (her coat, not the auto) all up before 
 she had a chance to wear it, and she couldn't 
 see why he didn't see somebody, and she was 
 sure that something had happened to it (the 
 auto), and further stated indignantly that if 
 Harvey Biggs spent less time fishing in that 
 old launch of his or out of the back window 
 of his office, he would have more time to attend 
 to business and could get something done for 
 people once in a while.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE , 35 
 
 Six times a day each of them Biddleson, 
 Harkaway and Biggs telephoned to the 
 agent at Bones, six miles up the bay where the 
 freight and passengers took the tug, to know if 
 the car had come. It was part of Biddleson's 
 plan that the Durable shouldn't be carried on 
 down to Deep Water, but should be put off at 
 Bones and then brought down on the Tide- 
 water Navigation Company's steamer Rich- 
 ardson the next morning. The Richardson 
 was going to make a special trip, in fact, for 
 the very purpose. Biggs had said that he 
 would see to that. They would have tele- 
 phoned oftener, but the agent at Bones got 
 to know their voices and hung up the receiver 
 when he found out who it was. 
 
 When Miriam announced, as she did every 
 night, that she was going down to telephone to 
 Bones herself in the morning, her husband 
 went out and stood on the porch and gazed 
 hopefully out to sea, looking for a storm that 
 would make everybody glad that the Durable 
 hadn't come. His barometer, however, ob- 
 stinately marked 31.10 in spite of repeated 
 and violent tappings. Once in his anxiety to
 
 36 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 get results Biddleson almost broke the glass 
 face of it. During all this time Biggs was 
 properly sympathetic, and, what was better 
 still, his barometer was more accommodating. 
 According to that matchless instrument a gale 
 was due almost any time, and as Biggs said to 
 Biddleson, in a comforting way he had, " My 
 dear fellow, if you have got anything around 
 that house of yours out on Alki Point that's 
 loose, you'd better tie it down, because there's 
 a snorter coming that'll blow the bark right off 
 the trees." When Biddleson told this to his 
 wife, she said, unreasonably, " It would be 
 just like those idiotic steamer people to load 
 a valuable car on their leaky old boat and try 
 to bring it down in a storm. I certainly hope 
 they'll at least have sense enough to leave it 
 at Bones till the weather settles." Be it known 
 that Biggs's aneroid was the wonder of the 
 non-seafaring population, the pride of Biggs 
 himself and a source of consuming in- 
 terest to the summer visitors at Tidewater. 
 It always hung in the ticket office behind the 
 wire-screened counter where no one but Biggs
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 37 
 
 could get at it. Other beaches have their lov- 
 ers' lanes, their precipitous cliffs whence 
 heart-broken Indians have jumped into the 
 boiling surf, and other characteristic wonders. 
 More widely advertised summer resorts have 
 their incomparable climates, their "scenic at- 
 tractions unsurpassed"; but Tidewater had 
 Biggs's barometer. 
 
 Many were the tales told around bonfires 
 on the beach at night, around firesides at home 
 after the season was over, of the astounding 
 gyrations of the needle of Biggs's record- 
 breaking mechanical weather prophet. No 
 one, from the owner of the livery stable to the 
 most recent summer tourist, would dream of 
 undertaking anything without first consulting 
 Biggs. Energetic new-comers at the Bay 
 View Hotel an unassuming name afterwards 
 changed by the owner, Thompson, to the Fer- 
 dinand Arms those who wanted to go clam- 
 ming, crabbing, or picnicking and wished to 
 know what the weather would be like the next 
 day were told by the noncommittal clerk of the 
 hotel that they " had better see Biggs." For
 
 38 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 example, if a stiff northwest wind and a low 
 tide at 3 A. M. were essential prerequisites of 
 success in getting crabs on the ocean beach, 
 Biggs couldn't supply the tide, but he could 
 furnish the wind! 
 
 " Yes, sir," he would say earnestly when his 
 opinion was sought. "Couldn't be better. 
 Steady as a rock." Here he would tap the 
 face of the aneroid carefully. " Give you my 
 word, needle hasn't moved a hundredth part 
 of an inch in three days. Wind's from the 
 northwest now, and it's bound to keep up. 
 Better go in the morning, sir. Tide will be 
 just right: one foot, seven-tenths minus. 
 Very low, sir. Good lot of reef exposed." 
 
 It was the day on which the Durable actually 
 arrived that an elderly individual, born and 
 raised on the rocky shores of Maine, living in- 
 land for thirty years, had come purposely to 
 Tidewater to get a sniff of salt air and renew 
 the memories of early youth. Like everyone 
 else, he came in to talk it over with Biggs. 
 
 " Glad you came in, sir," said Biggs heartily. 
 Biggs, an Englishman, had been born within
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 39 
 
 sight of the sea himself and knew the longings 
 of the man who hasn't the roar of the surf in 
 his ears. " Glass has fallen half an inch in an 
 hour. The last time it did that a sou'wester 
 came up that blew the top of one roller clear 
 over the light-house." Biggs gave the barom- 
 eter a smart tap and the needle obediently 
 moved down to 28.19. " Still going down," he 
 said hopefully. " If you want to see what the 
 Pacific can do in heavy weather, sir, go out to 
 the shelter house at North Head. Perfectly 
 safe ! Stone house built by the city, plate glass 
 windows and screened balcony. Follow the 
 bay road till you come to Thompson's, then two 
 turns to the Don't know Thompson's place? 
 You surprise me, sir; Mr. Thompson is the 
 president of our principal bank. Finest place 
 in Tidewater. Sort of mediaeval, baronial 
 mansion right on the shore of the bay; has a 
 drawbridge over the moat, three windmills, 
 two bath-houses, boathouse and a stone pier 
 fifty feet long. The moat is only a little creek 
 of course, but it does very well; only moat on 
 the Pacific Coast, anyway. Castle has four
 
 40 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 towers and a parapet. The walls are of cedar 
 shingles, but they don't look at all bad, y' 
 know. You may notice the gas-pipe screen 
 for the ivy to climb up. Can't see the ivy from 
 the road, but in a few years Mr. Thompson 
 thinks it will be very beautiful. Couldn't miss 
 it if you tried, sir. Only place like it in the 
 world; red brick chimney on the west side of 
 the castle ; take two turns to the left after you 
 pass the castle- * Devonshire Hall/ Mr. 
 Thompson calls it keep right along to the 
 top of the bluff, and, if you hurry, sir, you'll 
 make it before it rains." 
 
 The old man carefully buttoned his coat, 
 opened the door and sallied forth bravely and 
 joyfully into the teeth of Biggs's projected 
 storm. His place before the altar of Vayu 
 and Varuna, the great gods of wind and rain, 
 was immediately taken by a young lady in a 
 blue yachting suit with a red sweater tied negli- 
 gently and gracefully around her waist. She 
 patted her back hair carefully with an un- 
 gloved hand that displayed a flashing solitaire, 
 readjusted the sweater so that it would hang
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 41 
 
 more carelessly and girlishly, smiled sweetly 
 at Biggs and began: 
 
 " Now, don't tell me, Mr. Biggs, that the 
 weather is going to be horrid ! Char I mean, 
 a friend is coming down on the train to-night, 
 and I thought it would be just too lovely to 
 meet him at Bones with the launch. It will 
 be simply fine on Ferdinand Arm to-night in 
 the moonlight, but mamma's nose tickles, or 
 she has rheumatism, or some silly thing or 
 other is the matter with her, and she insists that 
 something perfectly dreadful is going to hap- 
 pen. You don't feel sick, or have asthma just 
 before a storm, do you, Mr. Biggs?" 
 
 The sweet young thing paused, patted her 
 back hair again, rearranged the sweater and 
 gazed at Biggs anxiously. 
 
 "Really, I don't remember noticing," an- 
 swered the agent of the Tidewater Naviga- 
 tion Company, laying aside his pipe and his 
 cap in a careful British manner. "But if I 
 had, I shouldn't think of mentioning it. To be 
 sure, I have my barometer, and it does splen- 
 didly in an emergency. I thought a bit back it
 
 4,2 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 was going to storm, but perhaps the weather 
 will change, after all. A-hem ! let me see," he 
 mused, giving the faithful instrument a tap. 
 " I really believe you're quite right, Miss 
 Jones. The barometer's gone up again; it's 
 31.05 now. Couldn't possibly get rough be- 
 fore to-morrow night! The train is due at 
 Bones at seven o'clock. Our boat will be a 
 little late this evening on account of an unus- 
 ual amount of freight. If you leave Bones 
 right after the train gets in you ought to beat 
 the Richardson down. I'll tell Captain Jacob- 
 son to watch for you, Miss Jones, so that if 
 anything happens to your engine, he will tow 
 you in." 
 
 Not everyone had implicit confidence in 
 Biggs's barometer. There was the captain of 
 the Richardson for instance; he proceeded 
 calmly back and forth on his daily trips be- 
 tween Tidewater and Bones wholly without 
 concern for the fearful portents displayed 
 by his superior's instrument. The master of 
 the gasoline sloop Albatross came in and 
 went out over the bar in blissful dis-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 43 
 
 regard of Biggs's gloomy prognostica- 
 tions. And so with the other mariners 
 whose craft plied the waters of De Poe 
 Sound and adjacent seas. Their scepticism 
 as to the accuracy of Biggs's barometer was 
 complete, yet silent. None of them were cu- 
 rious as to why the readings of Biggs's glass 
 didn't agree with theirs. They never pre- 
 sumed to investigate the inner workings of the 
 instrument itself. 
 
 Perhaps they were deterred by the awful and 
 legendary fate of one impious mortal. It is 
 told in Tidewater with bated breath how a 
 luckless summer visitor sneaked into Biggs's 
 office while he was out, or jumped over the 
 counter when he was in, or burglariously en- 
 tered at night armed with a screw-driver 
 and how Biggs got back just in time to catch 
 him, and he transfixed him with an awful Brit- 
 ish glare, or how Biggs (these are the varia- 
 tions of the legend) happened to be fishing 
 (unknown to the visitor) out of the office win- 
 dow in the dark and jigged him with a salmon 
 hook, in the felonious act of examining the
 
 44 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 aneroid in a post-mortem fashion, and finally 
 all stories agreed on this point how Biggs 
 refused to validate the visitor's return trip 
 ticket and he was obliged to pay his fare back 
 home. 
 
 The relation of this story had led to Hark- 
 away's making Biggs's acquaintance. He felt 
 sure such a man must be worth knowing; and 
 he was. As time went on the acquaintance 
 waxed into friendship and Harkaway was al- 
 lowed to talk in private with Biggs about 
 his barometer. In fact Harkaway was permit- 
 ted to pay his respects to the remarkable me- 
 teorological results that Biggs could get with 
 his aneroid, but that was as far as it went. 
 Harkaway was not allowed to experiment with 
 the weather himself. He never dared go 
 nearer than three feet to that objet d'art. 
 
 It was half an hour after the sweet young 
 tiling with the back hair and diamond ring 
 had departed that Harkaway went into 
 Biggs's office to see whether he had telephoned 
 to Bones that morning. Harkaway hadn't 
 telephoned himself but he devoutly hoped that
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 45 
 
 Biggs had. Telephoning to Bones was be- 
 come a hazardous proceeding, but Biggs, be- 
 ing an Englishman, went about such matters 
 calmly and without any regard for what the 
 other man might say. When he felt that it 
 was right for him to do a certain thing he was 
 never embarrassed for fear of possible criti- 
 cism; or, if he were entitled to a certain privi- 
 lege by law, custom or purchase, he believed 
 that no sensible person would attempt to de- 
 prive him of it, least of all object if he asked 
 for it. With these methods he usually suc- 
 ceeded, where an American, under similar cir- 
 cumstances, would stand abashed and suffer in 
 silence. 
 
 It was even averred that once the Canadian 
 Pacific had hauled an extra sleeper all the 
 way from Fort William to Winnipeg merely 
 because Biggs was entitled to a lower berth 
 and there were none but uppers left; so the 
 tale of one of Tidewater's citizens ran. It 
 appeared that the few upper berths that were 
 taken were inhabited by self-effacing Ameri- 
 cans who had accepted them meekly enough,
 
 46 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 although, like Biggs, they had been promised 
 lowers. These pilgrims from the land of the 
 free and the home of the brave, descendants 
 it is true of determined forefathers who made 
 of Boston harbour a gigantic teapot, but now, 
 alas! the long-suffering, corporation-ridden 
 Americans we all know, retired to an obscure 
 place along the platform where no one could 
 hear them or profit by their remarks, and in- 
 dividually and collectively, unanimously and 
 fervently cursed the C. P. R., the Dominion 
 Government, the climate, the days that they 
 were born, and lastly and most fervidly of all 
 a pompous Colonial official who had four sec- 
 tions and both drawing-rooms. Not so, Biggs ! 
 He was calmly telling the man at the window 
 inside the station for the fourteenth time 
 that the agent in New York had said he would 
 telegraph for a lower berth "when I bought 
 my ticket, don't you know?" 
 
 " I am sorry, sir," said the man at the win- 
 dow respectfully, "but I didn't get the wire, 
 and the lower berths are all taken. I can 
 give you an upper in the middle of the car.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF' GASOLINE 47 
 
 The ventilation is perfect, and you'll be quite 
 comfortable, sir." 
 
 "But, my dear fellow, I cawn't sleep on a 
 beastly shelf, don't you know!" objected 
 Biggs. 
 
 ; ' Very sorry, sir," answered the man at the 
 window for the fifteenth time, " but your name 
 wasn't on the purser's list and there is nothing 
 left for you, sir." The man at the window 
 referred to a notice posted conspicuously on 
 the steamer from Owen Sound to Fort Wil- 
 liam which said that passengers for Winni- 
 peg and further west, desiring sleeping ac- 
 commodations on the train should leave their 
 names with the purser. 
 
 " I don't know anything about the bally 
 purser," said Biggs firmly. "The agent in 
 New York said that he would telegraph for 
 a lower berth when I bought my ticket, don't 
 you know ! Fahncy ! " said Biggs, turning 
 around and addressing the pompous Colonial 
 official and the rest of his fellow countrymen 
 who had gathered to assist Biggs even though 
 they were plentifully supplied with lowers
 
 48 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 themselves. "Fahncy!" repeated Biggs hu- 
 morously, " Fahncy asking a purser on a boat 
 for a berth on a train. Ha, ha! " 
 
 "Ha, ha!" laughed his compatriots in uni- 
 son. 
 
 " I am very sorry, sir," said the man at the 
 window apologetically, but finally. " If I had 
 a lower, you should have it, but they are all 
 taken, sir." 
 
 "What's that?" demanded the pompous 
 Colonial official who immediately took Biggs's 
 place at the window. "I cawn't understand 
 why my friend Mr. Biggs cawn't have a lower 
 berth when the agent in New York said he 
 would telegraph when Mr. Biggs bought his 
 ticket, don't you know?" Biggs wasn't a 
 friend of the official, but on such occasions all 
 Englishmen are brothers. 
 
 " I will report this matter," continued the 
 pompous Colonial official, severely. " I will 
 write to Sir Wilfred Laurier! By Gad, I'll 
 write to the Times, sir! !" The pompous C. 
 O. stamped his cane in lieu of a gouty foot that 
 would barely allow him to walk. " JEN-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 49 
 
 KINS!" he thundered, turning to his secre- 
 tary. " Make a note that I am to write to the 
 premier of this beastly province and tell him 
 what I think of him for allowing such an out- 
 rage. GET OFF MY FOOT! D N 
 
 YOU SIR!! " he shouted at Jenkins, who, in 
 his anxiety to please had crowded in too close 
 and trod on his employer's gouty pedal ex- 
 tremity. 
 
 'Yes, sir. Thank you, sir!" said Jenkins, 
 backing away in great trepidation and writing 
 rapidly in his notebook, " Get off his excel- 
 lency's foot beg pardon, sir write to Sir 
 Wilfred Laurier, sir Times outrage man 
 in New York telegraphed when Mr. Biggs 
 
 bought his ticket, don't you kn " Jenkins 
 
 closed his notebook in a respectful manner and 
 returned it to his pocket with the remark, 
 "Very good, sir. Thank you, sir." 
 
 " There's another car, sir, that might be put 
 on the train," said the man at the window, 
 now thoroughly alarmed. " I'll wire to head- 
 quarters for instructions." 
 
 " Very good, sir," said the pompous Colon-
 
 50 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 ial official coldly. " Jenkins, write to Sir Wil- 
 fred Laurier and tell him I don't like his 
 beastly climate." 
 
 " Thank you, sir," said Jenkins. 
 
 To return to the agent at Bones, Biggs 
 called him up three times that morning, the 
 first two times without eliciting a response. 
 The third time Hammond, the American gen- 
 tleman at the other end of the line, took down 
 the receiver as soon as the hell stopped ring- 
 ing and remarked fiercely and rapidly, " Yes, 
 I know you are Biggs, agent at Tidewater. 
 I also know that you are a blooming ass! I 
 told you I told Biddleson I told Hark- 
 away that when that gas wagon was here, I'd 
 let you know. DID YOU FORGET IT? " 
 Bang! went the receiver at Bones. 
 
 "But, my dear fellow," began Biggs at his 
 
 end, " I " when he realised that the other 
 
 man had hung up, Biggs calmly returned his 
 own receiver to the hook, took it down again, 
 got Long Distance and called for Buxton, the 
 agent at Deep Water. 
 
 " This is Biggs at Tidewater," he called.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 51 
 
 " Well," answered Buxton indifferently. 
 
 "I've been talking to Bones," Biggs ex- 
 plained, " but something is the matter and I 
 can't find out what I want to know. Would 
 you mind calling them up for me? " 
 
 Biggs said " can't," not " cawn't." Fifteen 
 years of life in America had eliminated all but 
 a trace of his ultra-British accent. The var- 
 iants he pronounced as all good Americans pro- 
 nounce them, and on occasions, like the Fourth 
 of July, out of respect to his environment, he 
 even said " haf " instead of " half." Take it 
 all in all, Biggs had shown great adaptability 
 for a man of his nationality. But these were 
 not the only changes that had taken place in 
 Biggs. The characteristic apathy, the vacant 
 stare of the average English Englishman had 
 been replaced by an alert demeanour, and his 
 blue eyes displayed a twinkle that would have 
 been thought a symptom of insanity in his 
 native land. All of which tends to show that 
 an American Englishman may be an improve- 
 ment on his British prototype and that under 
 the proper stimulus a son of Albion can con-
 
 52 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 duct himself like a wide-awake human being. 
 
 " Who do you want to talk to, and what do 
 you want me to say? " demanded Buxton with 
 some acerbity. 
 
 : ' Two friends of mine are expecting a ship- 
 ment," Biggs explained. "And I want to 
 ask Hammond about it." 
 
 "What was it?" 
 
 " An automobile." 
 
 " Where was it billed to? " 
 
 " Tidewater," said Biggs. 
 
 " Should have been billed to Bones," growled 
 Buxton. "This office doesn't know of any 
 such place as Tidewater. Instructions from 
 headquarters are to bring freight for Tide- 
 water here and hold at owner's risk. Who 
 was it for, anyway?" 
 
 "Biddleson and Harkaway. Biddleson is 
 cashier of the Farmer's and Fisherman's Bank, 
 you know," Biggs went on. 
 
 " I'm not acquainted with the gent," snarled 
 Buxton. " What did you say his name was? " 
 
 " Biddleson." 
 
 " Biddleson," repeated Buxton slowly, as
 
 53 
 
 though trying to recall a name he had heard 
 some time before. " Seems to me there's an 
 automobile on the dock here for a Biddleson; 
 been lying around here in everybody's way for 
 a week. Had a good notion to heave it into 
 the bay." 
 
 "My dear chap," demanded Biggs evenly > 
 " why didn't you write to Biddleson and tell 
 him it was there? He's been looking for it for 
 a week." 
 
 "I didn't have to," snapped Buxton. "I 
 wired him an hour ago to come and get it, or 
 he'd lose it." 
 
 Of course Buxton's nasty manner wasn't 
 personal to Biggs or Biddleson. It was the 
 simple expression of his loyalty to Deep 
 Water. Deep Water hated Tidewater and 
 the history of their feud is written in the rec- 
 ord of how the railroad didn't come to Tide- 
 water, as it should have done (according to 
 the citizens of Tidewater) and instead ran 
 to Deep Water, the other side of Salmon 
 Point, to the great gratification of Deep 
 Water, which promptly advertised such a depth
 
 54 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 of water as would float the very largest steam- 
 ship in the world and pooh-poohed Tidewater 
 as a sea port, alleging in print that it hardly 
 afforded water enough at low tide to cover a 
 small clam. Tidewater sniffed and dubbed 
 Deep Water " Sahara," thus withering it Jn- 
 stantly in its budding hopes of becoming a 
 metropolis. Deep Water was in the dumps 
 after this and failed to recover when it discov- 
 ered that it was still off the map, so far as 
 Tidewater was concerned. Tidewater, on 
 one fork of the Y made by Ferdinand Arm, 
 refused to go to Deep Water as the railroad 
 terminus and established a steamboat line to 
 Bones, at the head of the Arm. This proceed- 
 ing short-circuited the current of passengers, 
 most of whom never saw Deep Water and its 
 unparalleled harbour and enormous capacity 
 for the World's Trade and so forth, but got off 
 the train at Bones, boarded the Richardson and 
 were borne down to Tidewater whence they 
 went their ways to the various parts of De Poe 
 Bay. Consequently Buxton got mad every 
 time he thought of Tidewater and as a pa-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 55 
 
 triotic citizen of that deserted town he felt it 
 his duty to sit upon each and every adherent 
 of the lower town. As agent of the road, his 
 duty in this regard was emphasised. And 
 whenever he managed to unite his office of 
 agent with his lofty position as citizen of Deep 
 Water, his manner was overwhelming and it 
 was a brave fellow who would try an issue with 
 him. 
 
 " Oh ! " was all Biggs said. He hung up the 
 receiver, went over and consulted the barom- 
 eter thoughtfully, crossed to a chair, sat 
 down, lit his pipe and awaited calmly the march 
 of events.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 A TEMPEST IN A TEAPOT MAY BE FIERCE WHILE 
 IT LASTS 
 
 THE first to inquire whether Biggs had yet tel- 
 ephoned to Bones was Harkaway. He came 
 in circumspectly, having observed a change in 
 his old friend's manner of late. The customary 
 twinkle in Biggs's eye had ceased to twink, a 
 look of hostile, rigid imbecility had temporar- 
 ily taken the place of his usual smile, a curious 
 example of temporary reversion to a congeni- 
 tal type. At such moments, the humanising 
 influence of a decade and a half in America 
 seemed to Harkaway to be slipping off Biggs, 
 as if he had lost his naturalisation papers. So, 
 being determined to get to the bottom of the 
 non-appearance of the Durable, and expect- 
 ing Biddleson at any moment on the same er- 
 rand, Harkaway paltered. 
 
 "Hello, Biggs," he said cheerfully, as 
 though he hadn't been in an hour before. 
 
 56
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 57 
 
 "Any luck with the weather these days?'* 
 Biggs was non-committal. 
 
 " I wish you would fix things up old chap so 
 that Bid and I can always have the wind at 
 our backs when the car comes and we ride on 
 the beach," he went on, amiably. 'You see, 
 Mrs. Biddleson says we can't smoke when the 
 wind's ahead; afraid the ashes will fly back. 
 No fun riding unless you can smoke. Two 
 taps will do it, just like this." 
 
 Harkaway negligently took two steps to- 
 wards the instrument as if to demonstrate. 
 He stopped in apparent surprise, exactly on 
 the right side of the dead-line across which no 
 friend of Biggs's would venture to step. 
 "A-ha!" he shouted. "That's what you've 
 been doing, is it? 28.19, was it, you told that 
 poor old guy? And now it's above 31 ! You 
 forgot to change the brass needle, old man, 
 that's all ! Can't fool me ! I saw the old party 
 from Penobscot Bay going by a few minutes 
 ago all togged up in a slicker, a pair of gum- 
 boots and a sou'wester. I wondered what the 
 matter was till he told me what your glass said.
 
 58 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Mentioned that he was going out to North 
 Head to see the surf and watch the gale send 
 the breakers tumbling across the reef. Asked 
 me if I thought it would do much damage. 
 Nice old fellow; shame to treat him like that. 
 I had him out to Harkaway's Addition early 
 this morning, and if he can see a real storm I'll 
 bet he'll buy the whole place. But what the 
 deuce'll you say when he trots back in the sun- 
 shine this afternoon, Biggs? You'll have to 
 lie, that's what ! I know it's against your prin- 
 ciples but something has got to be done to keep 
 his faith up. I can't afford to lose a sale." 
 
 Biggs refused to be angry and, on the con- 
 trary, was visibly pleased. At the suggestion 
 of possible trouble, should the old gentleman 
 return to the office and revile him, Biggs 
 chuckled and looked over at his instrument with 
 confident pride. " That barometer promises a 
 storm," he assured Harkaway solemnly. 
 " The moon changes to-morrow anyway, and I 
 saw some Mother Carey's chickens on the reef 
 this morning ; they never come in unless stormy 
 weather is approaching. Of course, they may
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 59 
 
 not have been Mother Carey's chickens, as I 
 never saw any before but once that was 
 years ago, Harkaway and it was just such a 
 day as this in August, not a breath of air stir- 
 ring, and the needle of my instrument here 
 went down like the pointer of a steam gauge 
 when the fire's gone out under the boiler. It 
 couldn't go any further down. It hugged the 
 bottom for four mortal hours 'pon my honour 
 it did ! Every boat in the harbour went up the 
 Arm to get behind that bluff at Indian Shoals 
 so they could be protected from the gale. My- 
 self, I went out to the cliff beyond Thompson's 
 to see the surf and I took a rope in case I 
 should need it. I've seen some blows on the 
 north coast of Devon, and a rope isn't a bad 
 thing to have along when one finds oneself go- 
 ing inland faster than one can run. As I was 
 saying, I went out to the cliff by Seal Rocks, 
 and when I got there I heard a most peculiar 
 noise from the hill back of the cliff. It was 
 more than a noise; it was an infernal racket. 
 It sounded like nothing so much as a million 
 dogs barking at one cat up a tree.
 
 60 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 "Of course, I knew there weren't enough 
 dogs in the county to make all that noise, but I 
 didn't pay much attention to it because I was 
 in a hurry to get myself lashed to a big fir 
 stump before the storm broke. Mind you, it- 
 was just as calm as it is this minute and it had 
 been for twenty- four hours! When I had 
 lashed myself to the stump where I could look 
 down on the rocks I was never so astonished in 
 my life. The sea was as smooth as a river. 
 You know how the water is always dashing up 
 the rocks and there are never less than fifteen 
 or twenty seals sunning themselves on top. I 
 looked again, and that was what surprised me ; 
 there wasn't a seal in sight. You know that 
 hill that I just mentioned the fearful noise 
 came from is the highest spot around here. 
 Well, I looked up and there were the seals, 
 about a hundred thousand of them I should 
 say. You see, every seal for twenty miles up 
 and down the coast knew the storm was com- 
 ing and had climbed up there to get out of the 
 wet and was barking because some other seal 
 was crowding him. I
 
 61 
 
 " That'll be enough for you, Biggs," inter- 
 rupted Harkaway, sceptically; "cut it out! I 
 don't care to hear how the wind blew when it 
 got started either! You can tell the rest of 
 that story to the old man from Maine; he'll 
 like it. Then, I'll sell him all Harkaway's 
 Addition and throw in the hill where the seals 
 were as a site for his house, eh, what? By 
 George, here comes Biddleson." 
 
 Biddleson could be seen coming rapidly 
 across the street. He rushed unceremoniously 
 into the office and thrust an opened telegram 
 under Harkaway's nose. " Just look at that ! " 
 he shouted passionately. 
 
 Harkaway suspected that the yellow paper 
 referred to the auto, but he had wanted to get 
 even with Biddleson ever since the dinner 
 episode. 
 
 " Say, Bid," he said sweetly, ignoring all 
 apparent excitement and utterly refusing to 
 look at the telegram, " Biggs has just been 
 telling me of a bully old storm he and his 
 barometer pulled off some years ago. Now, 
 there's an old chap here wants to see a storm
 
 62 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 and buy some of my property, so if Biggs can 
 just fix it up so " 
 
 "'Fix it up!" yelled Biddleson, trembling 
 with rage. "Read that, I tell you, and then 
 you'll see how he fixes things ! I had it all fig- 
 ured out that our car would get here last Sat- 
 urday, when I had plenty of time to look after 
 it. Biggs, the colossal ass, said he could fix it 
 so the machine could be unloaded at Bones on 
 Friday night and the Richardson could go up 
 for it in the morning. Why, Biggs couldn't 
 fix one 4x5 plate with a whole barrel of hypo! 
 He's fixed his last fix for me." Snapping his 
 jaws viciously, Biddleson turned and glared at 
 his erstwhile helpful friend in a most ferocious 
 manner. 
 
 ' You look warm, Rae," Biggs said quietly, 
 imitating Miriam's voice with a slight lisp. 
 " Sit down, dear, and tell us all about it." 
 
 Biddleson sank suddenly into a chair, looked 
 at the two men in a bewildered way and then 
 got up again as suddenly as he sat down, mad- 
 der than ever. He now shook the telegram in 
 Harkaway's face. "Read it!" he cried in a
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 63 
 
 rage. " Damn it, read it quick! Because the 
 man that sent it is going to eat it!" 
 
 Harkaway took the message reluctantly and 
 with misgivings. It was terse and characteris- 
 tic of the relations existing between the citizens 
 of Deep Water, alias Sahara, and those of its 
 successful rival, Tidewater. It read: 
 
 Automobile here for Biddleson and Hark- 
 away one week. Take it away or will sell to 
 pay freight charges. 
 
 BUXTON. 
 
 i 
 
 After reading the telegram Harkaway si- 
 lently handed it to Biggs. " They will have to 
 ship it back to Bones," Biggs said in his most 
 stolid British manner. 
 
 "Yes, they will! " Biddleson snorted. " Do 
 you suppose I'm going up to that heaven-for- 
 saken place three times? Once to argue with 
 Buxton over the fact that it was the railroad's 
 mistake? A second time to get him to reship 
 it to Bones? A third time to show him that I 
 don't have to pay the freight from Sahara to
 
 64 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Bones just because they carried it past? No, 
 sir ! We'll go right up now and bring it down 
 ourselves, and tell him he doesn't get another 
 cent of freight out of us; that's net! " 
 
 They already knew what the freight bill 
 would be and had agreed that each would pay 
 one-half of the one hundred and fifty dollars 
 that the railroad gets for every auto shipped 
 across the continent no matter, as Harka- 
 way put it, " whether it's a two hundred pound 
 runabout from Detroit or a ten-ton ice-wagon 
 from France." But at this point Harkaway 
 scented a fresh difficulty. " Look here, Rae," 
 he said. " Remember it's past noon and your 
 old bank is closed. Buxton won't take our 
 checks and I know him well enough to know 
 we shan't get our machine till we pay the 
 freight. Have you got a hundred and fifty in 
 your pocket? A twenty's all I've got." 
 
 Biddleson felt aimlessly in his pockets, and 
 found a ten dollar gold piece and some change 
 to match Harkaway's twenty. "We'll make 
 him take a check, that's all," he declared em- 
 phatically.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 65 
 
 " Buxton won't take a check, old man," said 
 Harkaway pacifically. But Biddleson was ob- 
 stinate. " He will take a check," he insisted. 
 "Now let's go up and get it!" 
 
 " But, my dear fellow," interposed Biggs, 
 " how are you going to do it? The Richard- 
 son is the only boat big enough to carry your 
 auto, and she must make her regular trip to 
 Bones to-night. You will have to wait till to- 
 morrow and I'll order her up to Sahara for 
 you." 
 
 This was a poser and they discussed the mat- 
 ter for some time till Biddleson had an idea. 
 " Easy enough! " he said. " We'll just run up 
 in a launch, take along a five gallon can of 
 gasoline and run her home over the road. It 
 isn't over twelve miles, anyway. We can make 
 it in an hour." 
 
 " My dear fellow," Biggs objected, " how 
 are you going to get over Salmon Point?" 
 
 Salmon Point was a rocky headland three 
 hundred and fifty feet high that poked its foot 
 into a hundred feet of water. The road went 
 over the top. In England there would have
 
 66 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 been a ledge cut around it, or a tunnel bored 
 through it from the bottom. The fact that 
 neither of these things had been done made the 
 hill an almost insuperable obstacle in Biggs's 
 mind. " You can't do it," he announced with 
 finality. 
 
 "Salmon Point!" Biddleson snorted. "If 
 the Durable can't go over that little knoll, we'll 
 go back and make Buxton a present of it. 
 Why, Biggs, that machine can climb a tree. 
 And mud! The Durable with her big wheels 
 will walk right through a bog that would mire 
 a cow. Besides, all her weight is on the rear 
 axles so she won't skid. No one ever heard of 
 a Durable's skidding! Salmon Point Hill, 
 nothing!" concluded Biddleson with deepest 
 scorn. " Why, we won't know it's there." 
 
 "I don't know that it's not skidding is an 
 advantage," Biggs remarked inanely. " There 
 are some turns in that road from Sahara that 
 a machine can't make unless she skids." 
 
 This was so evidently a surrender on Biggs's 
 part that it was generously overlooked. 
 
 "Let's get started right away," Biddleson
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 67 
 
 urged. "My wife's gone off to make calls. 
 We can slip away and get the machine and run 
 her down here and surprise everybody. We 
 won't say another word about it." 
 
 When Biddleson reached a point where he 
 affirmed that no one " need say another word 
 about it," argument was vain. Before he was 
 married, Biddleson would have joyously dis- 
 cussed any matter with anybody and would 
 have gloated and planned and entertained 
 himself vastly. But after his marriage, peo- 
 ple gradually came to know that when he had 
 found a way of doing anything without saying 
 another word, he intended to accomplish that 
 thing without delay. 
 
 'You'd better take someone along to help 
 you," Biggs advised. " Of course, you'll know 
 just what to do, but Buxton may have got 
 the men to put that auto 'way back in the 
 freight house, or on top of the platform, or 
 in a borrow pit, or have run it into a corner and 
 piled wood in front of it. A good strong man 
 will come in handy!" 
 
 Harkaway thought this was a good sugges-
 
 68 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 tion, but Biddleson wouldn't hear of it at first. 
 He seemed to think it was beneath his dignity 
 to hire a man to go up with them. But at the 
 last minute Biggs put on his coat and solved 
 the problem by remarking, "Look here, old 
 chap, I'll take you up in my launch. Then, if 
 you need any help, I'll be there.'*
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE LADIES ARE PRESENT AT THE INITIAL PER- 
 FORMANCE OF THE DURABLE 
 
 IT was just low tide, and one hour later, when 
 Biggs ran his launch Spithead up under the 
 huge wharf that had been built for all the big 
 vessels that never went to Sahara and Buxton 
 was poking his nose over the edge to see who it 
 was. He seemed ashamed of himself when he 
 was recognised, as if he had imperilled his dig- 
 nity by letting them know he had so little to 
 do that he had to come down and find out what 
 a launch was doing in Sahara. 
 
 Once inside the Sahara station Biddleson an- 
 nounced to Buxton, now behind his wicket, 
 "We've come for the automobile." 
 
 Buxton assumed an air of careless relief. 
 " Say, you fellows seem to think we're running 
 a storage place up here," he said scornfully. 
 
 69
 
 70 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 " I expect you'll find your package buried in 
 the warehouse. We couldn't hold freight just 
 for you." 
 
 " Certainly not! " said Biddleson quickly de- 
 spite Harkaway's warning glance. " The six 
 boxes of clams and three sacks of oysters that 
 you ship weekly must have crowded an auto- 
 mobile clean out of the shed. But if you'd let 
 us know that our shipping orders had been dis- 
 obeyed " 
 
 Here Harkaway stepped in and asked for 
 the freight bill in as winning a tone as possi- 
 ble, to offset the effect of Biddleson's sarcasm. 
 Buxton tossed it out, after pretending not to 
 find it among three or four hundred bills which 
 anyone could see were the train orders for the 
 time since the road was built. " One hundred 
 and fifty," he said with an air of boredom. 
 
 'We'll give you a check," Biddleson an- 
 swered, carelessly drawing his check book out 
 of his pocket. "Who'll I make it out to? 
 Yourself or the company?" 
 
 Buxton carefully reached out for the bill and 
 put it back among the train orders. " I don't
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 71 
 
 take checks from unknown parties," he an- 
 nounced crisply. " Come again when you have 
 the cash!" 
 
 "But you know me" Biddleson protested. 
 " I'm the cashier of the Farmer's and Fisher- 
 man's Bank." 
 
 Buxton became suddenly deaf, and closing 
 his little gate, stared out of it with a look of 
 polite pain. " Sorry, but I don't know you," 
 he proclaimed. " I suppose you belong down 
 the bay somewheres? " 
 
 Biddleson, ignoring this thrust, turned to 
 Harkaway. "Wish I'd thought of this in 
 time to cash it in town," he said sorrowfully. 
 
 " May be a store would cash it," Harkaway 
 said hopefully. 
 
 " There isn't a store here that I ever heard 
 of," Biddleson continued sarcastically. "And 
 you've just seen that the agent hasn't a hun- 
 dred and fifty dollars in his whole outfit! 
 You see," he went on, enjoying his own sar- 
 casm hugely, " the railroad runs these little one- 
 horse stations just like the Government runs 
 the post offices. When an office is too small
 
 72 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 you can't buy a money order or cash one, be- 
 cause the business doesn't justify putting a re- 
 sponsible man in charge. And this Sahara sta- 
 tion is the same way." He turned and smiled 
 benignantly on Buxton who had opened the 
 gate as though he contemplated squeezing him- 
 self through to talk with Biddleson. "This 
 agent here," continued Bid, "isn't allowed to 
 handle any sums over five dollars, probably, 
 and when he receives any cash he has to send 
 it right in to headquarters so they will know 
 he's doing the right thing. Of course he isn't 
 allowed to take this check, or any check." 
 
 " But he will charge us storage on the ma- 
 chine if we don't take it out," Harkaway in- 
 terposed. 
 
 "No, he won't," Biddleson assured him, 
 quite confidentially, as if Buxton were out of 
 ear-shot. " We didn't know about this state of 
 affairs, and it isn't our fault that this place 
 is too small to transact business in the usual 
 way. Besides, this agent here made the mis- 
 take of allowing the car to be unloaded here 
 when it was billed to Bones."
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 73 
 
 As he ended, Buxton slammed the wicket 
 and came out by the door. " Look-a-here, you 
 fellows," he said as soon as he got close enough 
 for them to see the rage in his eyes. " I've 
 made a mistake, have I ? Well, you'll make a 
 mistake if you don't shut up. If you make an- 
 other mistake like the mistake you've already 
 made I'll throw you into the bay, and that 
 won't be any mistake, either. I've stood all 
 your lip I'm going to. If you want that dinky 
 gas wagon, pay up! I don't know you, and 
 don't want to," he concluded, turning to Bid- 
 dleson ; " I never heard of your darned bank 
 and you needn't think for a minute that you can 
 pass a worthless check on me." 
 
 " My dear fellow," interposed Biggs calmly, 
 at this crucial moment, " if you don't think the 
 cheque is good, I'll cash it myself." Just how 
 Biggs managed to pronounce check so that it 
 sounded as though it must be spelled cheque, 
 it would be hard to say, but that was the way 
 Biggs said it. Even the court stenographers 
 spelled it " cheque," in shorthand when Biggs 
 testified as a witness. He now dug down la-
 
 74 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 boriously into a pocket wallet and brought up 
 seven twenty dollar gold pieces and a ten. 
 These he gravely exchanged for Biddleson's 
 newly made out check. 
 
 " Now," commanded Biggs, looking at Bux- 
 ton with an air of calm superiority, " my dear 
 fellow, get us a hammer and a nail-puller." 
 Buxton seemed for a moment to contemplate 
 getting a gun instead, but he thought better of 
 it and went off meekly enough for the tools. 
 He knew Biggs and had heard of the sleeping 
 car episode so he was aware that resistance 
 would be useless. 
 
 They found the automobile resting in state 
 in a large fat crate with endless cards tacked 
 over it, bits of machinery peeking out, and 
 what appeared to be a wash-boiler firmly 
 strapped in the front seat. Harkaway had 
 never seen any picture in the catalogue of an 
 automobile with a boiler on the front seat and 
 was at a loss what to think. Biddleson smiled 
 confidently and remarked in an off-hand pro- 
 fessional way, " I see they left us some as- 
 sembling to do."
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 75 
 
 While they were waiting for Buxton to come 
 back with the tools Biddleson surreptitiously 
 brought a catalogue from his pocket and con- 
 sulted it. Harkaway detected the manoeuvre 
 and promptly said, " What's that tub doing on 
 the front seat?" 
 
 "Don't you see it's tagged?" his friend re- 
 sponded irritably. "Look at the tag and 
 that'll tell you. It's the the gasoline tank, of 
 course." 
 
 " A gasoline tank without a lid strikes me 
 as being mighty careless workmanship," said 
 Harkaway, thrusting his hand in through the 
 slats of the crate for the tag. " And it doesn't 
 look like a gasoline tank, anyway. And why 
 in the front seat, Bid? " At this moment Bux- 
 ton returned and they fell to ripping off the 
 boards. 
 
 An hour later Biddleson got behind the Dur- 
 able and pushed her carefully off the skids 
 upon the floor. "There!" he said trium- 
 phantly. " She runs as easily as a baby car- 
 riage. Now we'll fill the tank and connect the 
 batteries and go."
 
 76 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Harkaway had quietly possessed himself of 
 the tag on the wash-boiler affair and found 
 that it wasn't a wash-boiler at all nor a gaso- 
 line tank, but was the case that went under 
 the machinery and caught what oil dripped 
 down. The tag stated that it wasn't put in 
 place because it might get bent there and the 
 seat was a safer place for it to travel in. So 
 now Harkaway said, " We've got to put this 
 case on, Bid, before we go." 
 
 "That's easy," Biddleson answered care- 
 lessly. " Just crawl in under and put it on, if 
 that's where it belongs." 
 
 Harkaway had never crawled under an auto 
 before and it struck him forcibly that this 
 wasn't the time to begin! He explained that 
 he had always understood that it was bad form 
 to go under a machine till you were certain it 
 wouldn't run otherwise. So he refused. 
 After arguing the question for some time Bid- 
 dleson gave in. "Oh, well," he said, "we'll 
 run back to Tidewater without it on. Who 
 wants a case over the machinery, anyway? 
 You have to take it off again whenever any- 
 thing happens."
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 77 
 
 They found the opening to the gasoline tank 
 and as there seemed to be some in it they de- 
 cided not to put in the five gallons 
 they had brought along just yet. Then 
 they connected up the batteries and 
 Biddleson assumed the responsibility of 
 tightening up a good many bolts and 
 loosening some others and generally showing 
 that he knew all about a Durable. When ev- 
 erybody was at a loss what to do next Hark- 
 away, backed by Biggs, suggested that it 
 would be well to see whether she would run or 
 not. So they took turns cranking till Bux- 
 ton, now amicable, came over and wanted to 
 know whether they hadn't better fill the lamps 
 too. 'You'll need them to see to work that 
 handle pretty soon, and anyway it's getting 
 near closing-up time and you'd better take that 
 machine outside." 
 
 So they hauled it outside and cranked some 
 more, till they found that it must be the gaso- 
 line that didn't feed Biggs bringing his 
 launch experience to bear they discovered the 
 stop cock and turned it on. When that was 
 fixed and there was a fine, gassy smell all over
 
 78 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Sahara, Biddleson climbed into the seat and 
 told Harkaway to crank her again. 
 
 " You'd better point her the way you want 
 her to go, first, hadn't you? " urged Harkaway. 
 
 "Nonsense," said Biddleson airily. " Look 
 how easily the front wheels swing when I push 
 this lever over. Anybody can steer this ma- 
 chine. Now you just go ahead and crank. 
 Crank!" 
 
 Harkaway saw that Biddleson had a firm 
 hold of the lever he was talking about. It had 
 the appearance of the handle of an old-fash- 
 ioned churn plunger, but he seemed to know 
 what it was for, so Harkaway resignedly spit 
 on his palms and turned the crank. It went 
 over so suddenly that he just had time to jerk 
 it away before the Durable swept him off his 
 feet and started briskly off for the turn of the 
 road to Tidewater. Biddleson pulled frantic- 
 ally on the lever, but without apparent effect, 
 as the Durable kept on going and was now a 
 good two hundred feet away. At the last mo- 
 ment he stepped on the reverse pedal and the 
 car started back with an awful roar just in
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 79 
 
 time to miss running down two ladies who 
 stood in the road and shrieked. 
 
 By great good luck Biddleson managed to 
 stop the machine's backward rush by standing 
 on the brake. The Durable gave one or two 
 spasmodic coughs, an ineffectual lurch, and 
 came to a dead stop exactly as it was about to 
 thrust the indomitable Biggs, who had his 
 back against it, over the edge of the wharf and 
 into the water. Biggs gingerly stepped out 
 of his dangerous position and received Harka- 
 way's thanks and congratulations calmly. 
 " One more cough and you'd have smashed my 
 launch down there," he explained. 
 
 At the end of the profound silence that fol- 
 lowed this spectacular stop and Biggs's serene 
 excuse for his heroic presence of mind, the two 
 ladies gradually recovered their courage and 
 approached. 
 
 Biddleson dropped the steering lever and 
 called out hastily, masking his surprise, " My 
 dear, you shouldn't get right in front of an 
 automobile that way. I almost ran you 
 down."
 
 80 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Harkaway stared and saw that it was Mir- 
 iam, but not alone. He wondered who the 
 tall and good looking young woman with her 
 was. " Miriam is always picking up a new 
 friend," he thought to himself. 
 
 " I thought it would be fine to come over the 
 trail and~ meet you boys," Miriam said tri- 
 umphantly, "I told Dorothy it would be just 
 the thing and besides she didn't get her trunk 
 last night and Captain Jacobson said it might 
 have been carried to Sahara by mistake you 
 know they do that once in a while, Mr. Hark- 
 away," she added, blithely ignoring the ob- 
 vious fact that this very error was responsible 
 for the presence of the Durable where it was. 
 
 Miriam, it could be seen, was in ex- 
 cellent humour and went on happily, 
 " Captain Jacobson told us Mr. Biggs 
 had brought you up here in his launch 
 for the automobile and he thought we'd 
 have plenty of time to get here before you 
 started. And even if you did start before we 
 arrived we'd meet you somewhere. Now, Dor- 
 othy, you get in the back seat with Mr. Hark-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 81 
 
 away. Mr. Harkaway, help her in. Rae, 
 which side do you sit on to run it? The right 
 side? Well, help me in and I'll sit on the left 
 side. ~Now when you get in, Mr. Harkaway, 
 we're all ready and let's go. We'll he back 
 just in time for dinner." 
 
 But Mrs. Biddleson had counted without 
 Biggs. That individual now came up and re- 
 marked, " Glad to see you, Mrs. Biddleson. 
 Bid, you've forgot that other case. Buxton 
 says it's yours, too. I just looked in it and 
 it seems to he wheels and a hig buggy seat." 
 
 Biddleson seemed tremendously relieved and 
 dropped the starting handle to the ground. 
 "We clean forgot that rumble seat and the 
 extra wheels," he exclaimed. "We must get 
 them, Hark, and take 'em along." 
 
 " But where will you put them?" demanded 
 his wife. " There isn't any room for them in 
 the car and we must be home by six o'clock, 
 Rae." 
 
 Dorothy cast a quizzical glance upon the dis- 
 comfited Harkaway. 'You see, you men 
 came up here expecting to do all this quietly
 
 82 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 and without bothering about us," she re- 
 marked. " And now we've taken quite the en- 
 tire charge of the expedition. Do you feel 
 very angry?" 
 
 Harkaway caught the mischievous gleam 
 under the dark lashes and mustered all his po- 
 liteness. "I'm sure we're exceedingly glad," 
 he murmured. "But what shall we do with 
 the rest of the stuff?" 
 
 " Leave it till to-morrow," said Mrs. Biddle- 
 son promptly, settling herself back in the seat 
 and brushing some excelsior from her skirt. 
 
 " I tell you what I'll do," said Biggs, look- 
 ing intently at Dorothy. " I'll take that stuff 
 back with me in the launch." 
 
 " Now that's what I call a good fellow," said 
 Harkaway heartily. 
 
 "Well, if that's arranged," Miriam re- 
 marked, "let's be going on. Rae!" 
 
 Harkaway glanced at Biddleson, smiled 
 slightly and jumped in beside Dorothy. Then 
 he leaned out of the tonneau and said loudly, 
 "Bid, we're all ready!" 
 
 Biddleson picked up the tools and looked 
 savagely into the works and generally delayed
 
 83 
 
 matters while Biggs and the now thoroughly 
 tamed Buxton packed the contents of the other 
 box into the launch. But he kept this up too 
 long, for Mrs. Bidddleson got worried sud- 
 denly and said, "Rae, is there anything the 
 matter with this automobile? Is there? Why 
 didn't you tell me there was?" She immedi- 
 ately prepared to climb out again. 
 
 " There is nothing the matter," he responded 
 gloomily. "Only that dub that shipped it 
 from Chicago had things mixed up so I have to 
 look closely to see whether everything is all 
 right again." 
 
 Here Dorothy leaned out again and said, 
 " Rae, you can't fool me. I saw you running 
 this machine not half an hour ago. You don't 
 want to show off; and, besides, you're angry 
 because Miriam and I are here. Why don't 
 you let Mr. Harkaway have a try at it?" 
 
 "No, really," said Harkaway hastily. "I 
 actually know nothing about this car. Bid is 
 the boy! Climb in, Bid, and show the ladies 
 how nicely it runs." With this he settled him- 
 self firmly in his seat, secretly prepared to 
 jump for his life, as soon as occasion arose.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 BIDDLESON ENLARGES HIS KNOWLEDGE OF 
 MECHANICS 
 
 WITH an air of hopeless martyrdom Biddle- 
 son got in after solemnly cranking the engine 
 and handing the handle up to Harkaway as 
 though it were a last keep-sake and he must 
 carry it in his lap and never again lose sight 
 of it no matter what happened. Then he 
 firmly took hold of the lever that controlled 
 the destinies of the Durable. His lips moved 
 as he cautiously depressed the whole business, 
 which, the book of instructions said, was the 
 proper manoeuvre to put the low gear into 
 commission. This was correct, but he had his 
 heel on the reverse pedal he hoped it was the 
 brake and there was a loud, harsh buzz under 
 the seat and the machine remained motionless 
 except for some apparent excitement in the in- 
 terior. Bid hastily restored the lever to the 
 "first position" and carefully and anxiously 
 
 84
 
 85 
 
 pulled the handle toward his chin. This time 
 he got results, but of a different character. 
 His foot still being on the reverse pedal the 
 Durable started backwards towards the edge of 
 the wharf. 
 
 When it was stopped and Harkaway had 
 cranked the engine again and Biddleson had 
 assured Miriam that his foot was off the re- 
 verse pedal, Harkaway climbed in and Bid- 
 dleson pulled the churn-handle up and the 
 Durable slowly gained momentum. Then it 
 cheerfully tuck-tucked away towards the turn 
 in the road while Miriam smiled sweetly and 
 Dorothy said, " What a lark if he missed the 
 turn!" 
 
 She said this at exactly the right time, and 
 Biddleson and Harkaway both got out to pull 
 the car out of the brush and straighten it out 
 so that when it was started again it would have 
 plain sailing. As Harkaway climbed back 
 into the tonneau Dorothy gave him a look that 
 seemed to congratulate him on his silence. He 
 returned this glance as haughtily as possible 
 and she laughed outright.
 
 86 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 "What in the world is that child giggling 
 at?" Mrs. Biddleson demanded softly, nudg- 
 ing her husband's arm. 
 
 " Don't touch me! " Biddleson snorted, jam- 
 ming the lever down and putting on the brake. 
 This manoeuvre the brake seemed to take hold 
 with its teeth resulted in Mrs. Biddleson's 
 leaning over directly in the line of her hus- 
 band's vision. When she recovered her bal- 
 ance and the car started on again, Harkaway 
 made stealthy motions to Dorothy to inform 
 her that this was no season for remarks of any 
 kind. She seemed rather astonished but was 
 silent. 
 
 The first mile was made in good style. An- 
 other mile was traversed with equally bril- 
 liant results. 
 
 At last they came to Salmon Point Hill, and 
 ominously steep it looked. Biddleson gave 
 one glance at it, then stopped the car abruptly. 
 
 "Why do you stop, Rae?" asked Miriam, 
 plaintively, " I thought we were going beauti- 
 fully just then." 
 
 " Question of gear," replied Biddleson, with
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 87 
 
 a crushing air of knowledge. " Say, Hark," 
 he went on eagerly, "what do you think of 
 taking it on the high to test her out? " 
 
 "The low is surer," said Harkaway, du- 
 biously, glancing about him as if searching for 
 a good place to jump. " When we know the 
 machine better, perhaps " 
 
 " What do they mean? " inquired Miriam, in 
 an audible aside to Dorothy. " Do you believe 
 they know anything about it?" 
 
 Dorothy giggled. 
 
 " Oh, rot! " was Biddleson's answer to Hark- 
 away. " I know this machine all right. The 
 catalogue says she can eat up all kinds of hills 
 on the high, so here goes ! " 
 
 With an air of confidence he manipulated 
 the handle, properly this time, and the Durable 
 started up with painful slowness. Soon a loud 
 knocking under the seat announced that the 
 engine was all in; almost immediately that 
 mechanism ceased its laboured movements, and 
 died. 
 
 "This is where I get out," said Dorothy, 
 promptly leaving the car. Harkaway fol-
 
 88 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 lowed her, and from the vantage ground of 
 a wayside rock parleyed with Biddleson, who 
 was still determined to use the high gear to 
 
 mount the hill. " The catalogue says " he 
 
 began again. "Bother the catalogue," said 
 Harkaway, "I know the low is better!" 
 
 " What's the matter with the intermediate? " 
 demanded Biddleson, quickly turning over the 
 pages of his catalogue. " Er that is, I guess 
 you're right, old man," he went on, hastily, ob- 
 serving that the Durable had no intermediate 
 gear. 
 
 Harkaway, with exemplary patience, 
 cranked the machine once more, and followed 
 Dorothy into the tonneau. 
 
 To get the low gear into operation, accord- 
 ing to the book of instructions, one should 
 press a button in the middle of the churn han- 
 dle and then slowly but firmly thrust the whole 
 works towards the centre of the earth. That 
 sounded quite easy, so Biddleson released the 
 brake and pressed the handle with great firm- 
 ness, but forgot to put his thumb on the but- 
 ton. The handle stayed where it was; the
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 89 
 
 Durable retired inexorably down the hill, the 
 engine racing madly. In his excitement Bid- 
 dleson jerked the handle almost out by the 
 roots and then everything stopped, and Mrs. 
 Biddleson discovered the wash-boiler, which 
 had been stowed on the foot-board, right 
 against her feet. "Of course it won't go up 
 the hill when this thing isn't on," she said. 
 
 This interested Dorothy and she leaned over 
 to inspect it and inquired what it was. Hark- 
 away told her it was to screw on under the en- 
 gine to keep the dust out and the oil in. 
 " Then it wouldn't help us up the hill," she 
 said. " For it would be useless unless the en- 
 gine was going. And the engine has stopped." 
 
 This was not to be denied and even Biddle- 
 son acknowledged that there was nothing to do 
 but crank the engine again. Harkaway got 
 the crank and tried to turn it. It wouldn't 
 turn. Biddleson looked over his shoulder at 
 him. "By jove! you've bent it," he said. 
 
 " I didn't," Harkaway replied angrily. 
 
 "Well, it won't go," said Biddleson, as 
 though that settled it.
 
 90 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 At this moment Miriam took hold of the 
 churn handle to assist her in rising out of her 
 seat. In doing so she pulled it downwards and 
 thus released the high speed clutch which Bid- 
 dleson had set in his frantic efforts to do some- 
 thing a few minutes before. This freed the 
 engine and the car dropped backwards. 
 
 " There ! " said Dorothy, when she had stuck 
 a block of wood under the rear wheel and the 
 Durable was stationary again. "Aren't you 
 glad we got out? " 
 
 Biddleson said nothing but got out, too. " I 
 think you'd better get in and hold things while 
 I see what the matter is, Hark," he said. 
 
 "Hold nothing," Harkaway responded, 
 glaring into the now fast declining sun. " If 
 you think she's going to start, sit on that 
 block of wood to keep her from going back- 
 wards. You can make a noise like the Rock 
 of Gibraltar, if you want. I'm going to 
 smoke a cigarette." He retired to a grassy 
 bank by the roadside to smoke and watch 
 Biddleson get busy with the works. The 
 crank seemed to be the only thing that had
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 91 
 
 netted positive results, so he began with that. 
 He carefully inserted it in the hole provided 
 for it on the starboard side of the Durable, 
 gave it a mighty push, and to everybody's 
 huge surprise and his own proud delight the 
 Durable's three cylinders took hold at once 
 and buzzed in a loud and agreeable way sug- 
 gesting speed, power and presently the top of 
 Salmon Point Hill. 
 
 " I thought so," said Bid importantly. 
 
 " Well, why didn't you say so, then? " asked 
 /Miriam with some asperity. 
 
 Biddleson didn't answer this question; he 
 couldn't. Silently they all climbed back into 
 their seats and arranged themselves comfort- 
 ably while Bid experimented with the button 
 in the handle. Slowly and properly, this 
 time he depressed the lever. They could all 
 feel the friction band take hold and hear the 
 harsh grating of the low speed gears getting 
 down to work. The Durable calmly moved 
 forward away from the block of wood that 
 Dorothy had left under the wheel. This ma- 
 jestic progress was continued for at least six
 
 92 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 inches when the car stopped again. Some- 
 thing unusual was happening in the mechanical 
 department of the Durable. "Mercy!" 
 screamed Miriam, who had gone through the 
 San Francisco earthquake. " What on earth is 
 that?" 
 
 The whole party felt three distinct seismic 
 shocks. The Durable moved forward and 
 backward with an undulating movement. The 
 first shock took the car forward a half -inch, 
 then they slipped back to within four inches 
 of the block; the next shock enabled them to 
 recover a quarter-inch of the distance lost ; the 
 third shock was weaker and unimportant and 
 the Durable returned permanently to anchor- 
 age. Without a word, Miriam jumped out of 
 the car. "No one could tell what the thing 
 was going to do next," she explained later 
 with much dignity. The rest were more de- 
 liberate, but disembarked. Harkaway retired 
 again to his seat on the bank to soothe his 
 troubled nerves with nicotine. Biddleson, pale 
 but game, took the wrench from the pocket 
 where he carried it, gathered up the crank and
 
 FIVE GAIXONS OF GASOLINE 93 
 
 the oil-can that they had evidently intended to 
 leave on the spot as a trophy and bravely at- 
 tacked the silent Durable. 
 
 He first removed the cushioned front seats 
 that hid the engine from view. Miriam took 
 one and Dorothy appropriated the other, and 
 they joined Harkaway by the roadside. Bid- 
 dleson then removed the detachable tonneau 
 and jacked up the front wheels before he 
 thought to take off his coat. It occurred to 
 him while he was hunting for his pipe that he 
 was not only warm, but he was mussing up his 
 coat; so he took it off and lit his pipe. He 
 smoked thoughtfully and deliberately as he 
 surveyed the various parts of the Durable that 
 cluttered up the highway. 
 
 " Why doesn't he do something? " said Mrs. 
 Biddleson impatiently, as if her husband hadn't 
 done too much already. As a matter of fact 
 Biddleson was stuck. He couldn't think of 
 anything else to do except putting the things 
 back again and that he didn't wish to do be- 
 cause it would have made his original perform- 
 ance seem purposeless.
 
 94. FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 "Rae is quite a machinist," remarked Dor- 
 othy to the inscrutable Harkaway. " Isn't 
 he?" 
 
 ' Yes," Harkaway answered lazily. " Most 
 energetic and competent, too. I couldn't have 
 taken that tonneau off in half the time. I 
 wonder, though, what he'll do next. I sup- 
 pose he'll crank it." 
 
 Sure enough, Biddleson cranked it. And 
 while he laboured over that device Harkaway 
 reclined at his ease in the shadow of the hill and 
 smoked. Below not very far below to be 
 sure, because they hadn't attained any great 
 altitude yet lay beautiful De Poe Sound 
 glittering in the sunshine. Back in the 
 direction of Sahara, Biggs could be seen 
 coming slowly but surely with the launch. 
 With him, besides the wheels and rumble seat, 
 was the five-gallon can of gasoline that Bid- 
 dleson had ordered Harkaway to empty into 
 the tank of the Durable. Harkaway now re- 
 membered with a sinking heart that he had for- 
 gotten that important ceremony and it was 
 clear to his mind that what had brought them
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 95 
 
 thus far on their way was only the cupful or 
 so left in the machine at the factory. He 
 wisely concluded to say nothing of his neglect 
 until Biggs with their five-gallon can came 
 within hailing distance. 
 
 Why, he asked himself cannily, should he 
 bring down on his head the wrath and scorn 
 of the whole party to no purpose? When 
 Biggs arrived it would be time enough, and 
 possibly he could manage to lay the blame on 
 Biddleson. The scene was one of peace and 
 quiet peace, except for Biddleson's mad la- 
 bours with the crank and Mrs. Biddleson's very 
 proper anxiety regarding the dinner which, 
 she was sure, would be spoiled, and her fre- 
 quent questions as to why Rae didn't turn the 
 crank the other way. 
 
 It suddenly occurred to Harkaway that he 
 didn't know who the girl by his side was. 
 She was evidently a very close friend of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Biddleson. It was just as evident 
 that she wasn't Miriam's sister, for Miriam's 
 sister was only a little girl and they called her 
 "the babe" and "the kid." Hadn't Bid no
 
 96 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 more than a week ago remarked that his sister- 
 in-law was in a school in the East " growing 
 up"? He determined to devote the brief 
 leisure at his disposal to finding out who Dor- 
 othy was. A Sherlock Holmes would have 
 solved the mystery by asking at once, but 
 Harkaway preferred to be more subtle. 
 
 " Biddleson isn't a bad sort when you know 
 him," he began, turning to Dorothy. " Really, 
 he's quite mild-mannered and polite, even if 
 you shouldn't think so just now." At that 
 moment Bid was up on his feet and stamping 
 the ground in a fearful rage because the crank 
 had slipped and he had gone down with it and 
 bumped his head on the way. 
 
 "When I know him?" queried Dorothy, as 
 though she didn't understand. 
 
 'Yes," said Harkaway, in enthusiastic ap- 
 proval of his friend. ' You should see him in 
 his proper environment, in all the glory of his 
 glad rags, presiding with grace and dignity at 
 a public banquet, or smiling genially at a quiet 
 little dinner at home. He presents a much 
 better appearance, too, with a carving knife in
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 97 
 
 his right hand and the fork in the other than 
 he does with an oil-can in his right fist, a 
 monkej 7 ' wrench in his left and a smudge of 
 grease across his forehead, to say nothing of a 
 grievous desire to swear. Bid is labouring 
 under certain disadvantages that don't often 
 occur and some day you'll recall with wonder 
 this painful scene." 
 
 Biddleson was labouring under disadvan- 
 tages. He was back at work with the crank, 
 but was savagely turning it the wrong way in 
 response to an insistent demand from his wife 
 that he try it just once. She had gone over 
 to see that he did it, and stood by, awaiting 
 results and silently approving her own re- 
 source fulness. 
 
 " I suppose you've known Mrs. Bid longer 
 than you have her husband," continued Hark- 
 away, hoping that Dorothy would say some- 
 thing that would give him a clue to her iden- 
 tity. 
 
 " Is it possible you don't know who I am? " 
 Dorothy was about to say, but didn't. Instead 
 she remarked hesitatingly, "Ye-e-es, I've
 
 98 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 known her a little longer. I suppose you've 
 known them a long time." 
 
 " Known 'em always," answered Harkaway. 
 " I can't remember the time when Bid wasn't 
 bothering around. And Mrs. Bid, why, when 
 she was a little girl I used to hold her on 
 
 my " Harkaway stopped. The idea of 
 
 his holding Mrs. Biddleson on his knees even 
 when she was a little girl seemed preposterous 
 all at once. 
 
 " NTo one can tell me anything about the De 
 Poes," resumed Harkaway, speaking rapidly 
 to cover his confusion. "Knew 'em all: 
 grandfather, grandmother, uncles, cousins and 
 aunts, her a " 
 
 'You know her sister?" interrupted Doro- 
 thy, guilelessly. 
 
 "Sister!" echoed Harkaway. "Why, of 
 course. She a she's Why, to be sure," he 
 stammered, racking his mind for some fact 
 regarding Mrs. Biddleson's sister. " Yes," he 
 said, "I know her well. Too well, if any- 
 thing," he added, a faint recollection coming 
 to him. " Beastly little nuisance," he went on
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 99 
 
 as the memory became clearer; "short dresses, 
 long hair, black eyes and acted as if she knew 
 everything. She's away at school somewhere. 
 Lord, I hope she'll never come back! You 
 know Miriam talks of marrying her off to me, 
 but I guess not ! They used to call her used 
 to call her " 
 
 "Dolly!" called Mrs. Biddleson oppor- 
 tunely, as though to assist Harkaway in grop- 
 ing for the name. " Dolly, dear, come here a 
 minute!" 
 
 'Yes, they used to call me Dolly," said 
 Dorothy haughtily. "And 111 try, Mr. 
 Harkaway, not to be a beastly nuisance and I 
 promise faithfully not to marry you." She 
 got up from the auto seat as gracefully and 
 with as much dignity as she could, and stalked 
 stiffly across the road to her sister. 
 
 " That's another time I was an ass," thought 
 Harkaway miserably. "So that's the ' baby ' 
 Bid said Miriam would marry me to only she 
 was too young. It's all off now, anyway," he 
 reflected in great gloom. " She wouldn't 
 marry me in a thousand years! I'll get even
 
 100 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 with somebody for this. Bid got me into this 
 mess and I'll fix him. If it wasn't his fault 
 about that gasoline, it won't be mine I'll 
 make sure of that!" 
 
 "Say, Bid!" he called as he walked across 
 the road to the dismantled Durable. " I'll bet 
 money you turned off the gasoline that last 
 stop you made. Turn it on again and perhaps 
 she'll run." 
 
 " I never touched it," said Bid indignantly. 
 
 " She was going all right up to then, wasn't 
 she?" demanded Harkaway. 
 
 'Yes," Biddleson admitted doubtfully. 
 
 "Well, why isn't she going now?" insisted 
 Harkaway. 'You turned off the gasoline, 
 that's what you did." 
 
 " I say I didn't turn it off," said Biddleson 
 angrily. "It's on now, and you can see for 
 yourself if you don't believe it." 
 
 " Sure enough," agreed Harkaway, after 
 giving the valve apparently a careful look. 
 "But I can't see why she won't go! You've 
 done everything there is to be done except take 
 off the wheels and remove the transmission
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 101 
 
 gear and I'm sure you've made some mistake 
 about the gasoline. The best car ever built 
 won't run without gasoline, you know." 
 
 "Perhaps there isn't any gasoline," sug- 
 gested Dorothy. 
 
 "Gasoline!" snorted Biddleson. "We've 
 got five gallons in the tank. Harkaway knows 
 that because he put it in himself, that is, unless 
 he forgot." 
 
 "Me!" exclaimed Harkaway with a great 
 show of indignation. " You needn't think you 
 can blame me because I didn't put gasoline in 
 the tank. You are the one who didn't put 
 gasoline in the tank. You can't deny that!" 
 This accusation was so obviously a fact that 
 Bid didn't even attempt to deny it. Never- 
 theless, he wasn't quite satisfied with the po- 
 sition that Harkaway had got him into. 
 "Didn't I tell you to fill the tank?" he said 
 harshly. 
 
 ;< You told me to fill the water tank," replied 
 Harkaway evasively. "You don't suppose I 
 put the gasoline into that, do you? While 
 I was carrying the water I heard you fussing
 
 102 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 around because you couldn't find a tin fun- 
 nel and a chamois skin rag. No one but a 
 blooming chump would go to that bother un- 
 less he intended to use 'em." 
 
 " I couldn't find 'em either," said Biddleson 
 gloomily. 
 
 " Then we haven't any gasoline," Harkaway 
 said with conviction. 
 
 "Let's look," said Bid. He unscrewed the 
 cap, leaned over and peered into the long 
 cylindrical hole anxiously. 'You'd better 
 look, Hark. I couldn't see any. My eyes are 
 getting weak, though," he added hopefully. 
 
 Harkaway looked carefully into the dark- 
 ness of the tank, slowly and silently screwed 
 the cap on again, lit a cigarette, climbed into 
 the detached tonneau reposing by the road- 
 side, its front facing the water like a gigantic 
 scoop shovel, sat down and gazed meditatively 
 at the mountains on the other side of the bay. 
 
 " Well, why don't you say something?" de- 
 manded Mrs. Biddleson impatiently. 
 
 " There isn't even a smell," he announced 
 and relapsed into silence.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 103 
 
 "What are we going to do?" she asked in 
 despair. 
 
 " There's Biggs; perhaps he has some," sug- 
 gested Harkaway. 
 
 "Who is Biggs?" inquired Dorothy, with 
 interest. 
 
 'Yon is Biggs!" Harkaway answered, 
 pointing dramatically at the approaching 
 launch, which, loaded to the guards with the 
 four extra wheels, the rumble seat and the 
 red, brass-bound trunk, looked like a carriage 
 factory at sea. 
 
 " Hi, there ! Biggs ! " shouted Biddleson. 
 
 "Harvey!" called Mrs. Biddleson shrilly. 
 
 "Mr. Biggs!" ventured Dorothy, not so 
 loud. 
 
 The launch, coughing steadily, ran in to 
 shore, poking her nose softly into the sand. 
 Biggs stepped carefully out, and climbed up 
 the bank, bringing with him the five gallon can 
 of gasoline which he silently handed to Biddle- 
 son. He lifted his cap politely to Mrs. Biddle- 
 son and, without looking at Dorothy, went back 
 and got into his boat.
 
 104 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 " Thanks, old man," Harkaway called. 
 
 "Don't mention it," Biggs answered. "I 
 thought you might need it." 
 
 "Useful, but not at all sociable, it seems," 
 said Dorothy, piqued by the fact that the 
 rather handsome Englishman hadn't noticed 
 her. "Who did you say he was? " 
 
 "I didn't say," replied Harkaway. "But 
 he is the owner of the only well trained barom- 
 eter in America, the agent of the Tidewater 
 Navigation Company, an English gentleman 
 who won't even look at you until he is prop- 
 erly introduced. I will present him in due 
 form when next we meet." 
 
 " But you haven't met me yourself," objected 
 Dorothy, lightly. 
 
 " No," Harkaway returned. " But I knew 
 your grandfather, grandmother, your cousins, 
 
 uncles, aunts and and " He hesitated, 
 
 looked at Dorothy, saw a gleam of forgiveness 
 in her eyes and concluded, "and little Dolly, 
 who was really a clever and interesting child 
 and has grown into a lovely woman." 
 
 " That's better," laughed Dorothy. " I ac-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 105 
 
 cept your apologies. Let's get into the car 
 and show them how to run it." She climbed 
 into the front seat of the reassembled Durable 
 and smiled down at him. " Come on," she 
 said. 
 
 Harkaway didn't know much about it, but 
 he concluded that Biddleson had distinguished 
 himself sufficiently, so he climbed in just after 
 Biddleson had cranked the engine (this time 
 with complete success) and to his great delight 
 the Durable moved forward and they went 
 gaily and easily up the hill, pretending all the 
 time not to hear Bid shouting behind until they 
 reached the top.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 A RIDE IN MRS. THOMPSON^ CAR 
 
 WHEN Biddleson and his wife came up they 
 were too tired and out of breath to do more 
 than climb into the tonneau and glare speech- 
 lessly at the occupants of the front seat, who 
 didn't mind it much, because their backs were 
 turned. 
 
 All went well until they finally reached the 
 ferry landing. Tidewater lay on both sides of 
 Ferdinand Arm and the quickest route to Bid- 
 dleson's home was by way of the scow-like 
 ferry that made voyages as often as a pas- 
 senger appeared. The landing was merely a 
 bit of gravel at the end of the road and here 
 Harkaway stopped to wait for the boat, which 
 was just coming across. 
 
 When it finally swung up to the tug of the 
 cable that kept it on its course, and the apron 
 had been let down, Harkaway started to run 
 
 106
 
 107 
 
 the car up on the deck, but the ferryman 
 stopped him. "You've got to obey regula- 
 tions," he said, "and stop your engine, turn 
 off your gasoline and disconnect your bat- 
 teries." 
 
 Biddleson recovered his voice long enough to 
 inquire, "What for?" So the ferryman took 
 him into the little cabin and showed him a long 
 list of rules about automobiles and made him 
 pay a dollar for fare. After this they were 
 all right and the ferry started splashing back 
 to Tidewater West, as the maps called it. 
 
 While they were going across Dorothy re- 
 marked that the tide was pretty low and they 
 would have to climb a very steep bank on the 
 other side to reach the road. The ferryman 
 seemed to think this a reflection on his boat, 
 but Dorothy explained that it wasn't at all; 
 she meant that they had had a slight difficulty 
 in getting up a hill and that she was merely 
 wondering how they were going to get the car 
 off the boat, " especially as you won't allow us 
 to start our engine till we get ashore." 
 
 The ferryman apologised for this and said
 
 108 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 that the Government made the rules about such 
 things and that he couldn't help it. 
 
 " But you don't mean that we must push this 
 automobile off the boat and into the wet sand 
 before we start it up?" she demanded. 
 
 ' Yes, ma'am, them's the rules," was the 
 reply. " But I've got a block and tackle that 
 I use for hauling heavy wagons off the boat 
 and up the hill when the tide is low and the 
 teams can't pull 'em up," he said. " We'll 
 hitch that line to your automobile and then I'll 
 back the boat out. That'll pull you right up, 
 for I'll tie the other end of the line to the ferry 
 boat." 
 
 This gratified Biddleson greatly, though 
 Mrs. Biddleson seemed doubtful whether it 
 was a fitting entrance into town for a brand 
 new car. When the ferry pushed her nose into 
 the sand on the other side, Bid called that it 
 was time to get out and push. He and Hark- 
 away put their shoulders to the rear of the 
 Durable and it ran off the ferry and stuck on 
 the apron, with the front wheels deep in the 
 sand.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 109 
 
 Then the ferryman hitched on his tackle to 
 the front axle and backed his boat away and 
 the Durable came to a second standstill with 
 its rear wheels in two feet of water. For as 
 soon as the ferryboat backed out and hauled 
 on the line that went up the hill and down again 
 to the car, there appeared a gap between the 
 boat and the shore which the Durable filled 
 with exactitude. 
 
 " Now you've done it," said Miriam, gazing 
 wildly over the side and waving her hand at 
 her husband. 
 
 Even the ferryman was sorry. "But the 
 tide's coming in," he said comfortingly. 
 "And you'll float off pretty soon." 
 
 " Why don't you keep on backing? " Biddle- 
 son demanded wrathfully. " Go on and pull it 
 out on the dry sand." 
 
 "You're sure it won't hurt anything?" 
 the ferryman asked. 
 
 They all assured him that the damage was 
 done, so he started his wheezy engine and the 
 paddle wheels revolved and very slowly the 
 Durable emerged from the water and came to
 
 110 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 rest at the foot of the steep little bluff that 
 marked the top of high tide. Mrs. Biddle- 
 son promptly got out and Biddleson and Hark- 
 away took turns at cranking the engine. But 
 they found it wouldn't go, on account of some- 
 thing or other. 
 
 After they had blistered their hands turning 
 the handle, Dorothy, who was seated comfort- 
 ably in the car, suggested a horse. She was 
 tired, she said, of staying in one place so long. 
 
 " Oh, we'll get it to going pretty soon," they 
 assured her. 
 
 " I'm glad of that," she answered, " for the 
 tide is coming in fast and it's getting dark." 
 
 Harkaway did not object to the darkness, for 
 he knew that several people who had looked 
 down and seen the Durable planted in the sand 
 had only refrained from stopping to help be- 
 cause it was dinner time. He felt sure they 
 would be back after dinner and try to be help- 
 ful with advice. But in the dark they might 
 not see the car and go past. He wondered 
 anxiously whether there were a moon. At this 
 moment he discovered that the wash-boiler was
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 111 
 
 floating off by itself on the rising tide which 
 was again lapping the rear wheels of the Dur- 
 able. Biddleson saw it, too, and started to 
 wade out to sea to retrieve it. And in the 
 meanwhile Harkaway found out what was the 
 matter. He did this through an inspiration 
 which came from Dorothy. "There's water 
 in the carburetor," she whispered, leaning over. 
 
 "How do you know?" he demanded, wel- 
 coming the information, but rather resenting 
 its source. 
 
 "Never mind," she answered succinctly. 
 " Get it out." 
 
 And get it out he did. " Now," commanded 
 Dorothy imperiously, "crank her." 
 
 The Durable gave a short, asthmatic cough, 
 and then another a little clearer. The third 
 gasp shooed all the remaining salt water out 
 through the muffler and the three cylinders 
 settled down to a rhythmic hum. One of 
 the main excellent features of the Durable was 
 the fact that the gasoline tank, the carburetor 
 and the other fixings of an inflammable char- 
 acter were placed very low lower than the en-
 
 112 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 gine, to be explicit so, the manufacturer ex- 
 plained, if the gasoline did happen to leak it 
 would fall on the ground and not on the hot 
 engine, thus reducing the danger of fire to a 
 minimum. While this was very good, it al- 
 lowed the air-intake to suck in water when the 
 Durable's rear wheels were partly submerged. 
 
 "Don't do that!" said Harkaway sharply 
 to Dorothy, who had her hand on the churn 
 handle, perilously near the safety button. 
 
 "Don't do what?" 
 
 " Don't touch that button. If you do she'll 
 start." 
 
 " Will it go if I push it? " inquired Dorothy 
 innocently. 
 
 " Yes, and if you push down that handle." 
 
 "Well, good-bye," she cried gaily. "I'm 
 going. Don't lose the crank." She released 
 the safety button, confidently pushed down the 
 lever until the low gear engaged and opened 
 the throttle by twisting the handle. The Dur- 
 able moved forward freely and easily, and 
 with her engine purring like a cat, slid up the 
 steep bluff , swept by Mrs. Biddleson who stood
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 113 
 
 screaming with astonishment and terror. 
 "Jump! jump! Dolly! Jump!" she cried. 
 
 But Dolly didn't jump. Instead, she skil- 
 fully turned to the left and down the street. 
 They could hear the honk-honk of the horn 
 as she disappeared around the corner by the 
 bank. 
 
 " Once more I w r as an ass," said Harkaway 
 ferociously. " That girl knows more about an 
 auto in a minute than I do in a week." Twirl- 
 ing the now useless starting handle savagely he 
 waded ashore in water now ankle deep. 
 
 "She will get killed!" wailed Mrs. Biddle- 
 son. 
 
 "No, she won't," Harkaway assured her. 
 " She has probably gone home to rescue the 
 dinner." 
 
 "Rae!" called Miriam, feeling that she 
 ought to be sorry about someone. Her hus- 
 band was carelessly splashing through the 
 water, having rescued the drip-pan. " Come 
 out of the water at once, you'll catch your 
 death-of-cold." 
 
 Just what a death-of-cold is, has never been
 
 114. FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 accurately defined. It seems that when one 
 has a mere tickling in the nose, or even a 
 deep, cavernous cough, or, perhaps, a large doc- 
 tor's bill to pay, to say nothing of the under- 
 taker's fees and the florist, he has caught his 
 death-of-cold. Anyway, Biddleson had had a 
 number of deaths-of-cold and survived them 
 all, so he was in no hurry to obey his wife's in- 
 structions to "go straight home and take off 
 those wet things." He came stolidly ashore 
 and the three of them started gloomily on their 
 long walk to Alki Point, beyond the Thomp- 
 sons', where the Biddlesons lived. 
 
 They formed a dismal procession as they 
 went single-file down the business street of 
 West Tidewater, Mrs. Biddleson in the lead, 
 walking with great dignity and social poise 
 in case she should meet any of Tidewater's 
 elite; Harkaway next, caring nothing for the 
 ee-lites, as he chose to term them, reviling him- 
 self for being such a chump in Dorothy's eyes ; 
 and Biddleson, dripping wet and bearing the 
 wash-boiler drip-pan pressed firmly to his 
 breast and at every step anathematising the
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 115 
 
 Durable, the manufacturer of the Durable, the 
 ferryman, the waters of De Poe Sound, and all 
 the De Poes from Ferdinand de Poe, the 
 founder of the line, down to Dorothy de Poe, 
 youngest representative. 
 
 On ordinary occasions Biddleson would have 
 cared little for the prospect of the three mile 
 walk around the side of Mary Jane Bay 
 (named after one of the early De Poes, and re- 
 named Marie Jean by one of the later De 
 Poes) to his home at the harbour entrance. 
 Indeed, he would have enjoyed it. It had been 
 a daily and pleasurable performance since he 
 had rented the house in the spring, to cover the 
 distance after banking hours, mostly afoot, or, 
 when he was late, on his bicycle, or occasionally 
 by riding across in the Thompson launch to the 
 stone pier that graced the water front of his 
 employer's baronial mansion. But to-day, of 
 all days, the day he had looked forward to, 
 Biddleson even in thought couldn't keep up 
 with the emotions that surged within him. 
 
 Miriam's great hope, as she walked on ahead, 
 was that she wouldn't meet Mrs. Thompson, or,
 
 116 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 if she did, that that social usurper would not, in 
 the darkness, notice her untidy retinue behind. 
 
 No sooner had the thought of Mrs. Thomp- 
 son crossed Miriam's mind than she heard the 
 musical tremolo of the triple horn on Mrs. 
 Thompson's car. This was followed imme- 
 diately by the blinding glare of the two acety- 
 lene lights which shone on the Biddleson party 
 and made them as conspicuous and picturesque 
 as a week's washing in the front yard on a 
 moonlight night. Mrs. Thompson signalled 
 her chauffeur to stop. 
 
 " Why, how funny, Miriam," she said. " I 
 was just thinking of you." Which wasn't 
 true, Miriam asserted quickly to herself; Mrs. 
 Thompson thought of nobody but her own self. 
 But she answered calmly, " I was thinking of 
 you, too." 
 
 " How sweet of you, dear, to think of poor 
 me! I often envy you your little cottage on 
 the cliff with the lovely view and no servants to 
 annoy you. My house is such a care and I 
 have so much trouble with my servants." 
 
 The fact that Mrs. Thompson had servants
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 117 
 
 was well known in Tidewater entirely apart 
 from her constant reference to them. There 
 was Larkins, the butler, and then Tompkins, 
 the gardener (his name was Thompson, but 
 on the payroll of Devonshire Hall he was writ- 
 ten Tompkins), 'Arriet, the upstairs maid, all 
 from England, a part of the decorations of 
 the baronial mansion, as it were. From Paris 
 came Henri, the chauffeur, and Suzanne, Mrs. 
 Thompson's maid. 
 
 "Would you believe it possible?" continued 
 Mrs. Thompson. "Last night Tompkins 
 neglected to close the drawbridge and a num- 
 ber of cows belonging to that horrid milkman 
 across the road came in and walked all over 
 our garden and tramped down the flower beds." 
 Mrs. Thompson's garden was of the English 
 variety, a yard with flowers around it. " I 
 thought," went on Mrs. T., " that when Tomp- 
 kins came from England he would know a 
 drawbridge and what it was for. So stupid of 
 him, I'm sure." 
 
 Mrs. Thompson had some difficulty in say- 
 ing "I'm sure" properly as Biggs would
 
 118 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 have said it, for instance because she talked 
 with her teeth shut tightly together, having 
 somehow or somewhere got the notion that in 
 this way she showed a superior manner. " So 
 stupid of him, I'm su-ah," she said, trying it 
 again with more success. 
 
 "Very stupid of him, I'm sure," agreed 
 Miriam simply. " You will excuse me, Mrs. 
 Thompson. I must go. My dinner will be 
 late and it would be more than stupid of me 
 to allow it to be spoiled." 
 
 The sarcasm involved in Miriam's remark 
 entirely escaped Mrs. Thompson, for she went 
 on talking about people being stupid. " How 
 stupid of me," she said, "not to know you 
 wanted to go home. I will take you myself. 
 Get right in and we shall be there in no time." 
 
 " Really, Mrs. Thompson, it's very good of 
 
 you, but " Miriam's hesitation was due to 
 
 several reasons. First of all, she was tired and 
 wanted to ride, but she feared they might find 
 the Durable stalled somewhere on the road, 
 which would call for embarrassing explana- 
 tions; and then there was Harkaway with the
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 119 
 
 starting crank and Rae with his wet clothes 
 and the wash-boiler. She didn't feel equal to 
 the strain. 
 
 "And you, too, Mr. Biddleson," said Mrs. 
 Thompson politely, " and Mr. Harkaway, you 
 live in town, of course " 
 
 " Mr. Harkaway dines with us," said Miriam 
 with dignity. 
 
 "Why, of course, as I was going to say, 
 there's room for us all," said Mrs Thompson. 
 She was not always thus accommodating, but 
 she hadn't finished all she had to tell of her 
 troubles with her servants. How, for ex- 
 ample, McLean, the engineer and electrician 
 who ran their private lighting plant, attended 
 to the three wind mills, the launch and acted 
 as general master mechanic, had got drunk and 
 by a masterly feat of inebriated ingenuity 
 turned the salt water into the kitchen faucets 
 and pumped the moat dry instead of filling 
 it up so stupid of him, to be sure and, be- 
 sides, Mrs. Thompson was consumed with cu- 
 riosity as to why Biddleson and Harkaway 
 were wet and she simply had to know about the
 
 120 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 mysterious and apparently useless articles they 
 carried. 
 
 "Why, Mr. Biddleson, you are wringing 
 wet. You will catch your death-of-cold. 
 And Mr. Harkaway, too. Why didn't you 
 tell me you had been out on the bay and been 
 upset? Launching is so dangerous. You 
 ought to take up motoring. It is much safer 
 and lots of fun." 
 
 "It must be great!" said Biddleson and 
 Harkaway together. 
 
 "Yes," said Mrs. Thompson. "But we 
 shall have to hurry, or you'll both catch your 
 death-of-cold. Henri, Mr. Harkaway will 
 ride with you." 
 
 " Oui, Madame," said Henri, which was all 
 the French that Mrs. Thompson understood. 
 
 Biddleson passed the wash-boiler to Hark- 
 away, who carefully moored it to the running 
 board on his side and then climbed into the seat 
 with Henri, still holding the starting handle of 
 the Durable in a conspicuous manner. 
 
 "W'at ees zat?" asked Henri respectfully, 
 indicating the drip-pan and struggling between
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 an immense curiosity and the sense of his men- 
 ial position. 
 
 " That," replied Harkaway coldly, " is Mr. 
 Biddleson's, and he is taking it home." 
 
 " Oui, M'sieu, I know, but w'at for he take 
 it home? To use? N'est-ce pas? But w'at 
 for?" 
 
 " I will tell you," said Harkaway in a cryp- 
 tic manner, putting his explanation into the 
 form of a charade, a logogriph, or whatever 
 one calls such things. " My first is a handle ; " 
 he hegan whirling the starting crank before 
 Henri's eyes, thereby almost hypnotising him. 
 "My second is a receptacle," pointing to the 
 drip-pan, " and my whole is a vehicle. Tell me 
 what it is, quick!" he demanded of the aston- 
 ished Frenchman. 
 
 "Did you speak to me, Mr. Harkaway?" 
 asked Mrs. Thompson, pointedly, wishing him 
 to understand that she didn't approve of his 
 conversing with her chauffeur. 
 
 "No," answered Harkaway. "I was ask- 
 ing Henri about his mother in Paris. I used 
 to know her well."
 
 FIVE GALtONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 "How interesting!" murmured Mrs. 
 Thompson and subsided. 
 
 "M'sieu, M'sieu!" said Henri excitedly, 
 but in a low voice. " I know ! I know 1 But 
 you have him w'at you call meexed up. Your 
 first is your oil-can ; your second ees your start 
 heem; and zen, M'sieu, comes w'at you call 
 heem? your cipher your zero your hole for 
 zee starter. Parbleu! You lose heem. 
 N'est-ce pas? I see zee new carr w'ich you 
 lose, and zee yong lady in it. Ha ha!" 
 
 "Right you are, Henri," said Harkaway. 
 " But don't tell anybody you guessed it. Did 
 she was she doing all right? " he inquired anx- 
 iously. 
 
 "Gr-r-rand! Magnifique! She go up zee 
 hill by madame's like like zees: Pouf !" 
 
 Henri in order to do justice to his admira- 
 tion of Dorothy's driving, let go the steering 
 wheel with both hands. 
 
 "Henri!" screamed Mrs. Thompson in ter- 
 ror as the car swerved sharply. 
 
 " Oui, madame," said Henri humbly, recov- 
 ering control. " Pardon. I got my my det 
 of cold. I sneeze!"
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 " Mercy ! " exclaimed Mrs. Thompson in re- 
 lief as she sank back on the cushions, pale but 
 still aware that she was Mrs. Thompson. " So 
 so stupid of him, I'm sure." 
 
 " Henri," Harkaway murmured admiringly, 
 " I used to know your grandfather. Fine old 
 gentleman; brilliant, clever and witty and a 
 good liar. Remember, Henri ! a good liar ! " 
 
 "Merci, M'sieu!" 
 
 "Aren't you afraid, Mr. Biddleson," Mrs. 
 Thompson said, " that Mr. Harkaway will let 
 that funny thing fall, it will get bent ? What 
 an extraordinary looking object! What is it, 
 may I ask, Mr. Biddleson?" 
 
 "That," said Biddleson inanely, having 
 overheard part of what Harkaway said to the 
 chauffeur, " is Mr. Harkaway's, and he's tak- 
 ing it home." 
 
 " I can see that he is taking it home," re- 
 turned Mrs. Thompson icily, her position as 
 the wife of Biddleson's employer asserting 
 itself for the moment. "But I didn't hear 
 you say what it was." 
 
 "Mrs. Thompson," said Miriam calmly, 
 coming to the rescue, "that is a part of our
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 automobile. It went into the water just after 
 we crossed on the ferry, and Rae got wet re- 
 covering it." 
 
 "Automobile!" exclaimed Mrs. Thompson. 
 " I didn't know you had one. Where where 
 is it? What have you done with it?" 
 
 "It has gone on ahead," answered Miriam 
 in an even manner, just as though the simple 
 fact that they had lost part of their automobile 
 in the bay, and that the rest of it had gone 
 off all by itself was a matter of everyday occur- 
 rence and was of no interest to anyone but 
 themselves. 
 
 "Indeed!" said Mrs. Thompson, subdued. 
 "How interesting! I am glad you have one, 
 I'm sure!" 
 
 "M'sieu! Msieu! w'at ees eet? Look!" 
 
 They all looked. They were just rounding 
 a curve and a short distance ahead they saw, 
 with varying emotions, the faithful Biggs driv- 
 ing an express wagon. In the body of the 
 wagon behind him were the four extra wheels, 
 the detached rumble seat and the red, brass- 
 bound trunk.
 
 125 
 
 "S-h-h!" said Harkaway to Henri. 
 " Don't say a word. Those wheels belong to 
 Mr. Biddleson. He lost 'em out of his head 
 and Biggs is taking them home." 
 
 Just at this moment Biggs pulled up and 
 stopped in the middle of the road to light his 
 pipe. Henri, not being able to get by, was 
 obliged to come to an abrupt stop. 
 
 " Hi! Biggs! " shouted Biddleson in a rage 
 because he knew that even Miriam couldn't 
 satisfactorily explain such an astonishing sight. 
 " Get out of the way, you fool. We we're 
 in a hurry ! " 
 
 Harkaway was enjoying the situation. He 
 appreciated particularly the immense calm and 
 repose of Biggs, who went on lighting his 
 pipe to the extent of six matches before he 
 got one to take hold. Then clucking gently 
 to the horse, he drove to a wider place where 
 he pulled aside and waited, cap in hand, for 
 the more stylish and imposing vehicle to pass. 
 It must not be thought that Biggs was at all 
 embarrassed by his somewhat undignified and 
 unaristocratic appearance as driver of an ex-
 
 126 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 press wagon. Neither must it be imagined 
 that he apologised later, or explained anything 
 about it. As a matter of fact, when Biggs 
 arrived in the launch at the city dock with the 
 wheels, the rumble seat and the auto trunk, the 
 driver of the only express wagon in sight was 
 about to go home to dinner and go home he 
 did, but not until he had chartered his whole 
 outfit to Biggs, who said he would drive it 
 himself. 
 
 Whatever Biggs did, as long as it did not 
 violate the laws of the land or involve some 
 question of moral turpitude, he did openly 
 and calmly, without apologies, excuses or at- 
 tempted justification. To sum up, what Biggs 
 did was all right simply because Biggs did it, 
 and he never thought it necessary to discuss it. 
 This particularly British trait in Biggs was 
 one that aroused Harkaway's deepest admira- 
 tion and envy. He didn't look upon it as a 
 trait, however. He considered it an achieve- 
 ment, an attitude of mind a lofty one, to be 
 sure that could only come with long prac- 
 tice.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 127 
 
 And, besides all this, the extra wheels, the 
 rumble seat and the red, brassbound auto 
 trunk were no concern of Harkaway's. It 
 may be remembered that the purchase of these 
 rather unusual extra parts was the result of 
 a brilliant idea on the part of Biddleson. He 
 had craftily conceived that by a judicious and 
 daily interchange of wheels, and by substitu- 
 ting the rumble seat or the auto trunk for the 
 tonneau, the people of Tidewater in general, 
 and Mrs. Thompson in particular, would come 
 to believe that the Biddlesons had two, or per- 
 haps three cars instead of one. The possibility 
 of putting it over Mrs. Thompson had won 
 Miriam over to her husband's scheme, though 
 Harkaway had pooh-poohed it from the first. 
 He said that for his part, he wouldn't give a 
 red cent to make Mrs. Thompson think he 
 had a thousand machines. "Not for mine," 
 he had declared finally to Biddleson. "If 
 you want to spend your money for these fool 
 things, you can. I'm going to save mine for 
 gasoline." 
 
 For this reason, Harkaway could not re-
 
 128 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 strain an emotion of pleasure, a sort of " I-told- 
 you-so" feeling at the way the scheme had 
 turned out. As he swung round to grin a 
 meaning and comprehensive grin of triumph at 
 Bid, he caught sight of Miriam first. She was 
 cowering under the expected hlow from Mrs. 
 Thompson who, she knew, would neglect no 
 opportunity of humiliating her. Miriam 
 didn't realise that her enemy couldn't know 
 what all these contraptions in the wagon were. 
 Her face was drawn with misery and expressed 
 the foreboding sense of the crowning humilia- 
 tion of her whole life. 
 
 Harkaway did not grin. He turned around 
 again and stared sternly ahead. " Biddleson 
 was a chump," he thought, " and it serves him 
 right, but with Miriam it's different." He 
 wouldn't stand any nonsense from Mrs. 
 Thompson. What difference did Mrs. 
 Thompson's opinion make to him? He didn't 
 care a picayune for the whole Thompson tribe 
 from Thompson (Tompkins) the gardener 
 who let the cows in over the drawbridge down 
 to the Mrs. Thompson whose five thousand
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 129 
 
 dollar French car he was riding in at that mo- 
 ment. But Miriam had always been a friend 
 of his, and that was all there was to it. If! 
 Mrs. Thompson opened her head to say a 
 word, he'd 
 
 "How deliriously funny!" laughed Mrs. 
 Thompson maliciously. " What a charming 
 and original way of getting one's car home ! I 
 suppose, Miriam dear, that besides what Mr. 
 Biggs has in the wagon and what you didn't 
 drop in the bay, the rest of it is up in a balloon 
 somewhere. Do tell me you will, won't you, 
 dear when you get it all together? I 
 would so like to see it all at once!" 
 
 Harkaway turned around in his seat and 
 glared coldly, vindictively at the wife of Tide- 
 water's mightiest plutocrat. Then he lied 
 deliberately, and circumstantially. ' You will 
 pardon me, Mrs. Thompson," he said icily, 
 " but those things that seem to amuse you so 
 much are mine. They came on ahead with 
 Biddleson's auto. The chassis of my racing 
 car wasn't quite completed. It will arrive 
 later. You may have an opportunity of ob-
 
 130 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 serving it all together when I drive it by Dev- 
 onshire Hall." 
 
 Nothing more was said. In fact there was 
 nothing more to say nor time to say it. The 
 car pulled up at the Biddleson house; outside 
 stood the Durable, seemingly intact, shiny and 
 new. Henri jumped out and with a profound 
 bow opened the tonneau door for Mrs. Biddle- 
 son to descend. " Thank you," she said to 
 Henri, and, to Mrs. Thompson, " So good of 
 you a charming drive." 
 
 "Not at all," replied Mrs. Thompson 
 vaguely. " The pleasure is mine, I'm sure." 
 
 Mrs. Thompson drove away toward her me- 
 diaeval mansion with her teeth tightly clenched, 
 this time naturally and unaffectedly fero- 
 ciously, even, wondering whether that upstart 
 Harkaway had an overdue note at the bank, or 
 if the rather extensive Harkaway Addition 
 were heavily mortgaged, so that he could be 
 properly disciplined by her husband and made 
 to know his place. 
 
 Miriam and her husband and Harkaway left 
 the Durable silent and innocuous outside the
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 131 
 
 gate and went into the house to find Dorothy 
 bright and cheerful with the dinner piping hot 
 and coffee steaming in an alluring manner on 
 the back of the stove. 
 
 "Now," she announced briskly, "if Mr. 
 Harkaway will put down that crank, and wash 
 his hands, we will eat." 
 
 Of course they discussed the whole matter 
 over the dinner-table and Dorothy heard a 
 great deal about Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. 
 Thompson's baronial mansion with its battle- 
 mented walls of red cedar shingles and the 
 gas-pipe screen for the ivy to climb up. Also, 
 she heard a great deal about Biggs, who in the 
 meantime had come up quietly and unloaded 
 the wheels and the other things and departed 
 to whence he came because he had agreed to 
 get back at eight with the wagon, don't you 
 know. 
 
 "It must have been perfectly lovely!" ex- 
 claimed Dorothy, " to have seen Mr. Biggs sit- 
 ting up on that wagon like a duke, looking 
 down upon and ignoring the supercilious and 
 hateful Mrs. Thompson. Tell you what, Mir-
 
 132 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 iam, we'll invite him to the picnic. That's 
 what we'll do." 
 
 "What picnic?" asked Biddleson dully. 
 
 "Why, didn't we tell you, Rae? Miriam and 
 I planned it all while we were walking to Sa- 
 hara to meet you. We're going to leave here 
 at eight to-morrow morning and go just where 
 and just as far as we please, and if we run out 
 of gasoline, or lose something, there will be 
 Mr. Biggs. He always has just what one 
 wants." 
 
 " Mr. Biggs isn't going on this picnic, Dor- 
 othy," said Miriam decisively. 
 
 " Why not? " exclaimed her sister. " Don't 
 you like him?" 
 
 "Ye-e-s," admitted Miriam reluctantly. 
 " But he is altogether too public in everything 
 he does to suit me. He would want to stop and 
 have tea on the courthouse steps, just as like 
 as not." 
 
 " Why shouldn't we, if we wanted to? " Dor- 
 othy asked. " It wouldn't be sinful, would 
 it?" 
 
 " No, dear, but people don't do such things,
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 133 
 
 as as driving an express wagon, for in- 
 stance." An expression of shame and resent- 
 ment came over Miriam's face when she said 
 this, although she knew that Biggs had done 
 it as a favour to her and her husband. 
 
 "What people don't do such things?" Dor- 
 othy demanded. 
 
 " Why, the best people, of course." 
 
 "I suppose, then," said Dorothy thought- 
 fully, "you mean that the best people are 
 those who are different from Mr. Biggs?" 
 
 "No," said Miriam impatiently, "the best 
 people are are the best people. Don't you 
 see, stupid?" 
 
 ' Yes, I see," replied Dorothy, purposely 
 misunderstanding. " The best people, as you 
 call them, are certainly stupid. That is what 
 Schopenhauer says, anyway." 
 
 " I don't care what Schopenhauer says, who- 
 ever he is," returned Miriam with spirit. 
 " Harvey Biggs is not going on this pic- 
 
 nic." 
 
 ; 'Well," said Dorothy, "I must say I like 
 the looks of Mr. Biggs. He isn't afraid to
 
 134, FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 do what he pleases, and, what's more, he doesn't 
 look at all stupid to me." 
 
 An hour after dinner they were all outside 
 inspecting the Durable when Biggs came back, 
 this time on a wheel. He was presented in due 
 form to Dorothy by Harkaway. Dorothy was 
 cordiality itself, but Miriam was cold and 
 frosty. In two or three days, Harkaway knew 
 she would be ashamed of herself and treat 
 Biggs like a long-lost brother ; but to-night she 
 was determined to let him know that she was 
 bitterly offended. All this was lost on Biggs. 
 Neither did it occur to him to be insulted be- 
 cause Miriam talked openly about the 
 picnic, where they were going, what they 
 were going to eat, when they were going to 
 start, and yet didn't include him as one of the 
 party. In the first place he wasn't conscious of 
 having done anything wrong, and, if he 
 thought about it at all, he knew that an auto- 
 mobile for four wouldn't hold five, to say 
 nothing of the lunch-basket and the fireless 
 cooker which they intended to take along to 
 keep the ice-cream cool in.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 135 
 
 It was almost midnight when Dorothy re- 
 tired to her room and was ready to go to 
 sleep. Then Miriam entered, sat on the edge 
 of the bed and took possession of one of her 
 sister's hands. 
 
 " Dolly, dear," she began in a maternal man- 
 ner, " of course, you know I am much older 
 than you are." 
 
 " Oh, no, not so much older," said Dorothy 
 drowsily. 'You've only been married 
 longer!" Which was quite true, as Dorothy 
 hadn't been married at all. 
 
 " That's just what I wanted to talk about," 
 said Miriam, glad of the opening. ' You are 
 through with your school, now, and it's high 
 time you were married." 
 
 "Whom to?" asked Dorothy, grammatic- 
 ally but sleepily. " Mr. Biggs ? " 
 
 " No, you silly child, not Mr. Biggs, at all ! 
 I do wish you would stop talking about him. 
 He is nice enough in his way, but he isn't at 
 all suitable for a husband. To begin with he 
 has no social position which a girl of your at- 
 tainments would like to fill. You have only
 
 136 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 just met him, and you know nothing about 
 him." 
 
 " It's lucky," said Dorothy, yawning, " that 
 he met us this afternoon with the gasoline, or 
 we shouldn't have been in our present position. 
 We'd have been stranded high and dry on that 
 Sahara road." 
 
 She turned over, and in another moment 
 would have been fast asleep. Miriam grasped 
 her shoulder and shook it violently. 
 
 "Dorothy, listen! I want you to under- 
 stand, dear ! " she began. " Open your eyes. 
 You hear me?" Dorothy opened one eye 
 the one nearest Mrs. Biddleson, who went on: 
 " Now there is Mr. Harkaway, a rising young 
 man " 
 
 "I am so glad of it," said Dorothy, open- 
 ing the other eye with a great effort. " Ris- 
 ing young man, you say? Glad of it he 
 won't be late for the picnic. I wish I were a 
 rising young woman, but I'm so sleepy." 
 Her voice trailed off. Her eyes closed, and 
 she would have been gone in a second, but that 
 her sister relentlessly shook her again.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 137 
 
 "Dorothy!" she said sharply. "You do 
 make me so cross! You are NOT going to 
 sleep. You are going to listen to me. When 
 I am done you can sleep, but I advise you to 
 lie awake and think over what I am going to 
 tell you. Rae and I have spent a lot of money 
 on your education, and we are going to see that 
 you make something of yourself. As I was 
 saying, Mr. Harkaway is a rising young 
 man. He owns all of Harkaway's Addition, 
 and I could see this afternoon that he was very 
 much interested in you. You mustn't neglect 
 your opportunities, my dear!" Miriam was 
 gradually relenting. " I have invited him to 
 breakfast (this meaningly) and you must be 
 nice to him and stop thinking about that absurd 
 Mr. Biggs. He has nothing but his position 
 with the steamship company. English peo- 
 ple are all right, but you must remember that 
 you are an American and must live in Amer- 
 ica." 
 
 ' Yes, dear," agreed Dorothy, making a last 
 futile effort at comprehension. " Stop think- 
 ing about that absurd Mr. Harkaway
 
 138 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 all right but an Englishman owns , all of 
 
 Biggs's Addition Biggs Biggs " She 
 
 was gone. 
 
 Miriam looked at her a moment with great 
 tenderness, carefully smoothed down her pil- 
 low and tucked her in as she had done when 
 Dorothy was a child, kissed her softly and si- 
 lently left the room.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 A RIDE IN MRS. THOMPSON^ CAR 
 
 WHEN Dorothy got up and went to her win- 
 dow the next morning the ocean lay before 
 her eyes like a great lake of shining light. 
 She could see plainly the channel by which the 
 bay's waters passed seaward. Across this the 
 hills wore a peaceful and remote aspect, arous- 
 ing a sense of pleasure in travelling to them. 
 This pleasure was damped by a feeling that 
 she ought to go to church. To quiet her con- 
 science she went and called down to Miriam 
 to know whether there was an early service. 
 
 " I might go and be back in time to join the 
 rest," she said to herself. " Of course I would 
 miss my breakfast, but that would be an added 
 virtue." 
 
 Mrs. Biddleson called back that there was 
 no church at all that Sunday, so Dorothy in- 
 
 139
 
 140 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 stantly dismissed breakfast piety from her 
 mind and commenced dressing herself with 
 great care and judgment, proceeding in this 
 important ceremony with two definite objects 
 in mind. First, she wished to punish Miriam 
 for being rude to Mr. Biggs; then she deter- 
 mined to let her sister know that she did not in- 
 tend to marry Mr. Biggs or was it Mr. Hark- 
 away? she was too sleepy to remember which 
 it was that had been banned the night before 
 unless she wanted to. Having succeeded, 
 as she knew, in this, she proceeded to mingle 
 with this sartorial rebuke a bit of encourage- 
 ment for Harkaway or Biggs. Mostly for 
 Harkaway, for he had been very decent and 
 cordial to Biggs, and as Mr. Biggs had been 
 oblivious to the snub administered by Miriam, 
 this relieved Harkaway from any share in Mir- 
 iam's fault. Consequently she added to a 
 very plain, serviceable gown a small hat which 
 she had tested and found not wanting in effect 
 on men of taste. The gown was for her sis- 
 ter; the hat for Harkaway. For Miriam's 
 benefit she added heavv boots with atrocious
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 141 
 
 leather lacings. For Harkaway she took off 
 all her rings, aware that nothing so arouses a 
 young man's interest as fingers unadorned. 
 
 That she had judged well she perceived the 
 minute she walked into the airy dining room. 
 Miriam took one look at the plain gown, the 
 boots, the flapping laces and assumed a Sabbath 
 resignation. Harkaway fell captive to all the 
 rest of it and displayed his admiration by try- 
 ing to force red-hot eggs upon her without the 
 aid of dish or spoon. Having achieved the 
 feat of making her drop one in her coffee and 
 two on the table-cloth he desisted from his 
 efforts to please, and maintained a solemn and 
 profound expression of melancholy. 
 
 Over a fresh cup of coffee Dorothy smiled 
 and said to him amiably, " I never could learn 
 your English way of eating eggs, Mr. Hark- 
 away. You eat them out of your hand, don't 
 you? Do you wear gloves when you do it? 
 Or do polite Englishmen hold the egg while a 
 lady chips it? You know I'm awfully inter- 
 ested in English " 
 
 " Why, Dorothy, Mr. Harkaway isn't Eng-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 lish at all!" exclaimed Mrs. Biddleson indig- 
 nantly. 
 
 " Biggs is the Britisher," put in her husband. 
 
 "Well," Dorothy retorted, "then Fm inter- 
 ested in Mr. Biggs." 
 
 " I protest you are crazy ! " Miriam remon- 
 strated. "What could anyone see in Mr. 
 Biggs!" 
 
 Dorothy laid down her egg spoon and gazed 
 reproachfully at her sister. "I seem to be 
 making a mess of things on every hand, my 
 dear ! Will you please tell me whom I am in- 
 terested in? I thought it was Mr. Biggs. 
 You say it isn't Mr. Biggs at all. Mr. Hark- 
 away, I'm a stranger in a strange land. You 
 told me yesterday that you thought it horrid 
 to have me picked out as a bride for you. Will 
 you help me and tell me what man in this be- 
 nighted parish I am free to be interested in? 
 What young gentleman is entitled to my maid- 
 enly consideration and admiration?" 
 
 During this contribution to the breakfast 
 conversation Mrs. Biddleson sat in horrified si- 
 lence, throwing an occasional glance at her 
 husband who took refuge in his victuals, emerg-
 
 143 
 
 ing from this asylum at the end of Dor- 
 othy's outburst to say weakly, " Come, now, 
 Dollie, don't talk nonsense. Your sister " 
 
 Dorothy refused to be drawn off. She 
 fixed Harkaway with a charming smile and 
 said reproachfully, " Do you refuse to be my 
 counsellor, guide and friend?" 
 
 Harkaway, making a magnificent effort, re- 
 sponded in a loud voice, hoping to convey the 
 impression that he was perfectly at ease, " My 
 dear Miss Dorothy, I can't be your counsellor, 
 but as to a guide, I'll try; as a friend, com- 
 mand me." 
 
 "Friend?" objected Dorothy apprehen- 
 sively. " But, would you be safe in that role? 
 You know that even mild Platonic emotions 
 are often thought to be but the precursor of 
 something else. Now, if Miriam should be 
 silly enough to imagine that that , or 
 should try to help things along, you'd " 
 
 "Dorothy!" said Miriam sharply. 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 " Mr. Harkaway is one of our oldest friends. 
 Control yourself, my dear." 
 
 Dorothy turned a serene look on the petri-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 fied Harkaway and said quietly," Don't worry, 
 Mr. Harkaway. I can see you are the man 
 at whose head I'm to be thrown tossed like a 
 peanut to an elephant 
 
 Here Mrs. Biddleson rose in her wrath. 
 " Certainly you are beyond all reasoning with, 
 Dollie!" she said haughtily. "The idea of 
 calling Mr. Harkaway an elephant ! " 
 
 "So long as I call myself a peanut I don't 
 see where he's injured," was the calm response. 
 " And your rebuke simply confirms my suspi- 
 cion. Mr. Harkaway is the elephant. And 
 he told me so yesterday, before he knew who 
 I was. Cheer up, Mr. Harkaway, I refuse to 
 be thrown at your head. You needn't dodge. 
 You're absolutely safe. Now if you'll release 
 that plate of toast I'll finish my breakfast." 
 
 Miriam stalked majestically away, taking 
 with her, apparently, all that was left of her 
 husband's human attributes, for \vhen she had 
 finally closed the door he continued to gaze 
 from Dorothy to Harkaway and from Hark- 
 away to Dorothy in an abstruse and stony man- 
 ner as though he had been wound up to swing
 
 his head from side to side and somebody had 
 forgotten to stop him. Finally he did run 
 down, or Harkaway kicked him under the 
 table, for he went out and left them together. 
 Harkaway ate intermittently, now and again 
 glancing at Dorothy when he thought she 
 wasn't looking till she caught his eyes and said 
 sweetly, "Getting over your scare?" 
 
 "I'm getting more afraid every minute," he 
 said honestly. To his great satisfaction she 
 blushed. 
 
 Mrs. Biddleson now came in, dressed in an 
 auto coat, with a huge veil and dark glasses. 
 " Rae is out there getting the machine ready," 
 she announced. " I think we'd better be start- 
 ing. Dorothy, you surely aren't going to wear 
 those awful boots?" she went on when Hark- 
 away vanished. 
 
 Her younger sister gazed at the offending 
 boots and nodded. "We may have to walk, 
 Miriam, and I'm going prepared for any- 
 thing." 
 
 " Walk ! Why, Rae is taking plenty of gas- 
 oline along! What makes you say such ridic-
 
 146 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 ulous things? " They passed out and into the 
 yard where the Durable stood clucking away 
 while Biddleson pulled on his gloves. "I'll 
 drive her going out," he was saying with an 
 air of importance. " Then you can try her 
 back, Hark." 
 
 "That means that I sit beside the chauf- 
 feur," Dorothy remarked pleasantly. " So 
 that saves Mr. Harkaway for the present." 
 
 Miriam's efforts to alter this arrangement 
 availed nothing and Harkaway dutifully 
 helped her into the tonneau and got in himself. 
 Biddleson grasping the churn handle, looked 
 anxiously round and started the Durable off. 
 
 When they reached the ferry Dorothy 
 wished to know where they were going. " You 
 ought to tell the ferryman," she said. " Then 
 if we don't come back before dark people will 
 know where to look for us." This suggestion 
 was hailed with scorn and while they crossed 
 and went on their way towards Sahara and the 
 upper bay Biddleson explained at length that 
 this was an endurance run. " We'll run there 
 and back on two gallons of gasoline," he pro-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 147 
 
 claimed. " The catalogue says the Durable 
 can make twenty-five miles on one gallon. 
 It's twenty miles to Hark's place and that 
 will use up less than a gallon. We'll possibly 
 use a quart while the engine is running free, 
 and we shall have more than a gallon left to 
 run home on." 
 
 " Is that all the gasoline you've got along? " 
 Dorothy demanded. 
 
 'Yes," said Biddleson. "Did you ever 
 hear of an endurance run where they took along 
 more than they needed?" 
 
 Dorothy didn't reply, but contented herself 
 with admiring the scenery till Mrs. Biddleson 
 leaned over and said, " We're getting near to 
 Mr. Harkaway's property, Dollie. He owns 
 all that region out there between the bay and 
 the sea. It's only four or five miles from Tide- 
 water by launch, you know, but by this road 
 around the bay it's pretty nearly twenty. It's 
 the prettiest spot near here." 
 
 'Yes, I'm quite proud of it," Harkaway 
 remarked, leaning forward too. 
 
 "I should think you would be," was Doro-
 
 148 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 thy's reply. "Anything to get out of that 
 horrid town. I suppose you stay over on your 
 place aE the time, don't you? " 
 
 "Hark lives in town," Biddleson put in, 
 slowing down for the next turn and succeed- 
 ing in coming to a full stop. 
 
 Dorothy seemed shocked. " I don't see how 
 you can do it ! " she said energetically. " I 
 would always stay out here! always!" 
 
 ' Well, Hark is going to build on the place, 
 some day, aren't you, Hark?" Biddleson pur- 
 sued, while his wife relaxed in her seat and 
 stared at an invisible landscape just behind 
 her husband's ear. 
 
 Dorothy now turned clear round and gazed 
 at Harkaway in an interested manner. He re- 
 turned her stare a moment and then smiled, 
 lost the smile in an expression of great solici- 
 tude about the next hill, which he gazed at 
 very severely, and ended by remarking husk- 
 ily, "I've sold it." 
 
 "Then it isn't yours any more?" Dorothy 
 inquired. "Miriam, what did you say it was 
 Mr. Harkaway 's for? I thought we were go-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 149 
 
 ing out to look at his property. And he says 
 he's sold it." 
 
 " What difference does that make? " Biddle- 
 son interjected. 
 
 Dorothy frowned at him. "It makes an 
 awful difference, Rae. You don't seem to un- 
 derstand that you and Miriam are showing me 
 the the elephant. And if the the elephant 
 hasn't any property, what's the use of going 
 all this distance?" 
 
 " I'm afraid we've punctured that right rear 
 tire, Bid," Harkaway said hastily. " Stop her 
 and I'll get down and look." 
 
 The Durable came to a standstill with great 
 suddenness. Harkaway dismounted and van- 
 ished under the machine where he made a loud 
 noise by knocking a small pocket wrench 
 against the transmission case. When he 
 emerged, much flushed, Dorothy was leaning 
 over and looking at him. "Do you carry 
 spare punctures, Mr. Harkaway?" she de- 
 manded, raising her veil to dazzle him with 
 her smile. 
 
 " I knew there wasn't a puncture," Biddle-
 
 150 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 son put in triumphantly. " Crank the engine, 
 Hark. She's stopped." 
 
 The crank had disappeared and after a long 
 search it was discovered to be hanging on the 
 pet-cock of the radiator. "We might have 
 lost it," said Mrs. Biddleson severely. "I 
 can't see why you are so careless, Rae." 
 
 " Poor Rae ! " sighed Dorothy. " I saw Mr. 
 Harkaway.hang it there himself." 
 
 "Why didn't you say so, then?" demanded 
 her sister. 
 
 "I forgot," was the penitent answer. 
 "And I thought Mr. Harkaway would re- 
 member." 
 
 As there seemed to be nothing to say the 
 Durable drove on and finally made the ford 
 across the upper shoals of the bay. Once over 
 this Biddleson said he would show them how 
 the "jigger" worked. He would "get a 
 good, rich mixture and then open her out." 
 He opened her out with such effect that two 
 minutes later Mrs. Biddleson was screaming 
 and poking vigorously at a cow which was 
 trying to maintain a precarious foothold half
 
 way up the steep bank by the roadside, and 
 gave every indication of preparing for a fran- 
 tic leap right down into the car. 
 
 " There ! " shouted Harkaway. " What did 
 I tell you, Bid? I knew you'd run into a well, 
 get a cow, hit a hayrake, or something, fooling 
 with that * jigger.' There's your cow! " 
 
 " I see her," said Biddleson bitterly, as the 
 animal glowered at them. In his excitement 
 he stopped the engine, and intimated pointedly, 
 that it was Harkaway's duty to get out and 
 crank her up again. 
 
 "But there isn't room for him to get out!" 
 cried Mrs. Biddleson, making a feint for the 
 cow's left eye which the animal parried with 
 her right horn. " And if he does the cow will 
 hook him!" 
 
 " It's Biddleson's cow, of course ! " said 
 Harkaway. " He found her and he ought to 
 keep her from jumping into people's laps." 
 
 Not wishing to show the white feather in 
 Dorothy's presence, especially after her treat- 
 ment of him, he deliberately got out, waved the 
 crank at the beast and then started the engine.
 
 152 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 At the first cough the cow tossed her head 
 and slid down behind the car. As Harkaway 
 climbed back into the tonneau he heard Dor- 
 othy say calmly, " Rae, you ought to be more 
 careful. You'll break the horns off some cow 
 yet by your carelessness." 
 
 " Then she'll be the cow with the crumpled 
 horn," retorted Biddleson. "Ha! ha! HA!" 
 he guffawed, greatly pleased with his own 
 joke. 
 
 When they finally emerged into the meadow 
 that bordered Harkaway's property on the 
 bay side and traversed the pretty road that led 
 to the ocean beach, the party resumed its spir- 
 its. Dorothy turned round with shining dark 
 eyes to say to Harkaway, " I think this is per- 
 fectly fine. Why did you sell it? " 
 
 " I haven't altogether sold it," he returned 
 anxiously. "An old chap from Maine wants 
 to buy it and I gave him a price which he 
 thinks is all right. [But we haven't signed the 
 papers yet. So it's still mine." 
 
 The car slipped through a little sunny wood, 
 mounted a sandy slope sprinkled with scrubby
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 153 
 
 firs and came out on a high, windy dune beyond 
 which the sea glimmered. A fresh north- 
 wester was blowing and the 'surf ran in long, 
 racing rollers up and down the shore. Far out 
 a solitary sail rose above the horizon. Biddle- 
 son stopped the car and got out. " This is 
 as good a place as any," he remarked com- 
 fortably. " And we've made our twenty- 
 miles." 
 
 " But I want to see Mr. Harkaway's prop- 
 erty!" Dorothy exclaimed. "Why not drive 
 on through it?" 
 
 Miriam was now out of the tonneau and re- 
 fused to get back. " You and Mr. Harkaway 
 can walk around and see it better," she said, 
 with an excellent air of lassitude. " I declare, 
 I'm tired of riding. The car jolts so." 
 
 " No such thing," said her husband eagerly. 
 " It rides finely. Come on and get in, Miriam. 
 Harkaway can run the auto." 
 
 Mrs. Biddleson despatched to her husband 
 a look of scorn and waved Harkaway and Dor- 
 othy on. "I want to rest. Mr. Harkaway, 
 I'll depend on you to show Dollie the sights."
 
 154 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 "There isn't much to see," he returned 
 stiffly. 
 
 Instead of the glance of thanks he expected, 
 he got a full look in the face from Dorothy. 
 "Don't be scared," she said quietly. "I 
 won't make you propose to me to-day." 
 
 "Why r I never I didn't " he 
 
 stammered. 
 
 "Of course not," Dorothy said promptly. 
 "Anyway, you've as good as sold it, and I 
 wouldn't have you anyway. Come on!" 
 
 Harkaway frowned, laughed and assumed a 
 sudden expression of beatitude. They de- 
 parted, chatting comfortably. When they 
 were beyond earshot Mrs. Biddleson looked at 
 her husband. "Rae! what's the matter with 
 those two? I specially warned Dollie last 
 night to be nice to Harkaway. He acts like a 
 perfect fool. And as for Dolly, she is acting 
 
 like " Words failed Mrs. Biddleson and 
 
 she was silent. 
 
 While she was watching her husband extract 
 the luncheon basket and trying to formulate 
 her sense of disgust into words the young peo-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 155 
 
 pie were strolling on the crest of the dune with 
 the sea on one hand and the sunny stretches of 
 meadow and woods on the other. Harkaway 
 was answering Dorothy's questions and re- 
 sponding to her small talk, but with conscious 
 expectancy of at any moment hearing her en- 
 gage him in the following dialogue : 
 
 " You must think I've behaved very oddly, 
 Mr. Harkaway, but " 
 
 " Not at all, Miss Doro " 
 
 " Please let me finish. I don't want you to 
 think that I'm the sort of girl that is willing 
 to throw or be thrown " 
 
 " Of course you'll just think it awful, Dor- 
 othy; but I want you to know I'm meek and 
 humble and don't expect too much all at once. 
 Could you like me a little Dorothy! " 
 
 Harkaway was undoubtedly in love. 
 
 Instead of taking part in this delightful im- 
 aginary interchange of thought Dorothy said 
 nothing of the sort. She gave no hint that 
 she considered she had done anything impolite. 
 She admired the scenery briefly, refused to say 
 much and sat down on a little sand bluff.
 
 156 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 When Harkaway had thrown himself down 
 near her she graciously told him he might 
 smoke. 
 
 As she gazed seaward with flushed, eager 
 face, he watched her unobtrusively and saw 
 expressions of pleasure, of surprise, of delight 
 in the whole novel play of nature flit over her 
 countenance like wind across water. Oddly 
 enough, he found nothing worth while to say 
 himself and they sat quietly together till a wild 
 halloo told them Biddleson was announcing 
 luncheon. Dorothy got quickly up and re- 
 marked contentedly, "I don't see why every- 
 body doesn't live in some place like this. Why 
 don't Rae and Miriam?" 
 
 " He's cashier of the bank," Harkaway ex- 
 plained, " and he has to live in town." 
 
 "Isn't it horrid?" Dorothy exclaimed. "I 
 thought Tidewater would look pretty when 
 I came back to it. But it doesn't. This is 
 heavenly." 
 
 Mrs. Biddleson received them hospitably, 
 presiding over several square yards of spotless 
 table-cloth from her seat against the rear wheel
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 157 
 
 of the Durable. She waved a welcome to them 
 with an olive fork and Biddleson, raising an 
 inflamed countenance from a large fire and a 
 steaming coffee pot, demanded of Harkaway 
 why he did not clean out the spring. "It's 
 a pretty thing to invite people to your place 
 and then ask them to get water for coffee out 
 of a mud puddle." 
 
 "Is the coffee going to be muddy?" Mir- 
 iam demanded anxiously. 
 
 Biddleson again investigated the contents of 
 the pot with streaming eyes and shook his head. 
 " I don't know," he replied simply. " I 
 strained the water through the gasoline 
 strainer." 
 
 Dorothy, just about to sit down, stared sud- 
 denly at her brother-in-law, then dropped to 
 the ground and reached for a boiled egg. 
 Later she tested the coffee and turned to Hark- 
 away to say, " I wish you would clean out that 
 spring, Mr. Harkaway. Rae has spoiled the 
 coffee. It has a sort of back-fire taste to 
 it." 
 
 "I didn't even know there was a spring
 
 158 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 here," Harkaway remarked. " There is a very 
 good well, though." 
 
 " Well, why didn't you say so? " Biddleson 
 demanded wrathfully. " If you and Dorothy 
 had stayed here and helped, then we would 
 have had good coffee. That's just the way 
 with people like you gad off and then come 
 back and kick about things." 
 
 " Never mind, old man, I'll run the auto back 
 to town and you needn't do anything but sit 
 in the tonneau and talk," Harkaway said com- 
 fortingly. " By the way, did you turn off the 
 gasoline?" 
 
 " Do you hear the engine running? " Biddle- 
 son demanded sarcastically. 
 
 " No, but I smell gasoline." 
 
 " It's the coffee," said Mrs. Biddleson frig- 
 idly. 
 
 " Perhaps, but I see something dripping un- 
 der the car," Dorothy remarked. " In fact, 
 it's quite a little stream. If it's water, it 
 smells funny." 
 
 Biddleson got up with a groan and went over 
 to the Durable. They heard him give a sud-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 159 
 
 den exclamation. " It's gasoline all right," he 
 cried. " How did it happen? Harkaway, did 
 you touch this little stop cock under the car- 
 buretor?" 
 
 " I just asked you if you did," was the re- 
 sponse. "You're running the car." 
 
 Biddleson came back, wiping his hands on 
 his handkerchief. " We didn't lose much," he 
 said easily. " I see just how it happened. 
 We were going through that brush back there 
 and a little branch must have caught it and 
 opened the cock a little. Lucky we've got 
 plenty of gasoline." 
 
 Miriam's luncheon was good, barring the 
 coffee, and as the meal progressed Biddleson 
 laid large plans. "We'll just do this every 
 Sunday, eh, Hark? Nothing like it. Now 
 that we've got our own machine we can go just 
 where and when we like. Where'll we go next 
 Sunday?" 
 
 " I'm going to church," Miriam announced 
 virtuously, glancing at her husband. 
 
 " Oh, well, if you have to go to church, Hark 
 and I'll go off on a stag picnic," Biddleson said,
 
 160 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 brightening up at the prospect of a day with 
 the Durable without the ladies bothering 
 around. 
 
 " But you have to go with me," his wife ex- 
 plained. "Don't you know? you're the sec- 
 retary of the Guild and the Bishop will be 
 there. You've got to hand in your ac- 
 counts." 
 
 " One dollar and fifty-seven cents," Biddle- 
 son responded promptly. 
 
 "It isn't the amount," Miriam continued, 
 loftily. "It's the moral effect of the thing. 
 Of course, you must be there! " 
 
 " I'll appoint Dorothy my deputy," Biddle- 
 son said weakly. " She can do the thing as 
 well as I can." 
 
 " Oh, there's no occasion for Dorothy to go," 
 Miriam said with supernatural indifference. 
 " Dorothy can go wherever she likes." 
 
 " Then she might be willing to go with me," 
 Harkaway put in anxiously. "We could go 
 and see the sights up the coast." 
 
 "I'm afraid I promised Mr. Biggs to go 
 with him some day in his launch," Dorothy said
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 161 
 
 slowly, eating an olive. "And I'm not sure 
 he didn't say next Sunday." 
 
 Mrs. Biddleson was about to make a long 
 remark when there came a faint sound from 
 the bay and Biddleson said, " By George, that 
 sounds like the S pithead now. It's Biggs, I'll 
 bet a hat. Wonder what he's doing up here? " 
 
 " Nobody could ever tell what Mr. Biggs 
 might do at any moment," said Miriam icily. 
 " He might even be coming here. He seems 
 to think he's invited to everything." 
 
 " Oh, is he coming here? " Dorothy inquired, 
 with interest. "How nice! I like him."
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 BIDDLESON MAKES THE COFFEE 
 
 AT this moment Biggs's launch appeared off 
 the point and rapidly slipped into the little 
 bight above which the party was lunching. 
 Biggs was alone and he had evidently been 
 scanning the scene, for when Dorothy waved 
 her handkerchief he replied by a flourish of his 
 cap and ran the launch straight up to the 
 beach. 
 
 When he appeared through the fern Miriam 
 refused to get up and merely nodded to him. 
 Dorothy smiled, moved over a little and in- 
 sisted on his sitting beside her. '* You're aw- 
 fully late," she announced. 
 
 " I am sorry," said Biggs, not knowing what 
 else to say. 
 
 "We weren't sure you were coming," said 
 Miriam, placing a slight emphasis on the 
 "you," hoping by this that he w r ould under- 
 
 162
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 163 
 
 stand that they were sure he was not coming. 
 " Or," she concluded, " we should have waited 
 luncheon for you." 
 
 " I'm glad you didn't think of waiting for 
 me," returned Biggs, which was quite a sen- 
 sible remark to make considering the fact that 
 he had no intention of coming and it was by 
 the merest chance that he was there. 
 
 " Have some beef tea, old man? " Harkaway 
 interposed facetiously, handing Biggs a cup 
 of the muddy concoction that had been digni- 
 fied by the name of coffee. " It's very good 
 and I think you will like it. Bid made it him- 
 self no one can make beef tea like Bid can; 
 tastes a little like coffee, but you won't mind 
 that after the first swallow." 
 
 " It does taste a bit like coffee," agreed 
 Biggs doubtfully, sipping it. 
 
 " It is coffee," said Mrs. Biddleson coldly. 
 " Will you have cream and sugar, Mr. Biggs? " 
 
 " Thank you, two lumps, if you please," said 
 the unabashed Biggs. "I fancy," he contin- 
 ued, still unaware of Miriam's frigidity, " that 
 I taste something besides coffee. It's a
 
 164 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 a " He stirred the sugar up and took an- 
 other sip. 
 
 " A kind of hydrocarbon effect? " suggested 
 Harkaway. 
 
 " No-o," he answered slowly. He closed his 
 eyes and endeavoured through a train of asso- 
 ciated ideas to arrive at the true nature and ori- 
 gin of the strangely familiar taste. " It's 
 more like it's something like it's cylinder 
 oil!" he finally announced. 
 
 "There!" said Harkaway, turning to Bid- 
 dleson and gazing at him in sad reproach. 
 " Didn't I tell you that if you wiped the gaso- 
 line strainer with that old greasy rag you'd get 
 some dirt in the carburetor, or spoil the coffee, 
 or set the ice-cream afire, or do something dan- 
 gerous ? You are altogether too messy, Ez, to 
 be a good cook, and too thoughtless to be a 
 good chauffeur. Hereafter, I shall run the 
 auto myself and Mrs. Biddleson will serve the 
 ice-cream. Have some ice-cream, Biggs. 
 Bid hasn't touched it, I assure you. It's a fine 
 antidote for cylinder oil." 
 
 "Thank you," said Biggs gratefully, put-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 165 
 
 ting down the coffee. " I would have an ice, if 
 you don't mind." 
 
 " This is ice-cream, not an ice," said Miriam, 
 relaxing a little. 
 
 " Yes," Harkaway supplemented. " This is 
 real ice-cream, not one of those damp, ghastly 
 messes they serve to perspiring Americans in 
 London." 
 
 "And when you've finished it," said Dor- 
 othy, " I will give you another if you promise to 
 tell us just why you were late." 
 
 Biggs was nearly done with his second dish, 
 pondering deeply all the while. But he could 
 not think of an adequate reason for being late 
 when he had not intended to come at all. 
 " Perhaps they did invite me," he thought. 
 " Didn't Dorothy wave her handkerchief as 
 though she expected me and then reproach me 
 for being late; and besides, Mrs. Biddleson 
 said if she had been sure I would come, she 
 would have waited. I am a clumsy ass," 
 Biggs concluded, "and Mrs. Biddleson will 
 never forgive me. Anyway, I know why I 
 didn't get here sooner than I did."
 
 166 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 " I had trouble with my timer," Biggs an- 
 nounced finally and truthfully enough. 
 
 "Did you forget to wind it?" asked Dor- 
 othy, looking at Biggs with great innocence. 
 
 "Huh!" snorted her brother-in-law with 
 great sarcasm. " I suppose you think a 
 timer's an alarm clock that he sets so he can 
 tell when to start ! " 
 
 "I had some trouble with the timer the 
 commutator, you know," Biggs began again, 
 ignoring the interruption. " The spring 
 broke." 
 
 " The mainspring, of course," Biddleson 
 said in an aside to Harkaway, nudging him. 
 
 "That's too bad," Dorothy sympathised. 
 " What does it do? Won't the engine go with- 
 out it?" 
 
 " Ha HA! " exploded Biddleson as what he 
 thought was a brilliant and an original idea 
 struck him. " Ha HA ! the engine goes when 
 the boat goes. Ha HA!" He waited for a 
 responsive laugh, but none was forthcoming. 
 Instead, he felt his wife's disapproving eyes 
 upon him.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 167 
 
 " Rae, dear," she said patiently, " you are 
 thinking of the old joke about a broken watch 
 which goes when its owner goes. Mr. Biggs 
 is speaking of a broken commutator spring." 
 
 "But wouldn't the engine go if the boat 
 went? " objected Biddleson, only dimly realis- 
 ing that somehow or other his joke had been 
 short-circuited. " Ha HA ! " 
 
 " Yes, if he used oars, but he has no oars," 
 said the practical Miriam. 
 
 " It could float out to sea with the tide, or 
 he could push it with a pole," Biddleson pro- 
 tested. " Ha HA ! "this defiantly. 
 
 " That will do, dear," Miriam said firmly and 
 quietly. " You can tell the rest of it to me to- 
 night." 
 
 " Ha HA! " Biddleson guffawed once more; 
 but this time it was only a reflex action. He 
 had already subsided under his wife's com- 
 pelling gaze. 
 
 " It's the spring that works the commutator," 
 Biggs went on evenly, as though he hadn't been 
 interrupted. 
 
 'Yes?" said Dorothy inquiringly.
 
 168 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 " The commutator speeds the engine," Biggs 
 went on. " It makes the connection with the 
 electric current. It goes round and I set it 
 with a little lever and the engine goes fast or 
 slow according to the way I set the timer. It's 
 quite simple, really. If you saw it you would 
 understand." 
 
 " Do show it to me," Dorothy said with great 
 interest. "I like to know about such things, 
 Mr. Biggs." 
 
 " With the greatest of pleasure," responded 
 Biggs politely. 
 
 As Dorothy and Biggs got up to go to the 
 launch Mrs. Biddleson brushed the crumbs 
 from her lap in the most conspicuous manner 
 possible and announced in clear, commanding 
 tones, " And now we will gather up the things 
 and start for home." She reached here and 
 there for cups, saucers and spoons to make a 
 big noise with, hoping that Dorothy would 
 realise that she ought to help, and that Biggs 
 would forget his commutator. 
 
 Dorothy recognised her responsibility re- 
 garding the picnic things, but quickly shifted
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 169 
 
 the burden of it on Biddleson who sat in a daze 
 still trying to solve the mystery of his frus- 
 trated joke. "Oh, Rae will help," Dorothy 
 said lightly. " And when Mr. Harkaway gets 
 the car ready he can blow the horn and I'll 
 come back." 
 
 "Mr. Harkaway," said Miriam pointedly, 
 after they were gone, "don't you think you 
 should go too and see how it works, because if 
 the commutator in the car should break you 
 would know how to fix it? " 
 
 "Not me," replied Harkaway in great 
 gloom. " The Durable hasn't got any commu- 
 tator ; and, besides, I don't butt in on any man 
 it's no picnic of mine. Let Biggs enjoy 
 himself while he can. It's his launch and his 
 commutator. Me for a cigarette and the tall 
 grass." 
 
 ' You are quite right," Miriam agreed sar- 
 castically. " It apparently isn't any picnic of 
 yours. And," her mind here reverted to the 
 real picnic to which they had come in the auto 
 and into which Biggs had intruded with his 
 launch, " as far as I can see, it doesn't seem to
 
 170 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 be anybody's picnic but Mr. Biggs's. I really 
 believe that child had the audacity to ask him in 
 spite of the fact that she knew we didn't want 
 him." 
 
 " It does look as though she had invited him," 
 admitted Harkaway. " At least he seemed to 
 think someone did. I know I didn't. Any- 
 way, so long as he's here we've got to treat him 
 white." 
 
 ' That's right," Biddleson heartily con- 
 curred. " Harvey's a friend of mine, and I 
 don't care who invited him." 
 
 " Did you invite him, Rae? " demanded Mrs. 
 Biddleson in a tone that made Harkaway sorry 
 for Bid. But Biddleson was in no mood for 
 anybody's sympathy. His face bore the look 
 of the fabled worm that finally turned at least 
 that's the way he would have looked if a worm 
 had a face. "I guess it would have been all 
 right if I had," he asserted boldly. 
 
 " Ttae!" Mrs. Biddleson imposed upon her 
 husband a haughty, domineering look, but he 
 refused to be subdued. 
 
 "Hi! Biggs!" he shouted as the climax to
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 171 
 
 his long-delayed but now determined declara- 
 tion of conjugal independence. " Come back 
 and have some more ice-cream! " 
 
 Biggs didn't hear him. " It's just an or- 
 dinary coil spring," he was saying to Dorothy. 
 " It holds one point in contact with another. 
 The spring broke and it took me half an hour 
 to find another to put in." 
 
 "Is it all right now?" asked Dorothy, as 
 Biggs helped her into the launch. 
 
 "Just as good as new," answered Biggs, 
 holding her hand just a little longer than was 
 necessary. 
 
 "It looks like a good boat," Dorothy said 
 vaguely, extracting her hand from Biggs's too 
 helpful grasp. "Is that the engine?" she in- 
 quired, pointing to the two cylinder machine 
 that even a blind man would have recognised 
 as the motive power of the vessel. 
 
 ' Yes, that's it," replied Biggs with a trace 
 of suspicion in his voice. It was nothing un- 
 usual with Biggs to have people pretend ignor- 
 ance of a piece of machinery or something, so 
 that later, they could display a brilliant and as-
 
 172 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 tonishing ability to discover all that was known 
 about it. Not that Biggs thought Dorothy 
 would be guilty of such vanity, but, really, she 
 had overdone the thing somewhat. Biggs 
 stood in non-committal silence while Dorothy 
 fluttered about, examining first this and then 
 that. 
 
 " What a cute little wheel," she said finally, 
 taking hold of a spoke of the brass-bound steer- 
 ing wheel which was installed by the side of the 
 engine. "What would happen if I turned 
 it?" 
 
 " Nothing," answered Biggs, now thor- 
 oughly convinced that she was trifling with his 
 supposed credulity. " That is, nothing, ex- 
 cept that you might stun a fish with the rudder 
 as it swings around." 
 
 Dorothy, like a child, rapidly turned the 
 wheel, and then quickly peered over to the side, 
 ostensibly to ascertain what havoc she had done. 
 'You mean thing!" she announced, after a 
 fruitless gaze into the water. " I didn't get 
 a. thing! I believe you are teasing me, Mr. 
 Biggs!"
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 173 
 
 "Haw-haw!" laughed Biggs, quite pleased 
 with himself. 
 
 "And what is this?" she proceeded, indi- 
 cating the lever that shifted the propeller 
 blades. " Does that handle make the boat go 
 too?" 
 
 "Yes it makes it go backwards." 
 
 " There! it didn't do a thing! " she exclaimed 
 with a pout as she pulled the lever clear back 
 and the boat remained motionless. " I'm sure, 
 now, Mr. Biggs, that you're joking. I didn't 
 know Englishmen joked. I thought they just 
 stood around and said 'Bah Jove!" 
 
 "Now, really, Miss Dorothy," objected 
 Biggs, quite taken aback. " They don't 
 they do, of course I mean they say, 'By 
 Jove ! ' but they do something else as well, 
 don't you know!" He wiped his forehead in 
 great perplexity. He was in an unusual state 
 of confusion, quite astonishing to him. It 
 may have been Dorothy's bright eyes which 
 were looking mischievously into his. At any 
 rate he was unable to recall any specific in- 
 stance of what his countrymen did do under
 
 174 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 the not clearly defined circumstances. "By 
 Jove! " he finally exploded. 
 
 Dorothy laughed merrily. "You English 
 people are just deliciously funny," she de- 
 clared. "I " 
 
 "Really," said Biggs, scenting a compli- 
 ment. "There's Barrie, you know; he " 
 
 "But Barrie's a Scotchman," interposed 
 Dorothy. "What I meant was you are so 
 funny when you are serious." 
 
 "Indeed?" said Biggs stiffly, recovering his 
 dignity. "I'm glad it pleases you to see us 
 serious, for we do try to be sensible part of the 
 time. You Americans try to be humorous all 
 the time, which gets to be a beastly bore, don't 
 you know ! " 
 
 Dorothy looked at him, a hasty retort on 
 her lips. But something in Biggs's manner 
 deterred her. It, perhaps, was a demeanour 
 compelling respect, even though Dorothy 
 didn't recognise that quality in it. Biding her 
 time, she presently said in a humble tone, 
 "Thank you!" 
 
 "Beg pardon!"
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 175 
 
 " Thank you for the rehuke," said Dorothy. 
 " Being humorous all the time is really too 
 much of a strain, so we become silly. I won- 
 der we've never thought to stop ! " 
 
 " It's never too late to begin," Biggs sug- 
 gested amicably. 
 
 "To begin what?" 
 
 " To begin to stop I mean stop beginning 
 to oh!" Biggs gathered himself together 
 with an effort, seeing a twinkle of amusement 
 in Dorothy's eyes. " I mean that there is no 
 reason why one should not be serious when 
 one feels like it and that we should begin right 
 now." 
 
 "All right," agreed Dorothy. "And per- 
 haps you will first be good enough to tell me 
 how to start this engine." 
 
 " You throw the switch over, and if there is 
 a charge in one of the cylinders away she'll 
 go. Try it." 
 
 Dorothy tried it without result. Although 
 she seemed much disappointed, she was well 
 aware what was the matter. The switch-plug, 
 a small, brass, nail-like affair, was missing from
 
 176 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 its hole, and there being no electric connection 
 even when she threw the switch, she would have 
 been more than surprised if the engine had 
 started. However, she managed to look much 
 put out. 
 
 "I don't think that was very funny," she 
 said severely, as Biggs guffawed loudly and 
 exhibited with great glee the brass plug which 
 he had been carrying in his pocket. 'You 
 promised to be serious, you know, and now 
 you are as wildly silly as as any American. 
 If you do that again I'll get right out of the 
 boat!" 
 
 At this threat Biggs suddenly subsided, and 
 looked much more foolish than he felt. He 
 even failed to notice that Dorothy could not 
 have got out of the boat if she had wished to, 
 for the rising tide had floated the S pithead 
 into three feet of water and her nose was a 
 dozen feet from the bank. 
 
 " Now tell me," said Dorothy imperiously, 
 taking note of Biggs's abject expression, 
 "why the engine didn't start and why you 
 are so pleased with that ridiculous brass thing 
 you have in your hand."
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 177 
 
 " This," said Biggs, meekly enough, " is a 
 safety plug. When I take it out it breaks the 
 battery circuit and of course the engine won't 
 go." 
 
 ' The engine won't go, just on account of 
 that little thing? " queried Dorothy, with su- 
 pernatural innocence. 
 
 "No! Couldn't possibly." 
 
 " Not if I turned the switch the other way? " 
 
 " Try it," Biggs invited her again. 
 
 Dorothy turned the switch off, this time 
 and did it in such a manner that she made 
 Biggs believe she expected something start- 
 ling to happen; then, unnoticed by Biggs, she 
 deftly inserted a steel hairpin into the hole 
 left vacant by the brass plug which Biggs con- 
 fidently twirled in his fingers. Covering the 
 switch with one hand so that he couldn't see 
 the hairpin, she looked up at him reproach- 
 fully. 
 
 " It didn't go after all," she admitted. " I 
 thought you were teasing me again. What did 
 you say that brass plug did?" 
 
 " It's part of the electric circuit. You see," 
 explained Biggs carefully, as though conduct-
 
 178 FIVE GALLONS' OF GASOLINE 
 
 ing a class in motor boating, "when the pis- 
 ton recedes it sucks in a charge of gasoline 
 vapour through the carburetor mixed with air ; 
 when it comes up again it compresses the mix- 
 ture the mixture of gas and air, you know. 
 At this point the electric spark from the bat- 
 tery and coil ignites the charge, and the re- 
 sulting explosion is the force that drives the 
 engine. You see, if there is any break in the 
 electrical connection this is where the plug 
 comes in" perhaps Biggs meant to say that 
 this was where the plug came out " there can 
 be no spark, no explosion and the engine can't 
 go. Not while I have this plug," Biggs 
 added, concealing with difficulty his immense 
 pleasure because he had the plug and the best 
 of Dorothy. 
 
 " I don't exactly understand," said Dorothy 
 demurely, her hand still covering the switch, 
 "what the plug has to do with it. Are you 
 sure the engine won't go without the plug?" 
 . Biggs smiled a superior smile, in lieu of an 
 open answer, indicating plainly that he had 
 never heard of such a thing and that the pos-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 179 
 
 sibility of a gasoline engine going with a break 
 in the electrical connections was not worth 
 discussing. 
 
 "What would you say if it did?" pursued 
 Dorothy, her hand on the switch. 
 
 " Why, I'd I'd say " he began. But 
 
 what it was he intended to say, he didn't say 
 just then, for at that instant Dorothy threw 
 over the switch and the engine started up with 
 a loud roar. The S pithead jumped full speed 
 astern and Biggs, losing his balance, fell back- 
 wards over the bulkhead and measured his full 
 length on the carpet in the forward part of 
 the launch. Even then he wasn't prepared to 
 finish his interrupted remark. In a dazed 
 manner he got himself into a sitting posture, 
 made a futile grab at something in the air 
 above his head, presumably some stars he 
 could see floating about, rubbed the back of 
 his head, and then passed his hand two or 
 three times across his forehead. This well- 
 known operation for clearing one's mind, or 
 one's vision, enabled Biggs to see Dorothy 
 seated calmly by the engine, looking at him
 
 180 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 with great interest as if waiting to hear what 
 he had to say. 
 
 "By Jove!" said Biggs. 
 
 Dorothy laughed in great glee. "I knew 
 that was what you would say. That is what 
 an Englishman always says. And now that 
 you have said it, I'll run the boat while you 
 are thinking up something else to say." The 
 Spithead meanwhile was at a standstill, bow 
 towards the open bay. While Biggs was re- 
 covering his senses Dorothy had throttled the 
 engine down, put the reverse lever in the cen- 
 tre and left the propeller to revolve slowly and 
 ineffectually in the water. Now, without fur- 
 ther consideration for Biggs, or asking infor- 
 mation how to do it, she opened the throttle 
 wide, threw the -lever back and the Spithead 
 began backing towards the woods at an alarm- 
 ing rate so that Biggs, still dazed, felt sure 
 his boat was going to climb a tree at the 
 water's edge. "Look out!" he shouted in 
 alarm. 
 
 " Isn't it strange," observed Dorothy with- 
 out emotion as she moved the lever forward at
 
 181 
 
 just the right time and the screw churned the 
 water furiously and then slowly drove the craft 
 forward on a graceful curve out of the little 
 cove and out upon the bay, "isn't it a most 
 curious coincidence that Mr. Fairbanks had a 
 boat exactly like this one the Spooriholder, 
 he called it and a Durable automobile so 
 much like Rae's that I thought when I first 
 saw it they must have bought it from him 
 second hand? " 
 
 "Mr. Fairbanks?" questioned Biggs, 
 achieving instinctively and at once a solid dis- 
 like for Fairbanks, whoever he was. 
 
 "Oh, Fred Mr. Fairbanks was at the 
 university, in the engineering department, 
 head instructor in 'Applied Mechanics.' I 
 didn't take that course, but Fred Mr. Fair- 
 banks used to take me I mean we used to 
 go out Saturday afternoons for an auto ride 
 on the lake in the Spoonholder" 
 
 " Took the car with you in the boat, I sup- 
 pose," said Biggs in a weak attempt at sar- 
 casm. 
 
 " No," answered Dorothy. " Fred Mr.
 
 182 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Fairbanks put the Durable in the boathouse. 
 It was some trouble to get it in, of course, but 
 it would have looked too absurd to leave an au- 
 tomobile standing by the side of the lake just 
 as though the horses were taking a swim, so 
 we used to untie the boathouse, turn it round, 
 to get the big, swinging doors on the right 
 end, and then Fred would run the car down 
 into it on some planks. When it was inside 
 we'd lock it up, turn it round again and no one 
 would ever take it for a garage." 
 
 " No, I don't believe anybody would," said 
 Biggs gravely. 
 
 "And then," continued Dorothy, "we'd 
 have the loveliest ride on the lake, particularly 
 when the moon was shining and and " 
 
 "When the moon was shining," repeated 
 Biggs with an inward pain. 
 
 ' Yes, and Mr. Fairbanks talked so beauti- 
 fully so differently from the way he did in 
 his classes and about all kinds of engines, 
 one cylinder and two cylinder. Two, he said, 
 were always better than one. And he told me 
 about sparks "
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 183 
 
 "Why, to be sure," interrupted Biggs bit- 
 terly, as a hateful vision presented itself to 
 his eyes of Dorothy on a Minnesota lake in 
 soft moonlight with an odious professor sit- 
 ting close to her telling her in tender tones of 
 the moving and emotional parts of a gasoline 
 engine. "I'm sure he told you all about 
 sparks." 
 
 "Of course," said Dorothy, "and I know 
 all about high compression and low compres- 
 sion " 
 
 " No doubt of it," said Biggs, grinding his 
 teeth. 
 
 "And knots, half -hitch, bowline, reef- 
 knot- 
 
 "And lovers' knots," suggested Biggs in 
 despair. 
 
 'Yes, and rings," said Dorothy mischiev- 
 ously. "Piston rings, of course; and when 
 we went home in the Durable he let me drive 
 
 so that his hand would be free to to " 
 
 At this point Biggs looked as if he wanted to 
 get out of the boat, so Dorothy repented. 
 " Free to roll cigarettes and smoke," she said.
 
 184 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 " I'm sure, Mr. Biggs, you want to smoke. 
 Do light your pipe! I don't mind it in the 
 least. And you must promise not to tell the 
 others! I mean, don't say anything to Rae 
 and Mr. Harkaway about the Durable. It 
 will make them so cross." 
 
 The S pithead under her sensible, seaman- 
 like management, was pointed straight across 
 the bay and rapidly making for Tidewater. 
 Biggs sat smoking, gazing at Dorothy 
 thoughtfully. She was something outside his 
 experience. As the result of the too careful 
 tutelage of Fairbanks she seemed capable of 
 anything, even of converting the S pithead into 
 a submarine at a moment's notice, or into an 
 airship, perhaps. As Biggs smoked, and 
 smoked, things assumed a truer perspective; 
 he forgot for the time his ignominious descent 
 into the shallow hold of his craft; even Fair- 
 banks became less of an officious meddler in 
 the affairs of mechanics and women. Under 
 the influence of his pipe and with the return 
 of calm, all his British assurance and dignity 
 came back to him.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 185 
 
 " If you don't mind, I'd like to know where 
 we're going," he said inquiringly. 
 
 "I don't know where you are going, but 
 I'm going home," answered Dorothy, ignor- 
 ing the fact that she had, in a most high-handed 
 manner, taken possession of Biggs's boat, and 
 that Biggs was in it himself and perforce must 
 go where she did. 
 
 "But," objected Biggs, forgetting whose 
 boat it was also, " you won't go away and leave 
 the others ! They will wait all hours for you. 
 They wouldn't leave without you." 
 
 " They wouldn't leave anyway, very far, 
 whether I was there or not," she replied. 
 "Why?" asked Biggs in surprise. 
 "They can't. They're out of gasoline. I 
 looked in the tank. They only brought two 
 gallons along and they haven't got a quart left. 
 So what's the use?" 
 
 Dorothy really intended to circle around for 
 awhile and then return to the party, replenish 
 the Durable's tank with some from Biggs's 
 supply and finally dismiss that gentleman with 
 a dazzling smile, or an intimidating frown,
 
 186 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 whichever under the circumstances she thought 
 would do him the most good. However, 
 Biggs was no mind reader. He objected 
 again : 
 
 "But you can't leave them like that, you 
 know!" 
 
 "No?" said Dorothy with a rising inflec- 
 tion, as much as to say that the Spiihead was 
 leaving as it was, and that there was nothing 
 to prevent her going on forever. 
 
 "But you can't leave them like that, you 
 know!" repeated Biggs more firmly, but still 
 politely. 
 
 "Did you speak to me?" demanded Dor- 
 othy coldly and as indifferently as she could, 
 considering her rising anger. No man had 
 ever before even suggested to her that she 
 would or would not do a certain thing. Biggs, 
 she thought, ought to be put in his proper 
 place. She would do it. 
 
 'Yes," said Biggs in a very icy manner, 
 " and you will pardon me, I am sure, if I in- 
 sist that we go back at once." Biggs rose, 
 took a step forward and looked at Dorothy as
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 187 
 
 though expecting her to relinquish her seat by 
 the engine and allow him to run the launch. 
 This manoeuvre Dorothy did not choose to no- 
 tice. Instead she looked straight ahead 
 right through Biggs at the buildings and 
 docks of Tidewater, which they were rapidly 
 approaching. 
 
 Biggs regarded her silently with strong dis- 
 approval. He could not, or at least did not, 
 care to use physical force, which her attitude 
 seemed to demand. She had a defiant grasp 
 of the steering wheel, a firm hold on the re- 
 verse lever and a touch-me-if-you-dare look on 
 her face. This, of course, was childish in Dor- 
 othy, but she was not very old. Biggs was not 
 so very old himself. However, he was old 
 enough in experience to know that she would 
 certainly scream if he even touched her hand, 
 yet she would secretly despise him if he didn't 
 do something to assert himself and regain con- 
 trol of his own boat. 
 
 Biggs pondered for a moment and then be- 
 thought himself of a trick which he hoped the 
 ingenious and romantic professor had neg-
 
 188 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 lected to mention. While Dorothy, the usurp- 
 er, was fussing 1 with the hairpin which she 
 was afraid would fall out and thus bring de- 
 feat, he quickly opened a hatch in the small 
 forward deck, reached down and turned the 
 gasoline off at the tank. What was left in the 
 pipe running aft to the engine he knew would 
 last about two minutes and then, hairpin or no 
 hairpin, the fair mutineer would be undone. 
 Quite cheered by this reflection Biggs refilled 
 and lit his pipe. He sat down and gazed at 
 Dorothy in a friendly manner for a moment 
 until another thought struck him. In pur- 
 suance of this he quietly and rapidly got out 
 his fishing tackle and some clam meat which 
 was stowed away in a seat locker, baited the 
 hook and then calculated to the second just 
 when Dorothy's troubles would begin. 
 
 " Miss Dorothy," he said in a matter-of-fact 
 tone, " this is a fine place to fish. Would you 
 mind stopping a bit?" But the captain pro 
 tern, scorned to notice him. She was plan- 
 ning to make a landing on the small stretch of 
 beach below her brother-in-law's house, get
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 189 
 
 out and walk home, and leave Biggs to do what 
 he liked with his boat. 
 
 " Ahem ! " coughed Biggs. " Miss De Poe ! 
 This is an excellent place to fish. Would you 
 please stop the boat a minute?" 
 
 Just then the carburetor got the last drop 
 of gasoline, the engine gave a final snort and 
 died. 
 
 " Thank you," said Biggs, just as though 
 Dorothy had stopped the boat on his account. 
 
 Dorothy did not say, "Don't mention it, 
 Mr. Biggs," or "You are welcome, Mr. 
 Biggs." She merely looked at Biggs. A 
 deep suspicion came over her that she had been 
 duped. She recalled his peculiar and hasty 
 movements at the forward compartment. She 
 remembered an occasion on which the skil- 
 ful Fairbanks had fussed around in an identi- 
 cal fashion, except that that gentleman she 
 mentally emphasised "gentleman" had pro- 
 nounced that there was no gasoline, instead 
 of silently sitting down to fish. She looked 
 at Biggs again, but his back was turned. He 
 did not have the anxious appearance of a man
 
 190 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 whose launch was drifting to sea without a 
 drop of gasoline aboard. He had turned it 
 off, she was sure. She reached down and 
 tickled the carburetor. It tickled all right, 
 but the cooling flow of gasoline down the little 
 wire and along one's finger that invariably ac- 
 companies that operation did not materialise. 
 The carburetor was as dry as a bone! 
 
 She stared at Biggs once more, then turned 
 her back and gazed stonily across the widen- 
 ing stretch of water that separated her from 
 home. Presently she heard a joyous shout 
 from the enemy. Biggs was pulling in a 
 flashing perch. "By Jove!" he shouted. 
 "Isn't it a beauty?"
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 DOROTHY'S TRIUMPH 
 
 BIGGS drew in a second flapping fish and 
 slowly took the hook out of its mouth. But 
 his eyes weren't half so firmly fixed on this 
 task as his manner would indicate. He was 
 really watching Dorothy. That young wo- 
 man's calm face expressed nothing into which 
 Biggs could read an appreciation of the situa- 
 tion. He, the owner of the launch, had as- 
 serted his authority hy the gentle means of a 
 joke. He had known in his courteous soul that 
 an open and direct rebuke wouldn't do. So he 
 had carefully perpetrated a joke, as a nice 
 way of showing her that her place wasn't run- 
 ning the engine. But did she see the joke? 
 Here Biggs jabbed his thumb into the un- 
 offending fish's mouth and pulled savagely at 
 the hook. A jest unseen and unappreciated 
 
 191
 
 192 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 was awful to contemplate. If Dorothy hadn't 
 perceived the humorous intention behind his 
 stopping the engine, what did she think? He 
 flung the perch into a box and stared at her 
 thoughtfully. She glanced at him modestly, 
 then dropped her eyes. It was perfectly evi- 
 dent that she didn't see the joke. Probably, 
 thought Biggs, she was trying to discover some 
 explanation for his absurd behaviour, and the 
 thought that his guest for the time was delving 
 into his mental process made a vivid flush over- 
 run Biggs's countenance. He felt almost im- 
 modest. He bitterly remembered the jibes 
 cast upon the British nation for its inability 
 to see the point to American humour. Now 
 he knew how a race feels when its choicest 
 jests and quips are received with a blank stare 
 or a demure meditativeness. But what to do? 
 He cast his bait once more. 
 
 Meanwhile Dorothy maintained an attitude 
 of maidenly expectancy, dashed with bewil- 
 derment and a slight air of amazement that 
 Biggs should be so funny. She knew exactly 
 what had happened and what Biggs hoped to
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 193 
 
 gain by his wily manoeuvre. She also knew 
 that if she didn't appear to see any humour in 
 it, and generally conducted herself as though 
 she were surprised, but ready to expect any- 
 thing from Mr. Biggs in the way of rudeness 
 and impoliteness, that he, too, would fail to 
 discern the joke. So she looked simple and 
 girlish and demure and shy, and wondered how 
 he would extricate himself. 
 
 When he saw that he must take the initia- 
 tive, Biggs thought of at least ten foolish 
 things he could say and a dozen silly things he 
 might do. Wisdom, however, appeared to 
 have fled. He could not think of a thing to 
 say that wouldn't give the whole jeke 
 to the dogs. There was nothing to do 
 but surrender. Possibly, if he could conjure 
 up the right idea, this capitulation might be 
 made with some of the honours of war. He 
 pondered it, careless of the jerking of his line 
 while a perch wondered what it had eaten that 
 took so long to swallow. An inspiration ar- 
 rived on belated wings. 
 
 "I think you must have had enough of
 
 194 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 this fishing, Miss Dorothy," he remarked. 
 "Shan't we start on?" 
 
 She looked at him gravely. " I think it 
 would be best," was her reply. " You see I'm 
 getting chilly. And we're drifting with the 
 tide towards an awfully shallow place, aren't 
 we?" 
 
 Biggs glanced hastily round and saw a few 
 yards off a perfect jungle of weeds that lifted 
 their limp heads to the surface of the water. 
 The launch was drifting straight for them. 
 Visions of a snagged propeller and wading to 
 his waist, and having to apologise for getting 
 into such a mess swept over him. He jumped 
 up and taking the engine flywheel in his hands 
 twirled it over. It sighed and stopped. 
 
 " I think " began Dorothy and then was 
 
 silent, a mere wisp of a smile flitting across her 
 lips. 
 
 Biggs flushed, this time a brick red, and in 
 complete surrender went to the forward com- 
 partment and turned on the gasoline. " I for- 
 got " he stammered. 
 
 But Dorothy refused even to smile at him.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 195 
 
 She watched him tickle the carburetor and 
 start the engine. As the launch chugged away 
 from the weeds she reached over to the wheel 
 and brought the Spiihead swinging round on 
 her course for the landing at Tidewater. 
 " Thank you," said the humbled Biggs. 
 
 Presently he brightened up. " I forgot we 
 had to get some gasoline for Biddleson's au- 
 tomobile. I'll get a can of it in town and we'll 
 take it back to them." 
 
 " They'll have left before you can get back," 
 Dorothy said coldly. 
 
 Biggs fell into despondency again till an- 
 other thought struck him. "But I thought 
 you said they couldn't get home without it!" 
 
 "They don't know that," Dorothy ex- 
 plained. " So they'll start and go as far as 
 they can and then they'll stop. You see, it's 
 an endurance run and they only took two gal- 
 lons along ; they want to find out how far that 
 will take them." 
 
 "Ha, Ha!" Biggs remarked. 
 
 "It's exceedingly funny, isn't it?" Dorothy 
 agreed without a smile.
 
 196 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Biggs subsided once more, but roused him- 
 self presently and asked humbly, "How far 
 do you think they'll get before they stop ? " 
 
 "They might get back as far as Salmon 
 Point Hill," was the indifferent response. 
 
 " Then," said Biggs triumphantly, " we'll 
 get the gasoline and meet them there. That'll 
 be a great joke!" 
 
 " I hope it will be a successful one," Dorothy 
 commented with gentle sarcasm. "So many 
 jokes are stupid, you know!" 
 
 " Ah, er so they are, don't you know," was 
 the crestfallen Biggs's reply. Later he 
 changed the subject skilfully. "Er do you 
 like launching or automobiling best, Miss Dor- 
 othy?" 
 
 Dorothy answered this very carefully, out- 
 wardly languid however. "I really don't 
 know! It depends on who is with me. I did 
 enjoy the ride this morning so much. I like 
 Mr. Harkaway. Don't you? He's so inter- 
 esting and he makes one feel so comfortable. 
 Besides, he takes everything nicely and looks 
 after one so. I think comfort is everything,
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 197 
 
 don't you, Mr. Biggs? You know what I 
 mean being sure that nobody is going to do 
 the wrong thing." 
 
 "Oh, ah, yes, of course," he mumbled. 
 Then, "I'm glad you won't have the discom- 
 fort of sitting in that bally motor waiting for 
 gasoline, Miss Dorothy." 
 
 She relented and smiled. "Are you sure 
 we can get some? " she inquired. " You know 
 this is Sunday and nobody is in the shops." 
 
 "Trust me," said Biggs nobly. "If I 
 can't get it anywhere else I'll go and get some 
 at Mrs. Thompson's. She always has plenty, 
 I'm sure big tank in the garage." 
 
 "Oh, would you really go and steal it?" 
 Dorothy exclaimed with a ravishing smile. 
 "What fun!" 
 
 " No, not steal it, exactly," said Biggs has- 
 tily. " That would be quite unnecessary. I'll 
 ask for some and then Biddleson can return 
 it to-morrow." 
 
 Dorothy's smile vanished. "I'm so sorry. 
 I'd hoped for a minute that we were going to 
 have some fun. It would be so amusing to
 
 see an Englishman stealing gasoline on Sun- 
 day!" 
 
 Biggs seemed to think this sort of conver- 
 sation was dangerous, and he remarked that 
 if they landed near the steamer wharf it would 
 be more convenient to the stores. Dorothy ac- 
 cepted this suggestion and five minutes later 
 swung the launch up under the dripping piles 
 in seamanlike fashion. Biggs made the 
 painter fast and then said politely, "If you 
 don't mind waiting just a moment, I'll fetch 
 the gasoline directly." 
 
 " Oh, I don't mind," Dorothy returned. 
 "But I don't dare to think of Miriam sitting 
 in that automobile all night making sugges- 
 tions while Rae tries to make the engine go 
 with a monkey wrench. So please hurry!" 
 
 Biggs nodded reassuringly, scrambled up to 
 the wharf and disappeared. While he was 
 gone Dorothy extracted the hairpin from the 
 battery switch and thoughtfully thrust it back 
 into her hair. Then she smiled to herself. 
 
 In ten minutes Biggs was back, looking over 
 the edge of the wharf. " Every shop in town
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 199 
 
 is shut up and I can't find any of the shopkeep- 
 ers," he said miserably. 
 
 " Then you'll have to go and get some from 
 Mrs. Thompson," was Dorothy's prompt an- 
 swer. 
 
 "But I say, she's gone, too!" said the 
 wretched Biggs. " I telephoned, and nobody 
 answered." 
 
 'You said you'd go," Dorothy protested. 
 "Even if you had to steal it!" 
 
 Biggs shook his head. " That was a joke," 
 he murmured feebly. 
 
 Dorothy set her lips firmly. "We must 
 have that gasoline, even if you have to steal 
 it. I can't bear to think of Miriam sitting 
 over there in that wretched car all night. If 
 you won't get it, I shall! So there!" 
 
 " Then," said Biggs, just as firmly, " we will 
 go to Mrs. Thompson's." He got down into 
 the boat and with great dignity said to Dor- 
 othy, "You will allow me, Miss De Poe?" 
 Miss De Poe relinquished her place by the 
 engine; Biggs thrust the brass plug into the 
 hole and started the engine.
 
 200 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Biggs at the wheel, looking as nearly like 
 Fairbanks as he could, and doing it pretty well 
 considering he had never seen him, they steered 
 straight for the tremendously expensive " It 
 cost a whole fifty thousand," Mrs. Thompson 
 was fond of telling stone pier that jutted out 
 into Marie Jean Bay at the Thompson resi- 
 dential fortifications. 
 
 Devonshire Hall looked even more pic- 
 turesquely bizarre from the water front than 
 it did from the rear. Its battlemented cedar 
 shingle walls frowned down on an elaborate 
 plantation of rose bushes. Carefully installed 
 on solid masonry, north of the summer house, 
 where the sun never shone on it, was an exceed- 
 ingly scientific and costly sun-dial. Mrs. 
 Thompson had insisted on having it placed ex- 
 actly where it was because it was more con- 
 spicuously visible there when strangers and 
 visitors drove across the drawbridge and en- 
 tered the grounds. Three lofty wind mills 
 with the manufacturer's name .painted in big, 
 black letters on both sides of the rudder reared 
 their whirling heads in different parts of the
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 201 
 
 yard. Every time Harkaway passed Devon- 
 shire Hall and had it thrust on his attention 
 thrice conspicuously that Jimcrack & Co. were 
 the makers of these wind mills he thought what 
 a splendid advertisement it was for Jimcrack 
 & Co. He had had some idea of offering 
 Thompson ten dollars a month for the privi- 
 lege of erasing Jimcrack & Go's, name and 
 painting on them his own advertisement : " See 
 Harka way's Addition Before You Buy." 
 But he had never got around to it. 
 
 Undeterred by the pretentious architectural 
 features of the Thompson place Biggs brought 
 the S pithead swiftly and gracefully up against 
 the stone pier on the down-stream side, deftly 
 threw a line ashore, jumped out after it and 
 fastened it to a cleat. With Dorothy, who 
 thought she would like to go along, he strode 
 determinedly toward the garage. 
 
 The garage was a new structure of the 
 Spanish Mission style of architecture, built of 
 cement blocks. It harmonised perfectly with 
 the general incongruity which characterised 
 the whole place, and only lacked a cupola and
 
 202 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 a bell to make it look like a church. Biggs 
 recognised it as the garage by the trail of 
 lubricating oil leading up to it, across the ce- 
 ment roadway. They went in the open door, 
 Biggs stamping loudly to attract attention. 
 yTo one appeared in answer to this summons. 
 All was silent, clean and orderly. Here 
 was an electric coupe for Mrs. Thomp- 
 son's own private use. She had never used it, 
 because she could never remember which way 
 to shove the tiller-like steering handle when 
 she wanted to go around a corner. It had been 
 carefully and repeatedly explained to her that 
 when she wanted to go north she must push 
 the handle south, and vice-versa; also vice- 
 versa as regards east and west. She was sure 
 the large dials of the ammeter and voltmeter 
 were a compass and steam gauge, and refused 
 to have anything to do with it. Anyway, the 
 electric lacked the power to go up the hill ap- 
 proaching the Thompson residence (it was 
 towed up the day they got it) which prevented 
 anyone else from using it; so it stood immac- 
 ulately clean and stylish near the door, as ex-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 203 
 
 pensive in appearance and as useful as the sun- 
 dial over in the shade by the summer house. 
 In a dark corner, where no one would ever 
 think of looking for anything, was a maroon- 
 coloured, one-cylinder car as disreputable and 
 ancient in looks as it was powerful and steady 
 in action. Mrs. Thompson had acquired a 
 complete forgetfulness of that vehicle, though 
 she sometimes spoke vaguely of their "First 
 car." It was used on dark nights to send 
 Mrs. Thompson's poor relations home when 
 they stayed to dinner; and occasionally Mc- 
 Lean, the engineer, had it out for a " joy ride." 
 McLean's joy rides consisted of a trip to the 
 Half -Way House on the road to Tidewater, 
 and an immediate return with a good sized box 
 containing mysterious objects packed in straw. 
 They may have been eggs, or electric light 
 bulbs, or they may have been cans of lubricat- 
 ing oil. However that might be, each of Mc- 
 Lean's joy rides (almost invariably a Satur- 
 day night affair) was followed next day by 
 strange and gloomy actions on his part. Pe- 
 culiar and unexplainable accidents occurred
 
 204 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 to the mechanical arrangements of which he 
 was the presiding genius. He became in- 
 tensely religious and morose religious as be- 
 fitting the day, and morose as befitting the 
 temperament of a Scot on a Sabbath morn- 
 ing. No compatriot of his in his native 
 town across the Sea, wending his way sternly 
 and undeviatingly along the streets of Dun- 
 dee, helped onward to his salvation by the 
 hopeful ringings of some church bells, or im- 
 pelled towards his doom by the harsh jangling 
 of others, could feel the need of spiritual up- 
 lifting, or have a more sepulchral taste in his 
 mouth than did McLean the day that Biggs 
 and Dorothy came to Devonshire Hall for 
 gasoline. 
 
 Biggs stamped around some more, without 
 rousing anyone. The big red touring car was 
 out, very likely with Henri at the wheel. An 
 empty can and the gasoline pump stood tempt- 
 ingly by. After a final stamp and a noisy rat- 
 tle of the can Biggs approached the pump, 
 picking up the five gallon can. "Really, I
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 205 
 
 think I'll draw this full and leave a note of 
 explanation," he mentioned to Dorothy. 
 
 " We must have that gasoline," she re- 
 turned, and Biggs under her radiant smile 
 proceeded to fill the can full. 
 
 " Now I'll leave a note," he said. 
 
 Before he could even find a pencil, much less 
 write the note or escape with the gasoline, a 
 tall, lanky form surmounted by a mat of red 
 hair rose from the depths of the one-cylinder 
 car in the corner. This apparition, seemingly 
 erecting itself as if from behind a boulder in 
 a wild, desolate pass in the Scottish High- 
 lands, glared at Biggs with eyes inflamed and 
 red. In lieu of a claymore he had in hand an 
 open Bible ; a grimy finger marked a favourite 
 passage in Ezekiel: "I made the nations to 
 shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him 
 down to hell with them that descend into the 
 Pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and 
 best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be 
 comforted in the nether parts of the earth." 
 
 This verse, particularly the allusion to the
 
 206 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 drinking of water, was to McLean one of sin- 
 gular and appropriate helpfulness. All around 
 it, the page was dark and greasy with count- 
 less thumbings on similar occasions. The 
 words of the verse itself were almost illegible 
 from the emphasis laid upon them in hours of 
 agony and remorse. Just as Biggs was about 
 to escape with his plunder, McLean broke his 
 formidable silence. The words of themselves 
 conveyed nothing of the suspicion and deadly 
 insult that the Scot's manner and intonation 
 put into them. 
 
 " Na, na, Meester Biggs," he said. " You'll 
 no be gaein' awa* wi' the gasoline sae sune, 
 A'm thinkin'." 
 
 "Why, McLean!" said Biggs in surprise. 
 "I didn't know you were here." 
 
 " Ay, but I am "here; and here I'm intendin' 
 to stay, so put doon the gasoline, Meester 
 Biggs." 
 
 " I hope," said Biggs haughtily, putting the 
 can down, "that you don't think I intended 
 to steal it?" 
 
 " Na, na, Meester Biggs, I ken weel eneuch
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 207 
 
 ye wadna steal it, but I didna hear ye say 'at 
 Mrs. Thampson sent ye for 't." 
 
 " No," said Biggs coldly, " Mrs. Thompson 
 didn't send me for it. I came for it. As there 
 was no one about, I helped myself. I'll leave 
 a note for Mrs. Thompson and pay for it to- 
 morrow." 
 
 "Ay, but perhaps ye wudna think to pay 
 for't i' th' morrow." 
 
 "Look here, my good fellow " began 
 
 Biggs angrily. 
 
 "Dinna ye ca' me a guid fellow," said Mc- 
 Lean as he advanced upon Biggs in a threat- 
 ening manner. 'Ye needna haver wf me. 
 Juist tak' yourself awa'! I dinna like the 
 looks o' your face. Gin it werena the Sab- 
 bath day, I'd bash it in for ye." 
 
 Biggs was no coward, far from it; but gas- 
 oline was what he had come for and gasoline 
 was what he was going to have, not the glory 
 of a hard-won fight, nor the bruises and gore 
 of an honourable defeat. Nevertheless, Biggs 
 stood his ground. Outwardly he was calm ; in- 
 wardly he was boiling with rage.
 
 208 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 " I am sorry," he said with cold emphasis, 
 "that it is Sunday." 
 
 Here was an opening that filled the valiant 
 Scot with joy. "Is it a fecht ye want?" he 
 demanded, a glad light coming over his face. 
 In imagination the Celt could see a despised 
 Southron grovelling, not in the dirt, but in a 
 puddle of oil on the garage floor with an 
 empty gasoline can jammed over his head by 
 way of decoration. Although McLean was a 
 hard man, he liked to give his conquests an 
 artistically humorous finish. " Is it a fecht ye 
 want?" he demanded again, fearful that pres- 
 ently Biggs would cease to be sorry that it was 
 Sunday and thus deprive him (McLean) of 
 a fitting casus belli. "Dinna ye think I'm 
 scairt at ye!" He reverently closed the Bi- 
 ble, carefully placed it on the seat of the elec- 
 tric so that the Holy Word could not be dam- 
 aged in the coming fray, and said, " I'm 
 your man, gin it's a fecht ye want. The Lord 
 forgi'e me, but they say the better the day 
 the better the deed, so put up your han's an' 
 I'll gie ye th' worst lickin' any Englishman's
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 209 
 
 had syne th' days o' Bannockburn!" With 
 the blood of twenty generations of quarrel- 
 some ancestry bubbling to the surface, Mc- 
 Lean stood fiercely anxious, waiting for the 
 enemy to proceed with his "fecht." 
 
 Biggs was pale, but not from fear. In a 
 suppressed tone, his hands tightly clenched, 
 his blood boiling as fiercely as that of any of 
 McLean's wild, marauding forefathers could 
 have boiled in the days of old, he said as calmly 
 as he could, " You forget that there is a lady 
 present. Restrain yourself, McLean." 
 
 " Oh, ay, I forgot," said McLean, relaxing 
 his hostile tenseness. "But," he said by way 
 of extenuation of his own inconsiderate con- 
 duct, " ye forgot yoursel', Meester Biggs, 
 standin' there wi' your han's clenched a'ready 
 for a fecht. I beg the bonnie lassie's pardon. 
 Ye may hae th' gasoline, but ye'll be comin' 
 around th' Saturday nicht, an we'll settle this 
 little deef-ference of o-peen-ion. Awa' wi' ye 
 before I forget 'at th' lassie's here, an I hit 
 
 ye! 
 
 But the bonnie lassie was not there ! Either
 
 210 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 to escape the horrors of battle, or to save the 
 day and the gasoline, Dorothy was more 
 than half way to the boat, half running, half 
 stumbling in a lop-sided manner, weighted 
 down with the five gallons of precious fluid. 
 
 "Oho!" exclaimed McLean, a genial smile 
 chasing away his sour looks and removing the 
 last trace of hostility with which he had 
 greeted them as he saw Dorothy escaping. 
 1 Yon's a braw lassie, Meester Biggs, an' I 
 wish ye luck. Run along, Biggs, my guid 
 friend, and dinna ye forget th' Saturday nicht! 
 But man," he continued, as he surveyed 
 Biggs's stalwart form with approval, " I be- 
 lieve ye cud mak' a bonnie fecht." A look of 
 deep disappointment came over his face as he 
 remembered the great joys he had foregone. 
 " Any Saturday will dae, Meester Biggs. 
 Gie me your ban' on it." 
 
 Biggs and McLean shook hands solemnly, 
 and the former hurried after Dorothy. With 
 the five gallons of gasoline in a safe place so 
 that it would not fall overboard, the Spithead 
 coughed her way triumphantly across Marie
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 211 
 
 Jean Bay, along the water front of Tide- 
 water and across Ferdinand Arm. Skirting 
 the shore so that he would not miss the picnic 
 party in the auto, which he knew was stalled 
 somewhere on the way back to town, Biggs 
 rounded Salmon Point. Just at the bottom 
 of Salmon Point Hill on the far side, Dorothy 
 discerned her sister sitting on the grassy bank 
 where she had sat the day before. Although 
 the sun had set, Miriam held her parasol open 
 over her head, a far-away look on her face, as 
 though it had been ages ago since yesterday 
 and would be ages again before she would see 
 her home and fireside. 
 
 Harkaway was seated on a rock by the 
 water's edge looking as if he expected some- 
 one. When the Spithead rounded the point, 
 he was in the act of lighting a large fat cigar, 
 as though to fortify himself for a still more 
 protracted wait. 
 
 Biddleson, of course, was on his back under 
 the Durable, messing around with a screw 
 driver, trying to find out why they were stay- 
 ing where they were.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 When the S 'pithead ran in to shore, Hark- 
 away rose to meet it. He held out his hand 
 in an expectant manner and took the five gal- 
 lon can that Biggs handed to him. " Thanks, 
 old man," he said. "I thought you would 
 come, but I didn't expect you so soon." Rais- 
 ing his cap cheerfully and politely to Dorothy, 
 he went up to the road with the gasoline, while 
 the launch backed her way out and was soon 
 speeding home.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 DOROTHY EXPLAINS 
 
 BIGGS helped Dorothy up a slippery plank 
 to the wharf. On the hill the church bell was 
 ringing for the eight o'clock service. " I did 
 intend to he at service to-night," Dorothy said 
 repentantly. "But I can't possibly go in 
 these clothes, so I'll go home and fix supper. 
 Won't you come up and have supper with us, 
 Mr. Biggs? Put your launch away and come 
 up." 
 
 Biggs took off his cap. "I'm very sorry, 
 thank you," he replied finally, "but I've got 
 to go and check up the first freight for the 
 early train in the morning." 
 
 ' You've been awfully good," Dorothy went 
 on, holding out a slim hand to him. " I'm sure 
 Miriam will want to thank you herself." She 
 departed, leaving Biggs with a strong impres- 
 
 213
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 sion that he had been gloriously forgiven for 
 having been a dunce. 
 
 It was precisely nine o'clock when the Dur- 
 able chugged its slow way up the hill, and 
 stopped before the Biddleson cottage. Hark- 
 away shut off the engine and watched Biddle- 
 son help Miriam down. " I wonder why Dor- 
 othy lit so many lights,'* was that weary ma- 
 tron's first remark when she felt herself on her 
 own solid door step. 
 
 Before either of the men could offer an an- 
 swer Dorothy herself appeared at the top of 
 the steps and called down brightly, " Come on 
 in, good people. Supper is ready!" 
 
 " Fine ! " said Biddleson promptly. " Come 
 on, Hark, drop that blessed steering handle, 
 and wake up. Don't you hear Dorothy call- 
 ing?" 
 
 " Of course," said Miriam pleasantly. " I 
 won't hear of your going down town without 
 supper, Mr. Harkaway." 
 
 With due gratitude and expressions thereof, 
 Harkaway climbed out of the motor and 
 joined his hosts in the front hall, where Dor-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 215 
 
 othy beamed on them over a charming white 
 apron, " I made Mr. Biggs simply race home 
 so that I would be in time to get you some- 
 thing to eat," she told them. "But he 
 wouldn't come up and help me get it ! " 
 
 "I hope you didn't ask him, after all his 
 performances to-day," said Mrs. Biddleson se- 
 verely. 
 
 " Oh, but I did," was the reply. " I simply 
 begged him, but the horrid thing had some 
 freight to pack up, or something of that sort." 
 
 Biddleson and Harkaway feigned not to 
 observe Miriam's lifted eyebrows, but went into 
 the dining-room with all alacrity. In three 
 minutes peace was assured and Biddleson was 
 enlarging on the excellence of the Durable on 
 hills. 
 
 Harkaway agreed that their purchase had 
 done well so far as climbing grades was con- 
 cerned. " But we'll have to revise our esti- 
 mates on gasoline," he said. 
 
 " I don't see how you ever came to make 
 such a mistake," Miriam commented. 
 
 " But Miss Dorothy seemed to find out be-
 
 216 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 fore we did, that we were out of gasoline," 
 said Harkaway with a glance towards the 
 young woman who sat pouring tea. 
 
 Dorothy dimpled into a ladylike grin, but 
 made no answer. 
 
 "If it hadn't been for you and Biggs," 
 Harkaway went on, addressing her, " we'd 
 have been there yet or walking home." 
 
 " Horrors ! " Miriam breathed at thought of 
 this. Then she bent her pretty eyes on her 
 sister. "Is that what you and Mr. Biggs went 
 for in the launch or did you see us stuck on 
 the hill and then think of it?" 
 
 Dorothy still refused to answer, but Rae 
 snorted defence of her. " They didn't have 
 time to see us and then go and get gasoline. 
 We weren't there twenty minutes before the 
 launch came. Of course they knew it all the 
 time." 
 
 " Then all I can say is that Mr. Biggs was 
 very impolite," Miriam pouted. 
 
 " But he did his best," her husband said 
 wonderingly. "What more do you expect?" 
 
 " Why didn't he tell us we didn't have gas-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 217 
 
 oline enough in the first place?" she de- 
 manded. 
 
 Harkaway murmured something about Mr. 
 Biggs's natural modesty. "Biggs is a sly 
 chap," he continued thoughtfully, "but I am 
 sure it was Dorothy who discovered that we 
 didn't have gasoline enough, and who per- 
 suaded Mr. Biggs to come back to town and 
 get some." 
 
 " And what a time we did have getting it ! " 
 Dorothy burst out. "I thought at first we'd 
 have to steal it." 
 
 " Steal it! " exclaimed Miriam, aghast. 
 
 " Yes," Dorothy said maliciously. " I dared 
 him to do it." 
 
 "I don't see " Biddleson began, and 
 
 then finished, "Where did you get the gaso- 
 line?" 
 
 "At Mrs. Thompson's!" This reply was 
 followed by a strong silence. Harkaway 
 seemed on the point of choking and Biddleson 
 steadfastly refused to meet his wife's eyes. 
 Dorothy passed the cakes, set the plate down 
 and leaned her elbows on the cloth. " It was
 
 218 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 too funny for anything," she went on, more 
 demurely. " You see he was drunk 
 
 "Who was drunk?" inquired Miriam in an 
 awful voice. 
 
 "And we were so afraid Mrs. Thompson 
 would come and we wouldn't be able to ex- 
 plain," continued Dorothy, ignoring her sis- 
 ter, " and between pumping the oil out of the 
 big tank into the can, and wondering what 
 Mrs. Thompson would say if she did come and 
 whether she would blame Mr. Biggs for it, or 
 me, I nearly died. Then I had to run for it! " 
 
 "Ha HA! Ha HA!" Biddleson laughed 
 loudly,- choking himself off at the end in a 
 valiant attempt to display an unmirthful, 
 Sabbath countenance. His wife rose majes- 
 tically. " I think that I am glad Mr. Biggs 
 is not here," she announced. " Otherwise I 
 am afraid I should have to express to him 
 what my real opinion of him is." 
 
 "It was the engineer that Scotchman 
 who was drunk and made all the trouble," 
 Dorothy remarked, apparently thinking that 
 her sister had supposed that it was Mr. Biggs.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 219 
 
 " Oh, Biggs isn't such a bad fellow! " Hark- 
 away said weakly. 
 
 "I think he's just fine!" Dorothy asserted. 
 "If it hadn't been for him you'd have been 
 stuck up on that old road all night. And he 
 hated to do it, let me tell you ! He seemed to 
 think that I'd never be able to look Mrs. 
 Thompson in the face!" 
 
 Biddleson showed active worry. "Look 
 here, Dollie, just what did you do?" 
 
 "Why, we got you some gasoline," she re- 
 plied, much aggrieved. " You had to have it, 
 and all the stores were closed and so Mr. 
 Biggs and I went up to Mrs. Thompson's gar- 
 age to see whether we couldn't borrow some 
 from her." 
 
 Miriam walked away from the table, and 
 Harkaway assumed an air of great anxiety, 
 seeming delicately to express a sense that his 
 own social standing had been in some way 
 compromised. Dorothy continued her narra- 
 tive: "And we couldn't find Mrs. Thomp- 
 son nor Mr. Thompson nor the chauffeur, so 
 I dared Mr. Biggs to go in and steal some.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 And he was trying to, when the engineer 
 caught us, and he was drunk and made an 
 awful fuss, and Mr. Biggs was going to hit 
 him but didn't, and when we got the can full I 
 just hustled to the launch with it, let me tell 
 
 you!" 
 
 "Then you didn't see Mrs. Thompson?" 
 said Harkaway, pretending to he vastly re- 
 lieved. 
 
 "Oh, yes," said Dorothy simply. "I saw 
 her coming just as we were leaving in the 
 launch, but we didn't wait to explain. You 
 see, the engineer was so impolite!" 
 
 " Ha HA! " Biddleson broke out again. 
 And Harkaway joined him, thinking to him- 
 self that for once Biggs had had an opportu- 
 nity which he, Harkaway, was glad to have 
 escaped. Because of this he warmly defended 
 Biggs and even went so far as to say that had 
 he been in Biggs's place he would have funked 
 the whole business. " And, in that case, you'd 
 be sitting in the automobile yet," he concluded. 
 
 : ' Well, I certainly shall never try to explain 
 to Mrs. Thompson," said Miriam emphatically.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 "But you'll have to!" Dorothy returned 
 with a smile. "I promised Mr. Biggs faith- 
 fully that you'd go over and explain it all to- 
 morrow." 
 
 "Never!" 
 
 " Oh, come now, Miriam," put in her hus- 
 band. 
 
 " Mrs. Thompson will think it's all a joke," 
 Harkaway offered peaceably. 
 
 "It is a joke," Dorothy pouted. "And if 
 you people are going to be so horrid about it 
 I'll never again, never, save you from staying 
 out all night." 
 
 ' You'll never have the chance," said her sis- 
 ter acidly. " I intend to see that you don't 
 disgrace us any more while you're here. The 
 idea stealing into people's garages with that 
 Biggs man." 
 
 " He didn't want to go, Miriam," Dorothy 
 protested and seemed astonished when this re- 
 mark didn't reinstate Biggs. At this point 
 Harkaway tactfully opined that he must take 
 the machine to its garage down town, and of- 
 fered good nights to everybody. Miriam
 
 222 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 beamed on him at parting and Dorothy shook 
 hands with gentle resignation. " I know you 
 think I'm horrid," she said. " But Mr. Biggs 
 is so interesting!" 
 
 When Harkaway had left the room, accom- 
 panied by Biddleson, Miriam turned her full 
 gaze on her sister, a gaze mingled of amaze- 
 ment, reproach, rebuke and anger. " It's evi- 
 dent that college life has spoiled your man- 
 ners," she coldly remarked. 
 
 "I learned something about gasoline en- 
 gines, they are a lot more use than manners 
 nowadays," was the defiant retort. 
 
 "I'm astonished at you," Miriam pursued 
 evenly. "When I was your age girls didn't 
 think about such things ! " 
 
 "Because there weren't any such things," 
 Dorothy said saucily. " Remember you're al- 
 most middle aged." 
 
 "And a young woman knew how to con- 
 duct herself properly with young men," said 
 Miriam, scorning to notice this rude remark. 
 " I suppose from your behaviour to-day that 
 you must have made a perfect guy of yourself
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 223 
 
 in college. Did you learn, may I ask, to de- 
 sert your guests and break into people's places 
 and steal, at college? Was it there that you 
 learned to run off from your own picnic with 
 a strange man?" 
 
 "I shouldn't call Mr. Fairbanks a strange 
 man," Dorothy murmured. 
 
 " Fairbanks ! " echoed her sister, sitting down 
 wearily. "Who was this Fairbanks? Some 
 ruffian, I suppose!" 
 
 " He is an engineer," Dorothy explained, 
 flushing. 
 
 Mrs. Biddleson's expression was one of re- 
 newed horror. "Dorothy de Poe! Do you 
 mean to say that you actually knew an en- 
 gineer! a man in overalls and a greasy cap! 
 Why did I ever allow you out of my sight? 
 This is awful!" 
 
 "Mr. Fairbanks doesn't wear overalls, at 
 all! He's an instructor in the university and 
 one of the most popular men there," Dorothy 
 replied warmly. "He knows all sorts of 
 things no one else ever heard of and he had a 
 launch on the lake and an auto, and he and
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 his sisters were as nice to me as they could be. 
 They're somebody, too, let me tell you!" 
 
 " I should like to see this Mr. Fairbanks," 
 Miriam retorted witheringly. 
 
 A sudden gleam of mischief came into Dor- 
 othy's eyes and she said quietly, "Well, you 
 will see him no later than next week ! I wrote 
 and invited him to come and visit us for a 
 month, as he is making a trip of the West any- 
 way." 
 
 Her sister rose hastily and walked towards 
 Dorothy. " Is it possible do you mean to 
 tell me " she stammered. 
 
 Dorothy was frightened for the moment. It 
 occurred to her that her rashly given invita- 
 tion might indeed have needed endorsement. 
 It was her sister's house, not her own. But 
 she had bravely written the letter as at her sis- 
 ter's request, and so far as Mr. Fairbanks's 
 view of his coming was concerned, all was reg- 
 ular. Mrs. Biddleson was his hostess and Mr. 
 Biddleson his host. But how should she make 
 Miriam live up to the character given her in 
 the letter?
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 225 
 
 Dorothy was a little afraid this would be 
 difficult, for Miriam was not only angry but in 
 a stubborn temper. She smiled. "Now, 
 Miriam, don't get so stirred up over nothing! 
 I got a note from Mr. Fairbanks, telling me of 
 his plans and that he hoped to come to the bay 
 here. And of course I wrote to him that you 
 and Rae would be delighted to have him come 
 here for a short visit." 
 
 " A month ! " Miriam repeated, tragically. 
 
 " A month's really awfully short, if you like 
 a person," was Dorothy's careless response. 
 " And if I don't like him, I'll send him along 
 in a week." 
 
 "A week!" Miriam commented in a faint 
 voice. 
 
 Dorothy turned on her savagely. "Yes, a 
 week! And if you can't be nice to a college 
 professor for one week in this little hole I'll 
 send him off in an hour." 
 
 "Dorothy, how dare you!" 
 
 Dorothy stared at her sister a moment, bit 
 her lip, stamped her foot, and then fled into 
 the front hall where she still heard her brother-
 
 226 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 in-law and Harkaway in deep confab. As she 
 burst upon them with flushed cheeks and sus- 
 piciously moist eyes, Harkaway opened his 
 mouth and closed it without any audible rea- 
 son. Biddleson glanced up and stopped in the 
 exact middle of the word " Gasoline," making 
 a sound like, "Gas-oft/" 
 
 " Oh, Rae, please make Miriam behave," 
 said Dorothy plaintively. 
 
 "What has she done now?" Biddleson in- 
 quired, anxiously watching for tears. 
 
 " She's been perfectly horrid about Mr. Fair- 
 banks!" 
 
 "Who the deuce is Mr. Fairbanks?" her 
 brother-in-law demanded, while Harkaway 
 scraped his feet on the rug preparatory to 
 escaping. 
 
 "I invited him here to visit us," Dorothy 
 explained proudly. "And he's coming and 
 Miriam is rude about it." 
 
 "But who is he?" Biddleson insisted. 
 
 " He's a professor in the university, and he's 
 coming out West on a trip, so I asked him to 
 come here," she went on. " I thought of
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 course you'd be glad to see a friend of mine 
 and be nice to him." 
 
 " Of course we shall," Biddleson said with 
 forced heartiness. " Won't we, Hark, old 
 boy?" 
 
 Harkaway mumbled something about 
 " great pleasure " and relapsed into silence. 
 
 Dorothy surveyed them a moment and then 
 resumed all her dignity. "I'm sorry to have 
 bothered you all," she remarked coldly. 
 " Anyway, I'm sure Mr. Fairbanks would find 
 it dull here. I believe I'll write and tell him 
 not to come." She set one slim foot on the 
 bottom stair, looked over their heads and de- 
 parted. As she vanished past the landing, 
 Miriam came out. "Of all the things!" she 
 breathed. " I didn't think that any sister of 
 mine could accomplish in one day all the 
 things that Dorothy has achieved. Really, 
 I think " 
 
 " I really must be going," said Harkaway 
 hastily. 
 
 " I feel I owe you an apology, Mr. Hark- 
 away," Miriam went on stiffly. " I shall speak
 
 228 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 to Dorothy about her conduct. She's only a 
 young girl and needs a careful hand." 
 
 Biddleson stared at his wife and then at 
 Harkaway. Then he suddenly burst out 
 laughing, "Ha, HA! Ha HA!" he roared. 
 
 In the grim silence that followed this out- 
 burst, Harkaway took his departure. As the 
 Durable chugged away with him Mrs. Biddle- 
 son surveyed her husband through flowing 
 tears. " I hate automobiles ! " she cried. " I'll 
 never allow you to get another one!"
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE PROFESSOR LOSES HIS SUIT CASE 
 
 JAMES HARDY, whose first experience of Tide- 
 water was Biggs's prophecy (by means of his 
 renowned barometer) of a first-class gale, 
 didn't return to Rockland, Maine, in spite of 
 the failure of the anticipated storm to appear. 
 Instead, he resolved himself into a homeseeker. 
 De Poe Bay appealed to him, he said, because 
 it united the charms of his native coast with a 
 mild and equable climate. He could enjoy 
 the sea and the winds and yet not worry about 
 his wood pile, or look up pneumonia in the en- 
 cyclopedia every time the breeze crimped his 
 face. And he said that Harkaway's property 
 over on Shelter Arm struck him as exactly the 
 spot for his new home. 
 
 Mr. Hardy had already presented his letters 
 at Thompson's bank, passed the usual com- 
 
 229
 
 230 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 ments on the gold pieces he was given instead 
 of the customary greenbacks, and now was de- 
 voting himself to wooing Harkaway into set- 
 ting a fair price on his land in Harkaway's 
 Addition. Without following the negotia- 
 tions closely, it may be said that they ran 
 about as follows: 
 
 Monday. Harkaway's price is $20,000 
 cash. Hardy suggests $8000. 
 
 Tuesday. They both go across in Biggs's 
 launch and look at the place, Harkaway finally 
 offering to sell one-half the parcel for $7800. 
 
 Wednesday. Harkaway refuses to sell at 
 any price. Hardy goes back to the hotel and 
 reads last year's almanac till supper time, 
 when he remarks that real estate agents at 
 Tidewater seem to lack business sense. At 
 night Hardy writes a letter to Harkaway 
 offering $9500 for the whole place. 
 
 Thursday. Harkaway says he has decided 
 to sell but will not take less than $14,000. 
 
 Friday. Hardy appears at Harkaway's of- 
 fice with a check for $11,000 and tells Hark- 
 away to take it or leave it. Harkaway says he
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 231 
 
 will take twenty-four hours to decide it. He 
 instantly goes down to see Biddleson and 
 thereby gets an invitation to dinner. 
 
 Saturday. Harkaway refuses the check on 
 the unpublished ground that he is to go pic- 
 nicking Sunday with the Biddlesons and Dor- 
 othy. 
 
 Monday. Hardy consults an architect and 
 builder about plans for a house. In the after- 
 noon Harkaway says he'll take the $11,000. 
 
 Tuesday. Harkaway fails to have a deed 
 ready and says he has almost changed his mind 
 about selling. 
 
 One might extend this catalogue indefinitely. 
 On the one hand Harkaway represented to the 
 life a man who was absolutely incapable of 
 knowing his own mind; on the other Hardy 
 grew more and more eager to obtain the prop- 
 erty. " I can't make out what is the matter 
 with that fellow," he complained to Mr. 
 Thompson, after reciting the peculiar course 
 of the negotiations. " He doesn't seem to be 
 trying to raise the price on me the place is 
 worth every cent he asks for it but he doesn't
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 seem to know whether he intends to sell or not. 
 I calculate he's in business to sell real estate. 
 Now why does he behave this way? It ain't 
 businesslike! We don't do things that way 
 back East! We'd be sent to the asylum, if 
 we did!" 
 
 The banker didn't know. He vaguely gave 
 Harkaway as good a character as he could, con- 
 sidering that Harkaway dealt with the other 
 bank. No, he didn't know, he said: Mr. Hark- 
 away did business across the street. Biddle- 
 son, who overheard the conversation, was illu- 
 minated. That night he told Miriam what 
 Hardy had said to Thompson and remarked, 
 "I'll bet Harkaway is waiting to hear what 
 Dorothy will say." 
 
 As Mr. Fairbanks was expected to arrive 
 the next day, Miriam merely pursed her lips 
 and said if one could only guess what Dorothy 
 would do next, etc., etc., one could think what 
 Harkaway had better do. 
 
 " But why not tell Dorothy about it? " Bid- 
 dleson suggested. " Hark may never have so 
 good a chance to sell again."
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 " Tell Dorothy? " exclaimed Miriam in great 
 scorn. " If you know what is best, Rae Bid- 
 dleson, you'll tell Dorothy nothing ! " 
 
 " But why? " persisted Biddleson. " It isn't 
 fair to Hark. I know he's hanging to that 
 deed just to see whether she doesn't like him 
 well enough to marry him, and then they could 
 build out there." 
 
 " If you breathe a word of this to Dorothy 
 you may as well inform Mr. Harkaway that he 
 had best sell his land," was Mrs. Biddleson's 
 somewhat ambiguous reply. 
 
 Her husband thought this over, but didn't 
 say anything further. "I don't believe Mir- 
 iam understands Dorothy," he thought to him- 
 self. "Even if they are sisters, Miriam has 
 always acted as though Dorothy were a child. 
 I'll see about this myself ! " He came to this 
 decision with great inward satisfaction, and a 
 warm anticipation of the triumph he would 
 have when he had "made it all right between 
 the young folks." 
 
 He was for going right down stairs to fix it 
 up on the spot, but he looked over the railing
 
 234 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 and saw Dorothy busy over some sewing by 
 the fire in the hall. " To-morrow will be time 
 enough," he determined. 
 
 But in the morning breakfast was late, for 
 some occult reason connected with the arrival 
 of Professor Fairbanks in the evening, and 
 Biddleson had to hurry to reach the bank on 
 time, though he took his bicycle. Then at 
 noon he slipped back, but only had time to 
 swallow his luncheon, and when he reached 
 home in the evening it was to find the young 
 instructor already installed in the guest cham- 
 ber. As he went to Fairbanks's door to do his 
 office as host he mentally put the whole matter 
 over till the next day. 
 
 When he had knocked and had been admit- 
 ted he shook hands heartily with his guest. 
 " I'm Biddleson," he told him. " Just dropped 
 in to see whether you were all right and had 
 everything necessary." 
 
 Professor Fairbanks was a young man 
 very young for his position, Biddleson thought 
 and he apparently had lived a care-free life. 
 His face was smooth and pleasant, his shoul-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 235 
 
 ders square. But at this moment he seemed to 
 have been overtaken by the sorrows of the 
 Ages. "Everything necessary?" he repeated 
 with a forced laugh. " I'm sorry to say that 
 the agent at the wharf down here failed to put 
 my suit case off the tug and into the hack, and 
 I find myself here without a solitary thing ex- 
 cept what's in the depths of my trunk. And 
 your wife informs me that the tug doesn't make 
 another trip to Bones till to-morrow, and that's 
 where my trunk is, I fear." 
 
 "Hard luck," said Biddleson sympathetic- 
 ally. "But I'll help you out to-night, old 
 chap. Funny thing, though, too; Biggs is 
 usually pretty careful about seeing that pas- 
 sengers get their belongings off the boat. 
 Quite obliging, really." 
 
 " Is that the agent's name? " inquired the 
 professor sharply. "He is a very ignorant 
 man, indeed! I distinctly hunted him up and 
 told him I was coming to your house, said I 
 understood it was quite a distance and that I 
 must have a hack. I told him I'd left my suit 
 case on the boat and to go and get it and put
 
 236 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 it beside the driver. I even tipped him a 
 quarter to make sure he would look after it." 
 
 ; ' Tipped him! " echoed Biddleson in dismay, 
 then hastily changed the subject. Mr. Fair- 
 banks ruffled up his black hair and refused to 
 leave Biggs as a topic. " It was inexcusable," 
 he pursued, growing angrier and angrier, as 
 he thought of his dusty clothes, and the pros- 
 pective meeting with Dorothy. " I nearly 
 missed the tug looking for my trunk at Bones, 
 and then to lose my hand luggage through the 
 beastly stupidity of an agent! I made sure he 
 had put it up beside the driver, and it wasn't till 
 I reached here that I found the driver had 
 never seen it. I shall interview that agent to- 
 morrow." 
 
 "Certainly, oh! of course, to-morrow," Bid- 
 dleson answered hurriedly. " Now you're all 
 right just as you are. We don't put on any 
 style here, you know. Wild and woolly and 
 all that. When you're ready, just come 
 down." 
 
 As Biddleson left his guest and proceeded 
 down the hall, a prolonged ring at the bell
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 237 
 
 made him glance into Miriam's room to say, 
 " My dear, who can that be? Are we going to 
 have somebody else to dinner? " 
 
 "It's Mr. Harkaway," Mrs. Biddleson re- 
 turned, giving a final pat to her hair. "He 
 always comes early, you know. Dorothy in- 
 sisted on having him and Mr. Biggs. Mr. 
 Biggs telephoned he would be late. He's com- 
 ing in his launch." 
 
 "Biggs!" said Biddleson feebly. "To- 
 night!" 
 
 Miriam turned slowly round from the glass 
 to confront her husband. " Why do you gasp 
 that out like a dying fish?" she inquired se- 
 verely. 
 
 Biddleson looked at her emptily, burst out 
 with a "Ha HA!" and vanished, leaving be- 
 hind him the impression that he had been in- 
 sulting. Miriam pondered this, and then went 
 capably down to see to the putting on of din- 
 ner. 
 
 In the sitting-room Biddleson greeted Hark- 
 away awkwardly and on the almost immediate 
 arrival of Fairbanks introduced them, before
 
 238 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Dorothy, emerging tidily aproned from the 
 pantry, could say a word to either. Then 
 the four of them sat down and com- 
 menced the vacuous chat which always 
 precedes actual conversation among the socially 
 correct. Harkaway having duly asked the 
 professor the usual questions was gratified 
 by the customary answers. Then Dorothy 
 brought up the subject of Mr. Fairbanks's lug- 
 gage, and that gentleman, not having done 
 more than mention its lack to his hostess, seized 
 the chance to expound his grievance against 
 the agent at the dock. Dorothy, hearing the 
 details for the first time, looked astonished, 
 then demure, and finally, when her guest stated 
 that he fully intended to go back next morning 
 and demand the return of his quarter, got up 
 and left the room with an interested expression 
 on her face. As she departed she heard Hark- 
 away 's quiet tones. He was saying, " I 
 wouldn't be too hard on good old Biggs. He's 
 a fine fellow. He could not have understood 
 what you wanted." 
 
 "He seemed to understand the tip, all right,"
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 239 
 
 Fairbanks commented aggressively. " For at 
 first he wouldn't take it and asked me whether 
 I thought it was enough." 
 
 Biddleson, leaning forward, elbows on knees, 
 greeted this with an inane laugh which in- 
 stantly sank into a sickly grin when the bell 
 rang again. In the hall Miriam's voice was 
 heard saying, " You weren't late after all! 
 Come in, Mr. Biggs ! " 
 
 "I'm awfully glad," they heard Biggs say 
 anxiously, as if he had committed a social faux 
 pas. " Really, I was sure I should be late. I 
 left directly I was free." 
 
 "That must be our friend Biggs," said 
 Harkaway, striving to make up for Biddleson's 
 speechless discomfiture. " I know you'll like 
 him, Professor. We all like him. Queer 
 chap, but first-rate." 
 
 Fairbanks, not connecting Biggs the agent 
 with Biggs the guest, smiled amiably. " It's 
 awfully good of Mrs. Biddleson to go to all 
 this trouble to entertain me," he said to Bid- 
 dleson. "I'm sure I shall have a delightful 
 time."
 
 240 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 " I hope so," stammered his host, afraid to 
 look towards the door. 
 
 "Miss Dorothy would make anybody have 
 a good time," Harkaway put in genially. 
 " She's waked us all up." 
 
 "I'm sure she has," replied Fairbanks, po- 
 litely, looking curiously at Biddleson, who was 
 suddenly consumed with immoderate laughter. 
 
 Further exchange of remarks on this subject 
 was barred by the entrance of Biggs, who 
 walked composedly in, nodded to Harkaway, 
 shook hands with Biddleson, now preternatur- 
 ally serious, and promptly sat down near Fair- 
 banks, apparently without seeing him. 
 
 "Biggs," said Harkaway quickly, "you 
 must meet Professor Fairbanks." 
 
 " Delighted, I'm sure," said Biggs cordially, 
 getting up, locating the professor and then 
 shaking his hand warmly. "Have you been 
 here long, sir?" 
 
 Before Fairbanks could formulate any reply 
 a matter of mental and physical difficulty 
 Dorothy appeared again apronless, this 
 time and announced dinner. As the others
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 passed out she shook hands with Biggs and 
 said, "I'm glad you weren't late. I wanted 
 you to meet Mr. Fairbanks. He's interested 
 in launches and such things. I'm sure you 
 will find him charming!" 
 
 " If he's charming in your eyes, that ends his 
 chances with us chaps," Biggs said holdly. 
 
 Dorothy hurried away to hide her blushes, 
 while Biggs stopped, adjusted his tie and 
 slowly, deliberately settled his face into a 
 solemn, austere expression which, he trusted, 
 would affect the professor into silence regard- 
 ing the occurrences of the afternoon. Fair- 
 banks was Dorothy's guest and she wasn't to 
 be embarrassed if Biggs could help it. 
 
 When they were seated Biddleson devoted 
 himself so strictly to his carving that Miriam, 
 for once, was satisfied. As she looked round 
 the nicely dressed table from the handsome, 
 calm Harkaway to the dark, athletic Fairbanks 
 and the clean, wholesome Biggs and saw that 
 they were all respectfully looking at her 
 younger sister, she thought gratefully of Prov- 
 idence. And with this pleasant feeling and in
 
 24*2 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 a desire to promote it among others, she 
 chose the first opportunity (Rae was doing 
 very well with the carving!) to speak out and 
 say, " I hope you enjoyed your trip over to this 
 town, Professor?" 
 
 " Immensely," said Fairbanks, devoting him- 
 self to persuading Dorothy to have three olives 
 with her soup. 
 
 " So many people say it's hard travelling," 
 Miriam went on calmly. " But I'm sure one 
 doesn't have half the trouble with trains and 
 boats that one does in getting about in street 
 cars and such things." 
 
 To his dying day Biddleson never knew why 
 he interrupted his wife at this point to state in 
 a loud, firm voice, " I'll bet Fairbanks doesn't 
 agree with you. He lost his suit case the very 
 last thing to-day when he got off the boat." 
 
 Fairbanks replaced the olive dish thought- 
 fully, while Dorothy wondered where the pep- 
 per was and Harkaway tried to think of some 
 problem in Applied Mechanics which would in- 
 stantly absorb everybody's interest to the ex- 
 clusion of the unlucky suit case. But Miriam,
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 243 
 
 blissfully ignorant of any awkwardness, was 
 rather thankful to her husband for giving her 
 so good an opportunity to be sympathetic. 
 " It's too bad ! " she exclaimed. " Now, if you 
 had only known Mr. Biggs here he would 
 have helped you out. Mr. Biggs always sees 
 to it that I don't miss anything. You see " 
 Miriam here decided to give Biggs a lift so- 
 cially so as to put him on a par with her other 
 guests " You see he's almost the general man- 
 ager and president of our road here, and when 
 he goes and tells somebody to do something 
 they always do it. Dorothy, why didn't you 
 think to tell Mr. Biggs the professor was com- 
 ing so that he could look out for him?" 
 
 Dorothy not having found the pepper 
 didn't know. Miriam was inexorable. " Rae, 
 I told you Mr. Fairbanks might get lost or 
 something coming over. Why didn't you 
 'phone Mr. Biggs so he could look out for 
 him?" 
 
 Biddleson struck the joint triumphantly and 
 was absolved from reply. 
 
 At this point Mrs. Biddleson noticed that the
 
 244 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 professor was crimson; not a gentle ruddy 
 colour, but a dark, lurid red that seemed to 
 come from some great internal distress, such 
 as angina pectoris, or biting one's cheek or 
 swallowing an olive stone. Oddly enough Dor- 
 othy was crimson, too, though her sister's quick 
 eye referred this to the pepper which having 
 been discovered in the kitchen had been brought 
 in and lavished on Dorothy's soup. Hark- 
 away was glumly trying to puzzle out that 
 question in Applied Mechanics and get it into 
 correct form to propound. Biggs was undis- 
 turbed and busy with his soup. So, as a di- 
 version, Miriam addressed him. " I hope you 
 can find the professor's suit case to-morrow, 
 Mr. Biggs." 
 
 " Certainly," said the unabashed Biggs. 
 " I'll teU the men to look out for it." 
 
 " You don't think it can really be lost ? " she 
 went on. 
 
 Biggs laid down his spoon. " No," he said 
 decidedly. " Do you know, my barometer 
 promises us bad weather? " 
 
 "You don't say so!" said Harkaway in a
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 tone that indicated that he had at last heard 
 that the desire of his life was to be accom- 
 plished. " I knew it was going to storm when 
 old man Hardy to-day came in and offered me 
 a thousand dollars more for my property." 
 
 "I hope you didn't take it," said Miriam 
 eagerly. 
 
 Harkaway shook a gloomy head. "No, I 
 didn't, but he's getting pretty near to my 
 price. You see the place is no good to me. 
 What's the use of hanging on to it?" 
 
 " Oh, but it's such a lovely place for a home,'* 
 Mrs. Biddleson replied. 
 
 "Oh, a home!" was the vacant response. 
 " I hadn't thought of that." 
 
 Miriam turned to the professor winningly. 
 "It's amazing how you young men turn up 
 your noses at the thought of a home of your 
 own," she remarked. " It seems to be the last 
 thing you think of, Professor!" 
 
 Fairbanks swallowed two spoonfuls of soup 
 and an olive before answering this. Then he 
 said, nobly striving to play up to his hostess, 
 " I suppose it's because most of us are such
 
 246 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 chumps." He brought the last word out so 
 forcibly that Dorothy was very sorry for 
 him. 
 
 " But are you going to sell to Hardy, then? " 
 Biddleson put in. 
 
 "I don't know," Harkaway confessed. 
 " I'll tell you! Let's all go over to-morrow in 
 the auto and discuss it." 
 
 " That's a good idea," Mrs. Biddleson con- 
 ceded. "And I am sure Mr. Biggs will let 
 us have the use of his launch. The motor only 
 carries five, Professor," she explained, " and 
 that at a pinch. Now, if you are a good 
 launcher, you can take Mr. Biggs's boat and 
 me and the lunch. Rae, Dorothy and Mr. 
 Harkaway can call for Mr. Biggs in the auto- 
 mobile. We shall have a good picnic, and, you 
 ought to see Mr. Harkaway's place. You'll 
 be glad to let him have the launch, won't you, 
 Mr. Biggs?" 
 
 " Certainly," said that amiable person, " but 
 I am afraid it's going to storm. My barom- 
 eter " 
 
 " Oh, we know all about your barometer,"
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 247 
 
 interposed Dorothy. "You might just as 
 well make it foretell a good day." 
 
 " I might," said Biggs, smiling " but " 
 
 "But what?" 
 
 " But on the condition that I have the pleas- 
 ure of taking you and Mrs. Biddleson in the 
 launch. The rest can go in the automobile." 
 
 "I accept," said Dorothy smiling brightly, 
 "although, after my last experience in the 
 launch, I believe I'd prefer the auto. How- 
 ever, I will sacrifice myself for a fair day for 
 the others." 
 
 " Oh, I say ! " Biggs protested. 
 
 " If it's a sacrifice," Harkaway put in, " al- 
 low me to propose a real sacrifice, Miss Dor- 
 othy, a sacrifice that will not only display your 
 unselfishness but insure Biggs's barometer be- 
 ing on its good behaviour: Let Biggs take 
 everybody in the launch, and I'll take you and 
 the luncheon in the auto." 
 
 Miriam so strongly approved of this plan 
 that it put Biggs in the position of host to her 
 and Fairbanks and Biddleson, and he saw no 
 way out of it. It was so arranged, and later
 
 248 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 in the evening Harkaway sought a word with 
 Dorothy. " I'll be here at nine o'clock," he 
 said. 
 
 " Come at eight," she said smilingly, " and 
 then we can stop for early service. If I am to 
 be self sacrificing, I must first attend to my re- 
 ligious duties or I will never get the credit for 
 it." 
 
 Harkaway left early so that he might enjoy 
 to the full the memory of how Dorothy said 
 this.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 BIGGS MAKES IT EASY FOR THE PROFESSOR 
 
 SERVICE was over and Harkaway stood on the 
 little path in front of the church waiting for 
 Dorothy to finish her chat with the rector, with 
 whom she was discussing the date of her ar- 
 rival, her probable stay and why she hadn't 
 come to service before. To Harkaway there 
 was a gentle pleasure in looking over the bay 
 and knowing that Dorothy had just admitted 
 him into that companionship and intimacy 
 which, somehow, always attaches itself to 
 going to church with a girl. He thought of 
 the fact that she hadn't even mentioned church 
 to Biggs, nor had she asked Fairbanks to go 
 with her. He suddenly recalled her bowed 
 head and folded hands with a swelling of the 
 throat that surprised him. It seemed to re- 
 move him from the commonplaceness of exist- 
 ence and set him apart (with her) on sacred 
 
 249
 
 250 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 ground. He turned to hear her addressing 
 him. 
 
 "I'm ready now," she told him quietly. 
 " I've remembered my sins and now for the 
 penance! Is the car all right?" 
 
 " It ought to be," Harkaway replied, trying 
 to take his eyes from Dorothy's dewily flushed 
 face and fix them on the Durable. "Unless 
 some small boys have dug into the tonneau and 
 found our luncheon." 
 
 " Ah, that would be a sacrifice I'm not ready 
 for yet," Dorothy responded, climbing into 
 a front seat. " It would be hard to be peni- 
 tent and hungry, too." 
 
 Harkaway cranked the engine, it started 
 easily and when he took his place behind 
 the steering lever he felt perfectly happy. 
 The car slipped down the hill towards the 
 ferry, took the dip of the pitch to the shore and 
 with screeching brakes pulled up on the apron 
 of the ferry. " Those brakes are no good," he 
 remarked briefly. 
 
 "They refuse to 'do good works silently," 
 Dorothy acquiesced.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 251 
 
 While the boat was slowly crossing they 
 leaned back against the cushions and Hark- 
 away carefully scanned the waters of the bay. 
 " There's Biggs getting his launch ready," he 
 said presently, pointing down to the far away 
 wharf where the SpiiKead usually was. 
 
 Dorothy puckered up her eyes and looked 
 too. "That must be Mr. Fairbanks in his 
 shirt sleeves," she said quietly. " I wonder 
 what became of his suit case! " 
 
 " Ask Biggs," Harkaway returned. " I be- 
 lieve he purposely put it somewhere out of the 
 way. He wouldn't easily forgive that tip." 
 
 "But why!" Dorothy demanded. "It was 
 very natural for Mr. Fairbanks to offer him 
 the money ; and besides, Mr. Biggs took it and 
 kept it. Now, why did he steal his suit case 
 and things?" 
 
 "I don't know exactly," Harkaway re- 
 joined, carefully setting the brakes again as the 
 ferry boat approached the landing. "But I 
 imagine it was jealousy." 
 
 As Dorothy didn't seem to understand this, 
 he explained. " Biggs probably saw that the
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 professor was good looking enough without his 
 sweater and his yachting clothes, and he said 
 to himself, ' Here's for the spoke in his wheel.' ' 
 
 "But I don't think that was nice, do you?" 
 
 "I'd have done the same thing myself, if 
 I'd had the chance," Harkaway promptly re- 
 marked. " Anything to keep Fairbanks in the 
 background!" 
 
 Dorothy was silent a moment before say- 
 ing, "Poor Mr. Fairbanks, and he's so nice 
 too ! " Her tone was womanly and gentle. 
 
 Harkaway groaned. 'That settles it!" he 
 said dolefully. "Biggs has done it!" He 
 opened the throttle, and the Durable coughed 
 up the incline to the main road. 
 
 "Settles what?" demanded Dorothy, ap- 
 parently mystified. 
 
 " Pity is akin to love," Harkaway responded 
 painstakingly. " Biggs has made you pity the 
 professor. Next thing you'll be falling in love 
 with him. Then we're down and out ! " 
 
 " How do you know " Dorothy stopped 
 
 with a sly glance at her companion. 
 
 " Know what? " asked Harkaway quickly.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 253 
 
 ' That I haven't already fallen in love? " 
 
 " I don't believe it! " was the quick response. 
 
 Dorothy looked him over carefully. "I 
 don't believe you do," she said critically. " But 
 then so many people don't believe true things! " 
 
 Harkaway digested this in silence and finally 
 remarked, throwing in the low gear for the 
 steepest part of the hill, " If you're in love 
 with Mr. Fairbanks, I beg your pardon!" 
 
 "I don't remember mentioning Mr. Fair- 
 banks," Dorothy replied thoughtfully. 
 
 The Durable topped the crest and proceeded 
 to skirt the ridge that forms the skyline of 
 Ferdinand Arm. Harkaway changed to the 
 high gear, throttled the engine down and said 
 irrelevantly, "Are you in an awful hurry to 
 reach the picnic place?" 
 
 :< We can't beat the launch, anyway," she re- 
 plied. "And it's too lovely to miss all this 
 scenery. Let's not hurry!" 
 
 " I'll take it dead slow," he responded, " if 
 you will promise not to mention the professor 
 or Biggs." 
 
 Dorothy considered this, dimpling. "How
 
 254 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 exacting you are!" she commented. "What 
 am I to talk about? " 
 
 " You might tell me how you like my place 
 over on the beach," Harkaway said boldly. 
 
 " But you've sold it," she replied demurely. 
 
 " No, Mr. Hardy wants it, of course. But 
 so far I've held him off." 
 
 "Rae told me you were going to sell it," 
 Dorothy insisted. " He said Hardy said you'd 
 agreed to sell it." 
 
 "Well, I haven't sold it," Harkaway said 
 firmly. " I shan't till I know whether you like 
 it." 
 
 "I. don't see what that has to do with the 
 matter at all," Dorothy pouted. 
 
 "Everything," Harkaway affirmed, with 
 great determination. " In the first place I like 
 the place myself. I've always rather counted 
 on having a home out there. In the second 
 place," looking at her ardently, " I'm in love 
 with you. My dear, you've no notion what- 
 ever how all sorts of things depend on whether 
 you like them or not!" 
 
 Dorothy glanced over her muff at him for a
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 255 
 
 fleeting second, then dropped her warm eyes. 
 She said nothing. Harkaway continued more 
 feebly. " I know that with these Fairbankses 
 and Biggses and all the fellows you have known 
 in the East, I've got mighty little chance. But 
 I'm going to take what chance there is! I 
 don't mean to be ugly or spoil your ride or any- 
 thing like that," he went on miserably as she 
 still remained silent, "but I just have to tell 
 you that I love you and want you to love me, 
 and " desperately " my place." 
 
 The Durable shyed into the salal brush and 
 when it was brought back into the road it 
 stopped. Harkaway stared at the throttle and 
 the spark control, then smiled wretchedly. 
 " Doubtless, Miss Dorothy, you'd prefer to 
 have me mind my chauff curing. I've grad- 
 ually slowed down things till it's a wonder the 
 engine kept on going at all." He got out, 
 cranked the engine and started the Durable 
 on its way at a good speed. 
 
 Dorothy still maintained a silence so ex- 
 pressive that Harkaway felt beaten to the 
 depths. What did he mean, he asked himself
 
 256 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 savagely, by going at so delicate a subject like 
 a heavy-handed fool? Of course no girl would 
 want things so mixed up in a proposal. And 
 nobody could propose decently when an auto- 
 mobile demanded both hands and both eyes. 
 He devoted himself to the machine, not daring 
 to look across at her, for fear he w r ould see dis- 
 gust too plainly written in her eyes. Suddenly 
 he cut out the spark and stopped the car to 
 stare at her hopefully. Dorothy had mur- 
 mured, " Is that all? " 
 
 He saw only her eyes, looking straight into 
 his with something, he didn't know what, burn- 
 ing in their depths that stirred him to the heart. 
 " Not all," he said. " It would take me a year 
 to tell it all. I've merely summed things up, 
 Dorothy." 
 
 "But you've only known me a couple of 
 weeks," she said. 
 
 " Apparently those are the only two weeks of 
 my life that count." 
 
 "Oh I "she breathed. 
 
 He looked out over the Arm. Far in the 
 distance he saw the minute speck that was
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 257 
 
 Biggs's launch. He turned back to the girl at 
 his side. " You haven't said anything yet." 
 
 " I think we'd better be going on," was her 
 matter-of-fact response, and for the second 
 time Harkaway climbed disconsolately forth 
 and cranked the engine. As he got back into 
 his seat he couldn't see Dorothy's eyes. But 
 he saw her blush under his searching stare and 
 he suddenly was buoyed up by hope. "I'll 
 make you love me," he stoutly asserted. 
 
 " And if I don't, you'll sell the place to Mr. 
 Hardy?" 
 
 " Surely." 
 
 " I expect Mr. Hardy will give me a bonus 
 not to marry you," she said lightly. 
 
 " I know you don't take it seriously," Hark- 
 away groaned, falling headlong from the rosy 
 clouds. " It's because I've only known you a 
 couple of weeks." 
 
 Dorothy didn't seem disposed to answer this 
 question, so he repeated it, with more assertive- 
 ness. She shook her head. " I do take it se- 
 riously, Mr. Harkaway; but " 
 
 "But what?"
 
 258 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Dorothy allowed herself a little laugh. 
 " Well, for one thing, I don't know what your 
 first name is," she told him. 
 
 This, to Harkaway, seemed the very height 
 of frivolity. What possible difference could 
 it make whether or not she knew his name was 
 Thomas? What did the minx mean by insist- 
 ing on such foolish matters as how long she 
 had known him, his first name and Mr. 
 Hardy's possible bonus? As he was silent 
 Dorothy explained a bit. "A girl simply 
 couldn't decide whether she loved a man when 
 she doesn't even know whether he's Charley 
 or Jimmie or Billie! She's got to think it 
 all over, you see, from every point of view!" 
 
 Harkaway didn't see, but he snappishly 
 vouchsafed the required title : " Thomas." 
 
 Dorothy received this critically. And be- 
 cause she merely repeated it, as if she were sip- 
 ping tea, or tasting a new kind of candy, her 
 companion forgot his calm and grew angry. 
 " Now that you know it," he said with a slight 
 roughness of tone, "shall I let Mr. Hardy 
 have the place?"
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 259 
 
 "Oh, of course, if it's a financial proposal, 
 certainly," said the young woman with sudden 
 chilliness. " Isn't Mr. Biggs making good 
 time!" 
 
 " Ass ! " muttered Harkaway savagely. 
 
 " Were you speaking of Mr. Biggs? " Doro- 
 thy demanded with dignity. 
 
 "No. I was addressing myself," Harka- 
 way growled, opening up the engine till the 
 Durable was plunging recklessly. And no 
 more was said till ten miles further on he 
 slowed for a hill and resumed, " Dorothy," he 
 said bluntly, "I want you to understand dis- 
 tinctly that I love you deeply and I'd give 
 anything in the world for even some hope that 
 you could care for me. It isn't a question of 
 anything but you. Is there is there any 
 chance for me?" 
 
 "But I've told you already," she said sim- 
 ply. " I've known you such a short time, and 
 you've never before intimated that you wanted 
 me to marry you and," with a bewildering 
 smile, " it would take a month at least to find 
 out if I loved Tommie!"
 
 260 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 The tone in which she repeated this name was 
 deliciously maddening. 
 
 Harkaway tried to analyse it and failed. 
 Somehow he understood that Dorothy wasn't 
 in love with him just now, though whether she 
 might hereafter love him was a question. 
 Puzzling over this he drove the Durable up 
 through the winding lane that led to the picnic 
 grounds, and before he could formulate an- 
 other query that might elicit a definite answer, 
 Miriam welcomed them with a cry of delight. 
 "We're all so hungry and you've got the 
 luncheon! " she called out. 
 
 Harkaway brought the automobile to a stop 
 and stared thoughtfully at Biggs, who was try- 
 ing to build a fire with green ferns for kin- 
 dling and only making a large smudge. " I 
 forgot we had the luncheon," he said truthfully. 
 "But we made good time, anyhow!" 
 
 " Good time! " echoed Biddleson, coming up. 
 " We saw you stuck on the hill road for half 
 an hour ! I thought you said you could run an 
 auto." 
 
 "He can!" Dorothy put in with great in-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 261 
 
 dignation. "We weren't stuck at all. Mr. 
 Harkaway stopped the car to to show me 
 something." 
 
 Fairbanks wandered up in time to catch this 
 last. His face was studiously expressive of 
 pleasure. "Well, we all envy Harkaway," 
 he said. 
 
 "Didn't Mr. Biggs treat you nicely?" she 
 demanded, accepting his hand to get out with. 
 
 Biggs looked over from his smudge. " The 
 professor knows how to run an engine," he de- 
 clared. " I really wasn't needed at all." He 
 quietly resumed his labours with the refractory 
 kindling. 
 
 As this conversation didn't seem to get any- 
 where, Harkaway turned off the gasoline and 
 went over to help Biggs at the fire. Fair- 
 banks promptly appropriated Dorothy and 
 took her off to look at the ocean, which, he 
 remarked in his scholarly way, was worth see- 
 ing. Biddleson avoided his wife's eye and 
 went to poke an inquisitive nose into the coffee 
 pot. :< This time it won't taste of gasoline," 
 he announced.
 
 262 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Biggs, willing to have his preparations for 
 a fire undone and replaced by real kindling 
 made with a knife, lit his pipe and stared after 
 Fairbanks. " Is that young man a fair speci- 
 men of the young college American?" he de- 
 manded casually. 
 
 "Pretty fair," said Harkaway. "He's a 
 good fellow, all right. Odd manners, some- 
 times, these chaps have; but they mean all 
 right. What did you do with his suit case?" 
 
 Biggs grunted and pulled a slip of paper 
 out of his pocket. " It was expressed to Deep 
 Water," he said indifferently. " The fellow 
 he gave the quarter to thought he wanted it 
 sent by express. I found the receipt this 
 morning. All the professor will have to do is 
 go to Sahara and get it." 
 
 "Very neat," Harkaway commented 
 thoughtfully, " and you look as though you be- 
 lieved it yourself. It is mighty decent of you, 
 Biggs, to try and square Fairbanks on that 
 quarter business. I'd let him suffer. Any- 
 way, I am afraid it won't work. Dorothy 
 won't swallow it, for one."
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 63 
 
 When Dorothy and Fairbanks returned 
 from looking at the ocean he called to her. 
 " Oh, Miss Dorothy! I found the professor's 
 luggage." 
 
 Miriam glanced up interestedly from her 
 preparations of sandwiches and salad on little 
 wooden plates. "Oh, did you? Was that 
 what you went to the station so early this 
 morning for?" 
 
 Fairbanks maintained a masterly silence, but 
 took the paper that Biggs held out to him. 
 " Why, this is a receipt from an express com- 
 pany for my suit case!" he ejaculated pres- 
 ently. 
 
 " Yes," said Biggs slowly, " one of my 
 men, the fellow you gave the quarter to, you 
 know, thought you meant to have it sent to 
 Deep Water. The charges were just twenty- 
 five cents. All you've got to do is to go up 
 there and get it." 
 
 Fairbanks glanced up with a queer smile. 
 "I'm more obliged to you than I can say, 
 Biggs," he remarked. ' You've pulled me out 
 of a hole." To his amazement the English-
 
 264 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 man's face ruddied. "Don't mention it," he 
 muttered, turning away. 
 
 Dorothy had taken all this in and her fine 
 eyes sought to reward Biggs. That individ- 
 ual, finding her gracious glances upon him, 
 flushed more furiously than ever. Miriam 
 broke in with, "But how will Mr. Fairbanks 
 get it? Oh, I know, Mr. Biggs can take him 
 across in the launch!" 
 
 Biddleson, finding an opportunity of doing 
 the right thing in his wife's eyes, instantly en- 
 dorsed this and amended it. "Why can't 
 Fairbanks and Dorothy run across now and 
 get it while we're getting luncheon ready?" 
 
 "Excellent!" said the professor. "Come 
 on, Dorothy!" 
 
 When they were gone Miriam looked at her 
 husband but said nothing. To Biggs, how- 
 ever, she vouchsafed this remark : " Your boat 
 is quite the most convenient thing!" 
 
 "Oh, quite!" said Biggs drily. 
 
 " It serves you right, old chap," Harkaway 
 put in calmly. " It's all your fault." 
 
 Biggs stared into the fire and shook his head.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 265 
 
 "I don't like your young American profes- 
 sors," he said. 
 
 At this moment Dorothy reappeared, fol- 
 lowed by Fairbanks. ' Your old engine won't 
 go! " she said. " Mr. Fairbanks has tried and 
 tried!" 
 
 Biggs instantly became cheerful. " I'll tell 
 you, Miss Dorothy," he said, getting to his feet. 
 "I'll come down and see what is the matter 
 with it." 
 
 " The spark is out of business," said the pro- 
 fessor confidently. 
 
 "Just sit down and take my place a mo- 
 ment," Biggs returned affably, handing the 
 professor an empty spoon which he had been 
 holding in his hand for no assignable reason 
 whatever except that it seemed to give him an 
 air of being occupied. " Just hold this spoon 
 for me and I'll go down and see what the 
 trouble is." 
 
 " I'll go too," said Dorothy. " The profes- 
 sor can help Miriam better than you can, any- 
 way!"
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 HIS BROTHER, ADOLPHUs! 
 
 WHEN he reached the launch Biggs carefully 
 cast off the painter and helped Dorothy in. 
 " Sit down there and steer," he said. 
 
 Dorothy gazed in some alarm over the side 
 as the S pithead floated out into deep water. 
 "But your engine is broken!" she exclaimed. 
 "We'll drift out and can't get back!" 
 
 Biggs calmly opened a locker where the bat- 
 teries were and openly and ostentatiously re- 
 paired a broken connection. Dorothy looked 
 at him wide-eyed. "Mr. Biggs! " she said se- 
 verely. "You did that on purpose!" 
 
 Biggs straightened up and closed the locker. 
 "Those things are always breaking," he re- 
 marked negligently. " The professor was 
 right about there being no spark." He twirled 
 the flywheel and the S pithead backed swiftly 
 
 266
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 267 
 
 out under the pull of her engine. " Now we'll 
 go and get that luggage," said Biggs. 
 
 Dorothy manoeuvred the launch till it was 
 headed directly for Deep Water, two miles 
 across the bay. When Biggs had set the lubri- 
 cators he sat down opposite her and smiled. 
 Dorothy denied him a response. " I begin to 
 think you are a schemer," she said coldly. " I 
 really didn't want to go with you." 
 
 " But the professor's luggage," he insisted. 
 " I knew you were anxious about it and you 
 must be reassured." He nodded gravely at 
 her. " I don't wish you to worry too much 
 about the professor." 
 
 Something in his manner warned Dorothy 
 and she refused to implicate herself. Biggs 
 went on, " You think entirely too much of that 
 young man. You oughtn't to forget your old 
 friends." 
 
 " I've known you two weeks and Mr. Fair- 
 banks two years," said Dorothy freezingly. 
 
 " I fancy it would take at least two years to 
 learn to like the professor," was the unabashed 
 reply.
 
 268 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 ; ' Two weeks is certainly too short a time to 
 get used to your manners," Dorothy retorted 
 frigidly. 
 
 Biggs promptly availed himself of the open- 
 ing. "What have I done?" 
 
 " Oh, lots of things," Dorothy responded 
 quickly. 'You've been rude and impolite to 
 my guest." 
 
 Biggs seemed heartbroken at the accusation. 
 " I never meant to be rude," he said contritely. 
 " But you American girls are so jolly! " 
 
 Dorothy leaned forward with apparent in- 
 terest. "What do you really mean by 
 
 ' jolly'?" 
 
 Biggs was thoughtful over this. " Oh, you 
 are always up to snuff and taking a fellow up," 
 he paltered. 
 
 "That will do very well," said Dorothy 
 calmly. " I'll accept the definition. Now will 
 you kindly explain to me why you hormswog- 
 gled Mr. Fairbanks's suit case?" 
 
 " Hormswoggle ? " repeated Biggs blankly. 
 " What does that mean? " 
 
 " It means precisely what it says," was the
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 269 
 
 tart reply. " Why did you hormswoggle the 
 professor's suit case? Send it to Sahara and 
 all that?" She looked at him sharply. 
 
 Biggs didn't flinch. " Some bally ass 
 thought he wanted it sent to Deep Water by 
 express," he said unblushingly. " And it was 
 sent there." 
 
 Dorothy looked at him severely, but his eyes 
 were frank and refused to harbour any expres- 
 sion of doubt, falsity or shame. She sighed 
 and turned away. 
 
 Biggs opened the throttle a little more and 
 as the S pithead responded he glanced across 
 at his companion with a faint flush rising 
 slowly in his cheeks. " I say, Miss Dorothy," 
 he began, " how would you like to go to Eng- 
 land to live?" 
 
 Dorothy gave him the full benefit of her 
 clear, girlish eyes. "With you?" she re- 
 sponded quietly. 
 
 Biggs swallowed, gazed wildly about him, 
 then screwed up his courage. ' Yes," he said. 
 
 Dorothy considered this and then asked 
 coldly, " Is this a proposal? "
 
 270 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Biggs grew redder than ever as he met her 
 glance. "It is! I love you," he said with a 
 mingling of respect and adoration. 
 
 There was a flush on Dorothy's cheek now, 
 and she turned her eyes away. The serious- 
 ness on Biggs's face wasn't to be mistaken. 
 She knew that. It wasn't the hour for flirta- 
 tion, nor the man. Somehow she was afflicted 
 with a desire to cry. That, she felt, would be 
 fatal. Probably he would try to comfort her 
 and would put his arms around her. She 
 blushed more furiously than ever at this pass- 
 ing thought, restrained her tears and merely 
 shook her head. 
 
 "But I say," Biggs said miserably, "I'm 
 awfully in love with you, Dorothy. My peo- 
 ple are first-rate, and all that, and I'd make 
 you a good husband. Of course, I haven't any 
 money." 
 
 Dorothy bent glorious eyes on him. 
 " Haven't you any money or any place you'd 
 like to build me a home on? Nothing that I 
 could improve, so to say?" 
 
 Biggs was disconsolate but firm. "Not a
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 271 
 
 bally cent except what I make as agent. But 
 that's not so bad, Dorothy. And I love 
 
 you!" 
 
 The flush on Dorothy's face grew sunset- 
 like. 'You're a dear boy," she said briefly. 
 " I know you'd make a good husband. But I 
 don't love you." 
 
 Biggs took his fate like the man he was. 
 The flush didn't leave his face nor the hunger 
 die from his eyes. But he smiled, and thereby 
 won Dorothy's respect forever. She was glad 
 she hadn't fenced or tried to put him off, but 
 had treated him boldly and frankly. It oc- 
 curred to her that it was the first time she had 
 met such an occasion in such a manner and she 
 dimly wondered why Harvey Biggs (a nice 
 first name, too) evoked her plain self without 
 concealment. 
 
 When they reached Sahara Biggs vanished 
 and presently reappeared with Fairbanks's 
 suit case, which he carefully deposited in the 
 launch without looking at Dorothy. Then he 
 started the boat back for the picnic party. 
 Half way across he said to Dorothy, respect-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 fully and plainly, as though he were entitled 
 to know, "Is it Fairbanks?" 
 
 " No," said Dorothy without any perceptible 
 hesitation, and was immediately amazed at 
 herself for answering so impudent a question. 
 
 "Is it Harkaway?" pursued Biggs. 
 
 This time Dorothy was silent. Biggs ex- 
 plained himself in four words: "I thought I 
 might help." 
 
 " Help! " repeated the astounded Dorothy. 
 
 Biggs bent over the carburetor. " I think 
 you deserve to be happy," he said, his voice 
 shaking a little. Then he relapsed into a still- 
 ness that lasted over the next mile. Biggs 
 was thinking hard, thinking so hard that he 
 presently thought out loud. "Poor Alicia!" 
 Dorothy heard him say. " She ought to have 
 been happy!" 
 
 "Alicia?" questioned Dorothy, her feminine 
 curiosity aroused at once. 
 
 " Oh, nothing," said Biggs hastily. " I was 
 thinking of my father." 
 
 " Is your father's name Alicia? " persisted 
 Dorothy, at first roguishly, and then imme-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 273 
 
 diately sorry for Biggs because he was so genu- 
 inely miserable and she saw that she had 
 touched a tender spot. 
 
 "Alicia was the girl they wanted me to 
 marry," explained Biggs. " She had a lot of 
 beastly money and I didn't have any, so here 
 I am." Which explanation seemed to satisfy 
 Biggs, but wasn't at all clear to Dorothy, who 
 scented a romance and of course had to know 
 about it down to the minutest details. She 
 became at once veiy sympathetic and when 
 Dorothy bent on one her liquid glances in pure 
 sympathy it was really worth while unbosoming 
 oneself. 
 
 " Then you didn't love her," she suggested 
 tenderly and hopefully. Dorothy felt tender 
 at that particular moment, because she had 
 just told Biggs that she didn't love him, and 
 what woman does not feel tender at such a 
 time? The suggestion of hopefulness in her 
 voice was due to a vague feeling of resentment 
 against Alicia. Alicia had a delicate, flower- 
 like aristocratic sound in Dorothy's ears, and 
 she just as vaguely hoped that Alicia was older
 
 274 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 than Biggs, or that she had a squint, or no eye- 
 brows, or something so that Biggs needn't re- 
 proach himself too much. 
 
 "No, I didn't," answered Biggs. "But 
 that didn't make any difference to Dolly 
 
 "Dolly!" interrupted Dorothy in surprise. 
 "Another one?" 
 
 "No, Dolly's my brother Adolphus, you 
 know," explained Biggs. A shade of bitter- 
 ness, not unmixed with contempt, came into 
 his voice as he mentioned his brother. : ' There 
 wasn't enough money for us all," he went on. 
 " There never is. And Dolly was to get it all, 
 of course " 
 
 "Of course?" queried Dorothy. "Why 
 should your brother get it all? " 
 
 " Oldest son," said Biggs. " The oldest son 
 expects to get everything. You don't have 
 oldest sons in America. That is, I mean an 
 oldest son isn't any better than any other son ; 
 but in England the others have to stand aside 
 for the oldest brother. He thinks that he is a 
 little god and we must bow down to him. Now 
 my oldest brother I have only one brother
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 275 
 
 is an ass, but being the first born he will suc- 
 ceed to to the he'll get the property, you 
 know, and the Governor and the Mater think 
 he's all right everything that Dolly does is 
 always all right. There is an awful rumpus if 
 things don't suit Dolly. He has his own spe- 
 cial brand of tea at breakfast, just six pieces 
 of toast, no more, no less. He'd be in a fright- 
 ful rage if there were seven, and I believe he'd 
 cry if there were only five. It has to be hot 
 and freshly toasted and be ready when he gets 
 down. It sometimes takes half a dozen loaves 
 of bread and two dozen eggs for Dolly's break- 
 fast. And then he has his own particular seat 
 that he must sit in. It is nearest the fire in 
 winter. In summer it is where he can see out 
 of the window. At other seasons it's just 
 where he orders it put. Often we can't sit 
 down to eat till brother Adolphus comes, be- 
 cause he might have ordered his seat changed, 
 and it wouldn't do at all if someone else took 
 it. Once a schoolmate came home with me for 
 the Christmas holidays, and before he had ever 
 heard of Dolly he sat in Dolly's chair at break-
 
 276 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 fast. I'll never forget the Mater's face, nor 
 the looks of the Governor for that matter. An 
 awful catastrophe was prevented by sending 
 Dolly's eggs and his six pieces of toast to his 
 room before he could get down, and the Mater 
 had to go to his room to make him think he 
 was sick, so that he would eat it there. It was 
 easy enough to make Dolly think he was sick ! 
 " You could see how it would be," continued 
 Biggs. "Dolly said I ought to provide for 
 myself marry Alicia, you know. Said it was 
 a duty I owed my family. By the family, 
 Dolly meant himself. And if I wanted to be 
 a pauper I needn't blame him; that I never 
 could deny that he'd done his best for me. I 
 told him he was a beast and why didn't he 
 marry Alicia himself? He got in an awful 
 rage; said I was an ungrateful brute; that 
 Alicia was good enough for me, insinuating 
 that she wasn't good enough for him. And I 
 punched his face because she was too good for 
 either of us. And then he put it up to the 
 Governor in his own way, and the Governor 
 almost had an attack of apoplexy, and told me,
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 277 
 
 among other things, that I ought to have some 
 regard for the family dignity, meaning Dolly's 
 dignity, and that I shouldn't be stubborn and 
 impudent to my superiors, meaning Dolly. I 
 told the Governor that Dolly was an ass and a 
 fool, and then he had his apoplexy and Dolly 
 ordered me out of the house. I went, but not 
 before I punched the other side of his face for 
 scriptural reasons. The Mater was sorry, of 
 course, because I was going, and said some- 
 thing about 'your brother Adolphus' and 
 peace in the family; that Alicia would have 
 been most acceptable to the family meaning 
 Dolly; and that she was a dear, sweet girl be- 
 sides, which she was, and so I went away and 
 here I am." 
 
 " Did Alicia know about this? " asked Doro- 
 thy. 
 
 " No, unless Dolly told her just like him, 
 the brute!" 
 
 "Does Ali do they know where you are?" 
 
 'Yes, I got a letter from the Mater when 
 
 when Alicia died. I always thought she 
 
 loved Dolly. Dolly thought so, too, but now I
 
 278 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 know she didn't. It was very sad, the Mater 
 said in her letter, ' And your brother Adolphus ' 
 she never spoke of him to me but she said 
 ' your brother Adolphus ' ' had to give up his 
 house party, some distinguished friends from 
 London, you know.' I'll bet Dolly blamed 
 Alicia for dying and spoiling his house party, 
 and I can't help wondering how Dolly had 
 distinguished friends in London a lot of bally 
 fools, I suppose, like himself!" 
 
 " Did Alicia love anybody else? " asked Dor- 
 othy, looking at Biggs in an accusing manner. 
 
 " I couldn't say," answered Biggs calmly, as 
 he ran the S pithead in to the shore and poked 
 her nose into a soft spot in the sand. 
 
 "Hi! Biggs!" shouted Harkaway from the 
 shore. " Cheer up ! The worst is yet to come. 
 Everything is ready but the coffee, and we 
 haven't any coffee. Bid took it out of the pic- 
 nic things before we started; thought it was a 
 can of graphite, so he hunted up the real 
 graphite can and put that in instead. It's 
 good, strong-looking dope, but it's a little too 
 rich to drink."
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 279 
 
 Without replying to this outburst from his 
 suspected rival, Biggs solemnly helped Dor- 
 othy out of the launch, deposited the profes- 
 sor's suit case on the bank and then fastened 
 his mushroom anchor to the longest rope he 
 had and dropped it overboard at the stern. 
 When he got out of the boat he jumped ashore 
 in such a way that he gave it a shove. As the 
 S pithead, under the impulse of Biggs's back- 
 ward kick, floated away and rode at the end 
 of the rope, he picked up the suit case and 
 started to join the others who were waiting to 
 begin lunch. Dorothy looked at the launch 
 floating serenely and safely out of everybody's 
 reach and then at Biggs in a suspicious 
 manner. 
 
 "How are you going to get in again, Mr. 
 Biggs?" she inquired. 
 
 " Oh, I'll get it when the tide goes out," he 
 answered indifferently. 
 
 " But Mr. Fairbanks," she began, stealthily 
 eyeing him ; " Mr. Fairbanks, you know, talked 
 of taking me out for a little ride, and now he 
 can't get the boat."
 
 280 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 "Fairbanks? Oh, I forgot all about the 
 professor." 
 
 "But you have the professor's suit case in 
 your hand." 
 
 "Why, to be sure," acknowledged Biggs. 
 " How stupid of me. It's too bad. He could 
 have had the launch just as well as not." 
 
 "I believe you did it on purpose," said Dor- 
 othy. 
 
 "Did you want to go out with the profes- 
 sor?" asked Biggs abruptly. 
 
 "No," was the decided response. 
 
 "Harkaway?" 
 
 Again Dorothy was silent at the mention of 
 that name. However, there are degrees of 
 silence. Since the story of Alicia and Biggs's 
 part therein had come to her knowledge, she 
 regarded Biggs in a different way, and her 
 silence in respect to Harkaway assumed a dif- 
 ferent aspect. It was slightly less positive 
 and not so full of meaning. Of this Biggs 
 was wholly unconscious. Indeed, it would 
 have taken an exceedingly acute observer to 
 detect the change in her manner. After a
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 281 
 
 brief silence Biggs remarked, " Well, if Hark- 
 away wants the launch I can throw a fish line 
 aboard and haul her in, but the professor 
 the professor, among his other accomplish- 
 ments, ought to be able to swim." 
 
 "Thank you, so much!" said Dorothy. 
 
 Biggs's efforts to fend off the distinguished 
 Applied Mechanic, as he mentally dubbed him, 
 did not stop at making it impossible for him 
 to escape with her in the launch. Whenever 
 Fairbanks sidled up to Dorothy, Biggs bore 
 down on him and engaged his attention with 
 a long and circumstantial account of some re- 
 markable storm that had followed closely upon 
 a fall in his barometer. After several unsuc- 
 cessful attempts to elude Biggs, Fairbanks 
 gave up, but his submission was only apparent. 
 The picnic lunch was eaten, the things cleared 
 up and stowed away in the Durable ; they had 
 explored every foot of Harkaway's property 
 and were ready to go home, when Fairbanks 
 said aloud, giving Biggs a defiant look, " Dor- 
 othy, I've engaged a launch for to-morrow. 
 Please don't make any other engagement, but
 
 282 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 accompany me on a trip up the bay. We'll be 
 back in time for dinner." 
 
 Miriam was astonished, Harkaway was dis- 
 mayed and Biggs subdued. Biddleson was 
 the only one who said anything; a faint " Ha 
 HA ! " was all that occurred to him. 
 
 Dorothy looked at Biggs for help, but that 
 capable individual had none to offer, so she 
 said with 'sudden enthusiasm, " Oh, do let's go! 
 Of course I won't make any other engage- 
 ment."
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 MORE MATRIMONIAL MANOEUVRES 
 
 IT was nine o'clock when Dorothy and Fair- 
 banks reached the water front and the launch 
 which he had hired for the day. Biddleson 
 had accompanied them down from the house 
 and before he left them he remarked uneasily, 
 " It looks as if it might storm before long, 
 Professor." 
 
 Fairbanks stared at the clouds in the south- 
 ern sky, felt the warm sunshine between his 
 shoulder blades and smiled in a superior way. 
 " I guess you don't get very rough water on 
 this little bay," he remarked. " I'll look out, 
 of course." 
 
 "Biggs telephoned just before we left the 
 house that his barometer was going down fast," 
 Biddleson continued feebly. "But then 
 Biggs's barometer doesn't hold any record for 
 accuracy." 
 
 The young professor stiffened at the mere 
 
 283
 
 284 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 mention of the Englishman Britisher, he pri- 
 vately termed him and he turned to Dorothy 
 firmly. " Let's get started, Dorothy. Or are 
 you afraid?" 
 
 "Afraid? Nonsense," she replied quickly, 
 leaping into the hoat. "I've heard of Mr. 
 Biggs's barometer before." 
 
 So Biddleson left them and went his way to- 
 wards the bank. A block farther on Hark- 
 away met him and drew him aside. "Look 
 here," he said with pretended anxiety, 
 " Biggs says it's going to storm. Have they 
 gone yet?" 
 
 " Storm, eh? Ha HA! " Biddleson nudged 
 Harkaway in a meaning way. " Storm! Ha 
 HA! I could tell by the looks of your face 
 last night when the Professor asked Dorothy 
 to go that there would be a storm of some 
 kind this morning. I didn't need Biggs's 
 barometer to tell me that." Biddleson nudged 
 Harkaway again. " Ha HA! " 
 
 ' That's all very funny," said Harkaway 
 stiffly, backing away out of reach of Biddle- 
 son's nudges, " but I tell you that Bigg "
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 285 
 
 "Ha HA! So you've got Biggs on your 
 side, and you are out to do Fairbanks, are you? 
 But you can't scare that chap with a little im- 
 itation storm whirling around Biggs's office. 
 He's a college professor, and he knows a 
 whole lot, you know, you've got to think up 
 something better than that. Ha HA! Fair- 
 banks is a fine looking fellow, too. Eh, 
 Hark?" Bid moved up to nudge Harkaway 
 again, but Hark eluded him, making up his 
 mind that if Bid said Ha HA again he would 
 hit him. 
 
 "I'm telling you," he said with great 
 earnestness, "that it's going to blow, and 
 Biggs's barometer isn't the only one that says 
 so, either. The one on the Richardson is way 
 down, too, not so low as Biggs's couldn't be 
 expected of it, not so much practice, you know 
 but say," continued Harkaway after a 
 thoughtful pause, "I am going to tell you 
 something that no one but me and Biggs 
 knows, and I know you won't tell. On the 
 square, now, Bid." Harkaway lowered his 
 voice and approached Biddleson, regardless of
 
 286 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 possible nudges and said mysteriously: " I've 
 found out how Biggs works his barometer. 
 Those taps of his on the glass face are all a 
 bluff. The hand is quicker than the eye, you 
 know, but Biggs does it with his foot. That 
 can be quicker than anything on occasion. I 
 was down under the dock the other day when 
 the tide was out and happened to look up. 
 Right under Biggs's office and as near as I 
 could tell, exactly under the barometer, I saw 
 a most peculiar-looking contrivance. It was 
 dark up under there, and I could not see very 
 well, but what I did see made me suspicious. 
 So I went up around into Biggs's office and 
 watched him carefully while he handed out 
 three different kinds of weather to three dif- 
 ferent people in ten minutes. After the last 
 one went out, an old lady whose boy was fish- 
 ing in a small boat on the bay Biggs made 
 the needle go clear to the top for her benefit I 
 made him show me how he did it. It seems 
 he's got a loose board right under the barom- 
 eter. Underneath are some cog-wheels, 
 levers and things and a bicycle pump con-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 287 
 
 nected with a small lead pipe leading up to 
 the barometer. When Biggs steps on one end 
 of the board, the pump sucks the air out of 
 the barometer and down goes the needle, pro- 
 ducing one of his justly celebrated storms. 
 When he steps on the other end, it pumps air 
 in, instead of sucking it out. At once he has 
 a high pressure area of great intensity, the 
 needle goes up, and you have a fine day while 
 you wait. Foxy Biggs ! Made it all himself. 
 Is going to give it to me, if he leaves town. 
 Says someone must keep up the reputation of 
 Tidewater for any and all kinds of weather. 
 It wouldn't be a bad thing to have around a 
 real estate office. Now, would it, Bid?" 
 
 "Ha HA!" said Biddleson in commenda- 
 tion. " So that's how you and Biggsie con- 
 jured up a storm to keep Dorothy from going 
 with Fairbanks?" 
 
 " Oh, no," said Harkaway hastily. " I for- 
 got to say that if you keep your feet off the 
 board the instrument works just like any other 
 barometer, and Biggs this morning swore by 
 all his gods that he hadn't been anywhere near
 
 288 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 it. Real storm this time ; sure thing." Hark- 
 away assumed a look of great anxiety. " Say, 
 Bid, really you ought to keep Dorothy from 
 going." 
 
 " I can't," said Biddleson calmly. " They've 
 gone already. If you go to the wharf, you'll 
 see them on the bay." 
 
 "Where are they going?" Harkaway de- 
 manded shortly. 
 
 "Way up the bay," Biddleson returned. 
 " They said they would be back before dark." 
 
 With this Harkaway had to be satisfied, as 
 he went back into his office and waited for old 
 man Hardy, whom he was going to tell of his 
 determination never to sell Harkaway's Addi- 
 tion for any price less than one hundred thou- 
 sand dollars. Biddleson went to the bank, 
 took off his coat and put on his office jacket. 
 And across the street Biggs sat at his high 
 desk scowling at his barometer between glances 
 out on the sound where he saw the launch 
 bearing Fairbanks and Dorothy up stream. 
 
 Fairbanks himself was quite content. He 
 had finally got Dorothy off by herself. More-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 289 
 
 over he had arranged things to remind her es- 
 pecially of their long days on the lake back in 
 Minnesota when he had come very near to 
 proposing to her but never quite to the point. 
 This morning he viewed her bright face and 
 slender figure with satisfaction. There was 
 no doubt in his mind, now, that he loved her. 
 And he intended to tell her so, and he was al- 
 most sure she would respond as he hoped she 
 would. But of all this he said nothing. His 
 words were, " I'll trust you to steer us through 
 the narrow channels up the bay." 
 
 Dorothy smiled back at him. "I don't 
 know them," she answered. "But I guess 
 we can get off if I run us aground. Isn't this 
 a fast boat!" 
 
 "I made that part of the bargain," was 
 the response. "I told the launch man I 
 wanted the fastest boat he had. I never ran 
 an engine like this before; but it seems to be 
 going finely." 
 
 Fairbanks set down the oil-can and wiped 
 his hands on a piece of waste in a professional 
 manner. Then he moved back from the en-
 
 290 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 gine and across from Dorothy. ' This is 
 heavenly," he said with a sigh. " I've been 
 waiting for this six months! " 
 
 Dorothy shook her head at him. " I 
 shouldn't think you'd say that when you know 
 it's lots nicer on the lake back in Minnesota." 
 
 " Oh, if you were there," Fairbanks acqui- 
 esced. "But you see it's you that makes 
 things worth while." 
 
 Dorothy assumed a severe air. " If you are 
 going to flirt, I'm going to steer this launch 
 straight in for shore." 
 
 " I'm in dead earnest," the professor said 
 penitently. "I am not flirting at all, Dor- 
 othy. I've been waiting six months to tell 
 you that I " 
 
 At this moment Dorothy discerned a ter- 
 rible snag poking its dark head out of the 
 current, drove the steering wheel hard over and 
 the launch performed that evolution known 
 as " pulling turnips," which involves a vast 
 amount of tipping, a deadly plunge and then 
 a sickening slide shoreward. When she had 
 the boat under control again, the professor was
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 291 
 
 trying to look as though he hadn't reversed the 
 engine. 
 
 "What did you do that for?" Dorothy de- 
 manded indignantly. "Did you think I 
 couldn't steer past it? " 
 
 "But you looked scared!" said the profes- 
 sor meekly. 
 
 "It wasn't that old snag that scared me," 
 was the tart reply. "If you don't trust my 
 piloting without all the time backing the en- 
 gine up, come and steer yourself." 
 
 Half an hour later the launch was slipping 
 gaily through the narrows above Sahara and 
 Fairbanks had recovered sufficiently to smile. 
 But he said no more until they had entered the 
 long, green-bordered upper bay. Here the 
 waves from the cutwater sheered silverly away 
 in a broad V to either shore and the ruffled 
 wake boiled like a stream of watered silk be- 
 hind them. In that comparative silence and 
 solitude Dorothy's face grew still more peace- 
 ful. She leaned back in her seat and gazed 
 at the dark hills. " I love this country," she 
 murmured.
 
 292 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 " I don't think you would care to live in it 
 all your life, though," Fairbanks responded. 
 " It's nice, and all that ! but, after all, one likes 
 to be in the swim, as they say ; to be nearer the 
 centre of our national life." 
 
 " That sounds quite Fourth-of-Julyish," 
 was the teasing answer. 
 
 Unabashed, Fairbanks pushed this aside. 
 " I don't know but that it has been said be- 
 fore," he admitted. "But I am talking of 
 specific instances. Now take yourself, Dor- 
 othy. With all your education and brains, you 
 can't imagine yourself settled down here. I 
 can't imagine you living dully in Tidewater 
 as the wife of of, well of that ticket agent, 
 Biggs." 
 
 Dorothy sat up quickly. " That's very 
 odd," she remarked. "You must be a mind 
 reader. I was just thinking of that same 
 thing!" 
 
 Fairbanks glanced at her curiously. 
 " What funny things you say! " 
 
 Dorothy smiled faintly. " But I was think- 
 ing of him!" she protested. "I like Mr. 
 Biggs."
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 293 
 
 Fairbanks smiled with a certain condescen- 
 sion. " Oh, I daresay Biggs is all right. But 
 you couldn't live here, you know. You're 
 made for better things." 
 
 Dorothy leaned forward interestedly. 
 " Just what is your notion of a woman's duty 
 to er herself and the world?" she de- 
 manded. 
 
 This question seemed leading and the pro- 
 fessor of Applied Mechanics distrusted its 
 purport. At the same time it gave him an op- 
 portunity of saying what was on his mind and 
 he gallantly tackled it. 
 
 "For an educated woman," he began, "I 
 should say she must never lose sight of the fact 
 that she is educated. She oughtn't to waste 
 it." 
 
 "On Mr. Biggs; I see." 
 
 " Biggs was merely an example," Fairbanks 
 said stiffly. "I didn't mean to say anything 
 against him. As I was saying, a woman like 
 you oughtn't to waste her chances of making 
 her training count for something. She ought 
 to marry in her own class, you know." 
 
 Dorothy nodded. " I see," she said dream-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 ily. " But don't you think " she beamed 
 on him brightly " most educated men are aw- 
 fully stupid?" 
 
 "Stupid? What do you mean by that?" 
 
 "Exactly what I said," she replied firmly. 
 " The ordinary college man thinks he's better 
 than other people. So does the college girl. 
 I even find myself thinking that way. I almost 
 despise girls who haven't been to a university 
 and I'm all the time looking down on perfectly 
 nice men who don't know Greek or what the 
 fraternity pins stand for. It's the university 
 attitude of mind. For instance, you wouldn't 
 be wasting your time talking to me if I wasn't 
 a college girl ! " 
 
 " Wasting my time? " the professor echoed. 
 "Dorothy, you ought to know better, if you 
 don't. It wouldn't matter to me if you didn't 
 know your letters!" 
 
 Dorothy drew a long breath and looked 
 away. It had come and she didn't know just 
 what to say to head him off. And, as a mat- 
 ter of fact, Fairbanks, once launched, wasn't 
 for turning back under any circumstances.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 295 
 
 With a look, almost of exaltation, he moved 
 closer to her and poured out his heart. 
 
 Possibly because they were both vitally in- 
 terested, or because of the proverbial blind- 
 ness of love, neither had observed that the 
 launch, now skirting a high bluff, was rapidly 
 leaving the narrow channel and making for a 
 long shallow opposite out of which peeped a 
 few rocks. So it happened that before Fair- 
 banks had succeeded in making his feelings 
 plain, they were both thrown into the bottom 
 of the boat by a bump. The launch heeled 
 over, the propeller churned the water and then 
 everything stopped, including the engine. 
 
 Fairbanks picked himself quickly up and 
 without a word gazed wretchedly over the side 
 into six inches of water. Sundry applicable 
 quotations from Emerson entered his mind. 
 Astern of the launch a fifty foot trail of mud 
 and sand showed that it was that far to deep 
 water. Dorothy on her feet with her hands 
 to her hair, added the final straw by exclaim- 
 ing, "And the tide is going out! We shall 
 never get out of here in the world."
 
 296 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 " But the tide will come in again," protested 
 the professor. " Then we'll float off all right." 
 
 Dorothy sat down and stared at him. " It 
 will be six or seven hours yet," she remarked 
 tragically, "and it's now only ten o'clock or 
 a little after, isn't it?" 
 
 The crestfallen Fairbanks consulted his 
 watch and remarked that it was eleven. " I 
 looked at the tide table and the tide is low at 
 exactly eight," he went on. " So it hasn't really 
 started down at all but it's coming in and will 
 be high at two o'clock. It can't be long now 
 till we're afloat again." 
 
 Dorothy peered over the side, pouted and 
 finally decided to make the best of it, as 
 the launch lay a hundred yards from any shore. 
 The professor investigated the propeller and 
 found it well wrapped with weeds. Clearing 
 these he found the engine to work excellently. 
 " Give us six inches more of water and we'll 
 run out in good style," he exulted. " Cheer 
 up, Dorothy!" 
 
 "We'll have to eat our lunch right here in 
 the boat," she said practically.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 297 
 
 " Good," said Fairbanks, recovering his 
 spirits. 
 
 " And it looks as if it might storm," the in- 
 exorable girl continued, staring at a black 
 cloud above the bluff. 
 
 Fairbanks utterly refused to become dis- 
 consolate. Dorothy was with him; the lunch 
 had not been forgotten, and there was no 
 Biggs to interfere with his pleading with the 
 girl he loved.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 BIGGS PULLS OFF A REAL STORM 
 
 BIGGS stood in his office, studying his barom- 
 eter with great care. One might have sup- 
 posed that he really believed in it. " By Jove, 
 I wish you could tell all that will happen to- 
 day," he was muttering to the excellent instru- 
 ment. "For it's going to blow and I'd like 
 to know how that bally idiot of a professor is 
 going to get back safely." 
 
 The barometer didn't answer this, so Biggs, 
 determined to get some response, took the tele- 
 phone trumpet off the hook and rang up 
 Harkaway. " Say, old chap," he called, " just 
 slip down to the jeweller's and see what the 
 glass is doing." 
 
 At the other end of the line Harkaway 
 looked over at Mr. Hardy, and saw that the 
 old gentleman was busy looking at a map. 
 
 298
 
 FIVE GALIX)NS OF GASOLINE 299 
 
 " What's the matter, Biggs? " he questioned. 
 " Someone nailed the board down so that you 
 can't use yours?" . . . " Oh, aU right, I'll 
 go down!" When he came hack and spoke 
 through the telephone, he was really uneasy. 
 " It's dropped two tenths in the last hour," he 
 said. "But I'm not worried about 'em. 
 Fairbanks is a competent fellow, and the 
 launch is all right. If it starts to storm, they 
 will undoubtedly land at Deep Water." 
 
 Biggs hung up the receiver, and went back 
 to his bills. At noon, he called the jeweller up 
 and learned that the glass had fallen another 
 tenth. He went to lunch with a red spot on 
 either cheek. At two o'clock he cast a last 
 hurried glance into the southern sky and 
 called Harkaway up on the telephone again. 
 " Harkaway," he said abruptly, " go down and 
 get in the Spithead and bring her over here. 
 These people aren't in sight yet. But Deep 
 Water says they have passed there. Inside 
 of half an hour it'll be blowing a gale and that 
 launch won't stand up to it. We'll take the 
 Spithead and go get 'em." He waited for
 
 300 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Harkaway's assent and then hung up with a 
 bang. 
 
 Ten minutes later the S pithead chugged up 
 to the wharf and Biggs dropped in, displacing 
 Harkaway at the steering wheel beside the en- 
 gine lever. "I'll run her," he said curtly. 
 
 "Don't care if you do," said Harkaway 
 cheerfully. "Rotten engine. You ought to 
 get one like the Durable. Three cylinders 
 would just " 
 
 "We've got just five minutes to beat the 
 professor to the point," said Biggs. "If we 
 can get 'em the other side of that" he ad- 
 vanced the spark until the engine sang " we'll 
 do nicely. But if they get this side anu the 
 wind comes" he steadied the launch on her 
 course "then it will be nasty work." 
 
 " And the professor will likely get wet," said 
 Harkaway, lighting a cigarette with great dif- 
 ficulty. 
 
 " Don't talk to me about the professor," said 
 Biggs crossly. " Didn't I tell him it was go- 
 ing to storm? And he must go on and drag 
 that fine little woman out just to make a pic-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 301 
 
 nic for him!" Harkaway saw a sudden fire 
 in Biggs's eyes. The other launch poked its 
 nose around the point a mile away. 
 
 " Now we are in for it," said Biggs, glanc- 
 ing savagely at the clouds that rolled billow- 
 like up towards the zenith. A little squall 
 flipped across the bay and left foam in its 
 wake. Harkaway threw his coat over the en- 
 gine to protect the spark plug from spray. 
 Biggs nodded thanks, and headed the S 'pithead 
 to windward. 
 
 Still the wind held off, while Biggs strained 
 his eyes to see some signs of weariness on the 
 part of Fairbanks. Harkaway did not seem 
 much perturbed; he was chuckling softly to 
 himself at the idea of his rival getting wet. 
 Fairbanks, in the hired craft, steadily chugged 
 out into the main channel, still refusing to turn 
 towards shore and shelter. Every moment the 
 southern sky darkened. Over the ridge of 
 trees on the ocean side puffs of cloudy va- 
 pour eddied; overhead resounded a dull sound 
 of wind. Biggs stood up and waved his hand 
 violently, but neither the professor nor Dor-
 
 302 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 othy seemed to see his gesture. " This is rot- 
 ten," Biggs said, seating himself again by the 
 engine. " In one minute this bay will be mush 
 with whipped cream on top of it." 
 
 The S 'pithead swung around under his skil- 
 ful hand and took the next squall delicately on 
 the bow. Then the gale broke. Up to this 
 moment Harkaway had thought the whole ex- 
 pedition was a lark, and that the clouds and 
 the wind were a sort of tribute to Biggs's ba- 
 rometer, but now he crouched in the shelter of 
 the little peak. A half mile away and to lee- 
 ward they saw the other launch plunge sharply 
 and then keep on its steady way. Dorothy 
 appeared, a slight figure in the stern. For five 
 minutes Biggs kept his boat headed into the 
 increasing wind then scowled at Harkaway. 
 " Gasoline won't buck this," he called. " But 
 anyway we can run over to them and help 
 out." The Spithead thrashed round, was 
 caught by a w r ave and threatened to capsize. 
 But Biggs held her firmly to her work, she 
 sped about and plunged off towards Fairbanks 
 and Dorothy.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 303 
 
 " Good boy, Biggs," shouted Harkaway, 
 still cheerful. 
 
 As the two launches drew near to each other 
 Biggs rapidly appraised the gale, shook his 
 head and called to his companion, " It's going 
 to be nasty in a few moments. Let's get the 
 girl out of that other boat and run for shore. 
 We can land through the surf while it's no 
 higher." 
 
 But Fairbanks either did not anticipate the 
 manoeuvre, or trusted to his own judgment. 
 As the Spithead rolled alongside he deliber- 
 ately put his helm over, caught the next wave 
 full on the side and was blown down the bay 
 before Biggs could follow. By this time the 
 wind was furious. The bay was a rolling ex- 
 panse of foamy waves and even the Tide- 
 water shore appeared to be a distant and 
 hazy eminence in the sea. But Biggs said 
 nothing. He brought the Spithead carefully 
 before the wind, and crouching so as to shield 
 the engine from the slashing spray, snorted 
 after the professor. " He'll make the point 
 and try to land by the wharf," he vouchsafed
 
 304 FIVE GALLONS OF "GASOLINE 
 
 to Harkaway. " Lucky if he don't swamp her 
 in the attempt." 
 
 Harkaway wiped the brine from his eyes 
 and shook his head. "He's going right 
 across," he shouted hack. 
 
 Biggs seemed incapable of believing this. 
 But a few minutes more showed that Fair- 
 banks, in ignorance of the tide and the ter- 
 rific ebb seaward, was trying to regain his 
 original landing place. They saw the launch 
 gradually head around more and more till it 
 was being born broadside towards the bar and 
 almost upon the breakers that were thundering 
 opposite the life-saving station. Harkaway 's 
 gesture of despair brought a frown to Biggs's 
 calm brow. He headed after them. 
 
 To Biggs's eyes the situation lay out as 
 plainly as a chart. Behind him was the south- 
 easter, steadily gaining in strength. Before 
 him tumbled the bar, tossing high spumey 
 crests into the lowering sky. On the one 
 hand the life-saving station's little run-way 
 appeared momentarily through the surf; on 
 the other towered the flimsy magnificence of
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 305 
 
 Devonshire Hall. And in the channel between, 
 a quarter of a mile ahead of him, Fairbanks 
 was driving to death in the surf, while Dor- 
 othy sat steadily in her seat and trusted him. 
 Biggs cast a swift glance at Harkaway. 
 Harkaway smiled with pale lips and they 
 shook their heads at each other. Both knew 
 what was coming the battle in the huge, 
 swirling cauldron made by the outflowing tide 
 and the incoming breakers, all stirred to double 
 fury by the howling wind. 
 
 The S pithead tore along, each wave from the 
 bay behind her trying to ride over the f antail 
 stern and fill the cockpit. But Biggs was 
 master of his craft. Fairbanks was doing 
 well, too, Harkaway thought. How had he 
 kept that frail launch afloat so long? But 
 why didn't Fairbanks see his danger? Why 
 didn't he turn and make back for the inner 
 bay while there was time? Harkaway even 
 shouted the question at Biggs. 
 
 Biggs didn't answer it. Fairbanks an- 
 swered it himself by suddenly putting his helm 
 over and trying to make the launch take the
 
 306 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 incoming seas broadside on, in an effort to 
 reach the foam-swept pier in front of the 
 Thompson place. That manoeuvre brought 
 Biggs to his feet. "She'll capsize, Hark!" 
 he yelled. " Keep your eye out for heads 
 while I run across." 
 
 Harkaway waved violent remonstrance. 
 " You're crazy! " he cried. ' You'll drown us 
 both!" 
 
 Biggs paid no attention to this. His eyes 
 were fixed on the other launch. He saw it 
 yield to the helm, swerve round, point its 
 bow towards the pier and then soar upwards on 
 a booming roller from the Pacific. Caught 
 in that vast grasp it hung, careened far over, 
 so that Biggs could see Fairbanks clutching 
 the reverse lever and hanging to the wheel, 
 could see Dorothy clinging silently to the 
 thwarts. Then the roller dropped them, the 
 next wave dashed clean over the launch, and 
 Biggs grimly watched for a chance to send 
 the Spithead after it. The chance came. 
 For a full sixty seconds Harkaway, clutching 
 any handhold, stared fearfully at the man who
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 307 
 
 was master of him and the launch. Then the 
 S pithead 1 8 engine cheerfully coughed the 
 water out of the carburetor and Biggs said 
 aloud, "If we can keep in this eddy a min- 
 ute we're all right. Stand by to pick Dor- 
 othy out of that other boat." 
 
 Harkaway balanced himself as best he could 
 and Biggs calmly drove the bouncing Spithead 
 through the next breaker and almost on top of 
 the swamped launch. Harkaway found Dor- 
 othy's outstretched hands and she was quickly 
 drawn to comparative safety. A nimble leap, 
 and Fairbanks was in the Spithead, abandon- 
 ing his water-filled and helpless craft. " I'm 
 afraid that launch is a goner," he said miser- 
 ably. But he received no answer, for Biggs 
 was now anxiously manoeuvring to save the 
 Spithead from a similar fate. 
 
 Half an hour later Biggs ran his dripping 
 boat in towards the shore above Thompson's 
 place, stopped his engine and swung an anchor 
 over the bow. " We can't run her clear ashore 
 in such rough water," he explained to Dorothy. 
 " It's a case of wade ! " Before she could reply
 
 308 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Biggs sedately stepped into water that came 
 up to his waist and held out his arms. " Come 
 on, Miss Dorothy!" he said. 
 
 Dorothy came, with meek ohedience, and 
 was set down on the sand just out of reach of 
 the breaking waves. Meanwhile Fairbanks 
 and Harkaway were wading ashore, looking 
 disheveled and white. For the first time since 
 she had been caught up out of the sinking 
 launch Dorothy found her tongue. Her 
 speech was directed to Biggs, the capless, 
 coatless and muddy. " I don't blame Alicia," 
 she said enigmatically. 
 
 Harkaway stared at her in a seasick, dazed 
 way. "Who was Alicia?" he demanded in- 
 anely. 
 
 Fairbanks heard the allusion to Alicia, too, 
 but he did not attempt to understand it. He 
 considered what she had said to be a wander- 
 ing of the mind, due to overexertion. " Don't 
 you feel well, Dorothy? " he asked anxiously. 
 
 Dorothy refused to answer either of them 
 and merely smiled wanly at Biggs, who blushed 
 and tried to look dry, but failed. As a last
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 309 
 
 resort he discovered Mrs. Thompson's auto- 
 mobile coming up the road. He promptly 
 halted it, dragged the astonished Henri out 
 of his seat and pointed to the dripping trio. 
 " Take Miss De Poe and these chaps home," 
 he commanded. 
 
 "But!" protested Henri, outraged, and 
 looking wildly around for help. 
 
 "No huts, Henri," said Biggs. "Take 
 Miss De Poe home directly. Open that 
 door!" 
 
 Henri opened the tonneau door and Biggs 
 lifted Dorothy in with one sweep of his arms. 
 A well-known voice, evidently expressing 
 fright, received her. It was Mrs. Thompson 
 who stared at the capless Biggs, then. at the 
 white and desolate Dorothy and said shrilly, 
 "What? who is it? Is anybody dead? 
 Where?" 
 
 Biggs thrust his head in and responded 
 quietly. "Ah, Mrs. Thompson! Sorry to 
 disturb you, but Miss De Poe is very wet. 
 Will you please take her home? " 
 
 Dorothy, feeling powerless and wanting ter-
 
 310 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 ribly to cry, now found voice enough to say 
 something about trouble and inconvenience. 
 Biggs brushed this aside. " I'm sure Mrs. 
 Thompson will be delighted," he said firmly. 
 
 That lady, recovering her wits, instantly 
 said that she would be delighted. And as soon 
 as she had established a modus Vivendi she pro- 
 ceeded to ask what had happened. Recognis- 
 ing that curiosity w r ould insure Dorothy's be- 
 ing taken home, and not allowed out of the 
 car till the last word was told, Biggs stepped 
 back. As he did so Henri climbed into his 
 seat and indicated to Fairbanks and Harkaway 
 that they might double up beside him. They 
 promptly availed themselves of the invitation 
 and Biggs, saying something about going 
 after Fairbanks's launch, refused to join them, 
 and waved Henri on. That personage, recog- 
 nising in Biggs an imperious character, obeyed, 
 leaving him to wade back to the SpitJiead. 
 
 Once more on his own tossing half -swamped 
 craft, Biggs proceeded methodically to bail 
 it out. When this was done he stood up and 
 looked off into the eddy a half mile below
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 311 
 
 to see whether the other launch had been 
 thrown on the sand or had swept out to sea or 
 had utterly vanished. 
 
 Before long he caught sight of it. The 
 abandoned craft, being no longer directed by 
 human ignorance, had obeyed the laws of na- 
 ture and refused to go on. It still hung high 
 on each roller, tossing wildly when the gale 
 caught it. Biggs sat down again in his own 
 boat and managed to find some dry tobacco 
 and a pipe in the locker. He lit the pipe with 
 some difficulty and wiped his face and hands on 
 a piece of waste. The storm was settling 
 down in real earnest, he thought, as he 
 scanned the fast darkening expanse of De Poe 
 Sound. It would blow all night, probably. 
 Fairbanks would lose that launch. The cost 
 of it was over six hundred dollars, he remem- 
 bered. Fairbanks would have to pay that 
 money to the launch man. 
 
 "I'll bet the boy can't afford it," Biggs 
 said to himself. "I think I'd better get it 
 back for him." 
 
 So he hoisted up his anchor, started the en-
 
 312 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 gine and calmly headed the S pithead down to- 
 wards the bar. As the launch was swept out 
 into the main channel again and he dodged the 
 first dash of spray, Biggs glanced up the hill 
 towards the Biddleson cottage. He was 
 thinking of Dorothy and wondering just w r hat 
 she meant by saying that she didn't blame 
 Alicia. "Didn't blame her for dying," he 
 thought. He tried to think that Dorothy 
 meant that Alicia wasn't to be blamed for lov- 
 ing him, but he instantly decided that this was 
 probably the very last thing that Dorothy 
 would have thought of. He sighed.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 BIGGS BORROWS MRS. THOMPSON'S CAR 
 
 IT was dark when Biggs finally arrived once 
 more off the Thompson place, this time with 
 the swamped launch towing behind the S pit- 
 head. The upper bay was still wind-swept, 
 and the waves were higher, for the tide was 
 coming in and met the force of the gale. His 
 own boat was nearly a wreck and the en- 
 gine gasped and coughed asthmatically. It 
 would take him a good hour to make 
 the wharf at Tidewater and the Richard- 
 son was nearly due from Bones. Biggs 
 remembered his duties as agent and de- 
 cided to anchor both launches off the 
 shore in the eddy and wade to land and walk 
 back to the office. So he shut down the en- 
 gine, cast the anchor and waited until both 
 boats swung easily to its pull. Then he 
 
 313
 
 314 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 dipped overside, found bottom with his feet 
 and wearily stamped up on the sand. To his 
 amazement he saw a figure standing at high- 
 water mark, evidently a woman, for she was 
 wrapped in a cloak and he saw the glint of wet 
 on her hair. He stopped and peered into the 
 darkness. A shaky voice addressed him. 
 
 " Aren't you horribly cold, Mr. Biggs ? " It 
 was Dorothy, a husky voiced, shivering Dor- 
 othy. Biggs nearly fell down. 
 
 "What what are you doing here?" he de- 
 manded, going close enough to catch the pal- 
 lor of her face. 
 
 "I was waiting for you," she said almost 
 with a sob. " I was so afraid when you went 
 back after that launch!" 
 
 " Oh, that was nothing," said Biggs, won- 
 dering wildly whether he was dead or alive. 
 " I got it." 
 
 "But you risked your life! " Dorothy went 
 on, gaining courage. "And I saw you out 
 there! " 
 
 Biggs blushed in the darkness. He felt 
 the lack of a cap, coat and one shoe, but he
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 315 
 
 managed to respond with, " Most kind of you, 
 I'm surel" 
 
 " It wasn't kind either! " she protested. " I 
 was afraid you'd be drowned!" 
 
 Biggs took another step forward and Dor- 
 othy retreated. He heard a tell-tale squashing 
 that could only mean one thing: Dorothy's feet 
 were thoroughly wet. And as it dawned on 
 him that she had left a warm room, and a hot 
 fire, and toddies and blankets and congratula- 
 tions to walk a mile and stand in the rain and 
 wind, just to see whether he was coming safely 
 back, he gasped. He didn't answer at first, 
 for he was thinking rapidly. When he had 
 found his plan it took him ten seconds he 
 stepped forward briskly, caught her up in his 
 arms and walked hastily to the road. Then 
 he put her down and said, "Can you walk a 
 hundred yards?" 
 
 " Why didn't you ask me that at first? " said 
 Dorothy indignantly. 
 
 " Just wait here a moment," said the undis- 
 turbed Biggs. " I must see if I have any dry 
 matches." He found his oilskin case and
 
 316 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 managed with chill fingers to get a match, 
 which he lit and held to Dorothy's face. He 
 seemed satisfied with this extraordinary in- 
 spection, and remarked, "Poor girl! Come 
 on!" 
 
 " I'm going home," said Dorothy, choking a 
 sob back. 
 
 ' You are not going to walk," was the de- 
 termined response. "Just get in the shelter 
 of that wall here. I'll be right back." He 
 vanished up the road, leaving Dorothy in a 
 pitiful state of bewilderment. It came over 
 her what she had done. Nobody could under- 
 stand it! And this Englishman thought she 
 was crazy. Cold to the bone, she shivered mis- 
 erably, and she cried into her wet sleeve. 
 Then her bravery returned and she started as 
 swiftly as she could for home. "He thinks 
 I'm crazy," she thought bitterly. "And he's 
 gone for help or something." The notion of 
 being subjected to scrutiny and questions by 
 strangers appalled her. She quickened her 
 pace. 
 
 At that moment there was a sound of cough-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 317 
 
 ing up the hill by the Thompson place, a bright 
 light appeared and resolved itself into two 
 lights that lit up the road almost to her feet. 
 Then she heard a rapid chatter whence the 
 lights came, a mixture of excited French and 
 English intermingled with the no less excited 
 but thicker and huskier tones that sounded as 
 though they proceeded from the throat of the 
 war-like Scot, McLean. But before she could 
 interpret this amazing phenomenon, the lights 
 came rapidly towards her, and Mrs. Thomp- 
 son's big car came to a stop in front of her, 
 while Biggs jumped out, caught her in both 
 arms and thrust her into the seat. Biggs then 
 jumped in, gave the engine a wide throttle, 
 whirled the car around and started for the 
 Biddleson cottage at a terrific speed. As they 
 swept round the turn in the road the wind bore 
 down on her the shouts of two men, Henri pro- 
 testing to the storm in pure French and Mc- 
 Lean roaring Scotch oaths in a most unpresby- 
 terian fashion. Biggs explained in a word. 
 ' The bally idiots thought I was trying to steal 
 the car and tried to stop me."
 
 318 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Dorothy settled herself more primly in her 
 seat and wiped her eyes. "Where are we 
 going! " she asked weakly. 
 
 " I'm taking you home," said Biggs calmly, 
 skidding the rear wheels at the next turn and 
 catching the road by a masterpiece of steer- 
 ing. " I can't think what you did this for." 
 
 Dorothy bit her lip, thankful for the dark- 
 ness and said nothing. Her companion went 
 on, "You need a guardian!" 
 
 " That's very nice of you to think so," she 
 said shakily, trying to manage her voice and 
 keep it dignified. 
 
 "Think so!" echoed Biggs, as the Biddle- 
 son lights appeared. " My dear girl, between 
 the Fairbankses and the other bally asses on 
 this bay, they'll allow you to kill yourself yet ! " 
 He slowed down the motor. 
 
 Dorothy regained all her poise during this 
 chiding. As the car slipped to the door and 
 the light fell on her face she turned her dark 
 eyes on Biggs. " I'm sorry to have inconven- 
 ienced you, Mr. Biggs," she said, controlling 
 her quivering lips a moment. "But I really
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 319 
 
 thought you might be drowned, or something, 
 
 and I wanted I was afraid I " The lips 
 
 quivered in spite of her. Biggs stared at her 
 fascinatedly. He swallowed and then said 
 suddenly, "What did you mean this after- 
 noon by saying you 'didn't blame Alicia'?" 
 
 Dorothy saw the front door open and Mir- 
 iam peering out, her hand over her eyes. So 
 she slipped past Biggs and out of the car. 
 From the roadway she met his eyes for a fleet- 
 ing second. Biggs dropped the steering wheel. 
 The blood mounted high to his temples and he 
 was suddenly aware that the heavens had 
 opened. He started to leave his seat in an- 
 swer to that silent message. But Miriam 
 called down, "Is that you, Dorothy? Where 
 have you been, you crazy child! I've been 
 'phoning " 
 
 Dorothy turned and fled up the steps. 
 Biggs gazed after her, saw Miriam's amazed 
 countenance bent on him, remembered his coat, 
 shoe and cap and instantly withdrew into the 
 motor again. The car slipped down the hill by 
 gravity and into the night while Dorothy
 
 320 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 stared at Miriam and met all demands for an 
 explanation by merely saying, " I never meant 
 it like that ! I never meant it at all! " 
 
 "Well," said Biddleson, hovering around 
 with Harkaway on the outskirts. " I should 
 think you didn't mean it! That's the second 
 time you've got wet to-day! Of course you 
 didn't mean to get wet, did she, Harkaway? 
 Women never do mean anything. Was that 
 Mr. Thompson in the car?" 
 
 But Miriam silenced him with a look and led 
 Dorothy off to bed. Later she came down and 
 remarked sympathetically that Dorothy was 
 to stay in bed for a week. Fairbanks, dry and 
 warm and miserable, hoped that it wasn't so 
 bad as that. But he got little comfort from 
 anybody, looked at his watch a dozen times, 
 tried to smoke and finally gave up and went 
 to his room saying that while it was only eight 
 o'clock, he thought he had better get to bed. 
 When he was gone Miriam stated that all men 
 were silly, and refused to abate a word of this 
 judgment even for Harkaway. 
 
 In the meantime Biggs had returned the
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 321 
 
 car, and exchanged defiances with McLean. 
 Then he went up and rang the Thompson 
 doorbell, asked for Mr. Thompson and in six 
 words thanked that gentleman for the loan of 
 his car. The banker stared at Biggs's cap- 
 less head, his coatless chest and his shoe- 
 less foot, all dripping wet, received his 
 thanks and allowed him to go. Later 
 Mr. Thompson sent for Henri and Mc- 
 Lean and heard their narratives. At the 
 conclusion he peered over his spectacles at 
 McLean and Henri. " Ahem," he coughed. 
 "If Mr. Biggs wants anything again you'd 
 better let him have it. Mr. Biggs is a man I 
 have a great respect for. Say nothing of this 
 to your mistress!" 
 
 At half past eight Biggs reached his own 
 room. Here he instantly plunged into boxes 
 and cases and drawers and hauled out various 
 articles of apparel till the room was littered 
 with them. Then he shaved, bathed and 
 dressed himself with scrupulous attention to his 
 tie and his cuffs. Later he appeared on the 
 wharf and said to the wondering captain of
 
 322 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 the Richardson: " Been unavoidably detained 
 captain. Don't worry about the bills. I'll fix 
 'em up to-night and let you have them in the 
 morning." 
 
 "But!" said the outraged mariner, "you 
 haven't " 
 
 " Of course not," said the serene Biggs. " I 
 just told you when I would do it," and with 
 this vanished into the storm. 
 
 It was just ten o'clock when Miriam rose to 
 bid Harkaway good-night. Harkaway had 
 just finished telling for the third time how 
 Biggs had rescued Dorothy and Fairbanks, and 
 Biddleson for the third time had shaken his 
 head at Miriam's audible disapproval of 
 Biggs. " I don't care, Rae." Miriam said, " I 
 think Mr. Biggs might have warned them, or 
 something. He's always talking about that 
 barometer of his, anyway. Why didn't he tell 
 Professor Fairbanks that it was going to 
 storm? " 
 
 ff I told them," said her husband weakly. 
 
 "Biggs was the whole thing," Harkaway 
 protested generously. " I wasn't in it ! I'm
 
 FIVE GALIJONS OF GASOLINE 323 
 
 sorry for the professor losing the launch, 
 though. It will make a hole in his purse to 
 pay for it." 
 
 ' That's just it," said Miriam, as they went 
 towards the door. "Why didn't Mr. Biggs 
 get the launch, too?" 
 
 "Look here," said Biddleson, feeling that 
 somehow Biggs was getting the worst of hav- 
 ing performed a heroic rescue. "You aren't 
 fair to Biggs, Miriam. Biggs is a very cap- 
 able fellow." 
 
 "Mr. Biggs is capahle of anything" was 
 Miriam's majestic and crushing reply. 
 
 At that moment the bell rang. " Who can 
 it be?" Miriam exclaimed. "At this time of 
 night, too. Maybe Mrs. Thompson is sick, 
 or something." 
 
 Her husband had passed on into the hall and 
 now opened the door. Biggs walked in. 
 
 "Why, Mr. Biggs," said Miriam coldly. 
 
 Biggs, not noticing the chill in her voice, 
 nodded affably and laid his hat on the little 
 table just by the coat rack. Then he shook 
 hands with Biddleson and Mrs. Biddleson as
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 though he hadn't seen either of them for a 
 year, and proceeded to take off his topcoat, 
 which he carefully hung up, putting his hat 
 over it. 
 
 "Why, you are all dressed up," remarked 
 Biddleson, not knowing what else to say under 
 such extraordinary circumstances. 
 
 Biggs refused to notice such a puerile re- 
 mark and politely waited for his hostess to 
 lead the way into the sitting-room. Miriam 
 paused to give her better half a look that 
 seemed to say, " He must think he is invited to 
 breakfast. You'd better wind the clock and 
 perhaps he will go." At least that is what 
 Biddleson interpreted the glance to mean. 
 But Biggs was unconscious of this and calmly 
 followed Miriam into the sitting-room, where 
 he nodded to Harkaway and sat down. 
 
 " I'm glad to see you, Biggs," said Bid- 
 dleson cordially, recovering himself. ' We 
 wanted to thank you for your splendid rescue 
 of Dorothy and the professor to-day. It was 
 fine!" 
 
 " Not at all," said Biggs, blushing slightly. 
 "Where is Dorothy?"
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 325 
 
 "Dorothy has retired," said Miriam with 
 great firmness. 
 
 "But I must see her," said Biggs in a de- 
 termined manner. " I came to see her, don't 
 you know." 
 
 "But she was sick and cold and I put her 
 to bed," said Miriam freezingly. "The day 
 was entirely too much for her." 
 
 Biggs looked very much concerned. "Is 
 she ill?" he demanded. 
 
 Biddleson came to the rescue. " Not really 
 ill, Biggs, old man; but after all that wreck 
 and the rescue and going out again and getting 
 wet the second time Miriam thought she had 
 better go to bed. I know she will be sorry to 
 miss you." 
 
 " Ah, she's not ill, then," said Biggs, vastly 
 relieved. " Then I can see her? " 
 
 "But she's gone to bed retired!" said 
 Miriam on the verge of hysterics. 
 
 Biggs was undisturbed. " Really? But I 
 must see her," he insisted. " That's what I 
 came for, don't you know!" 
 
 At this point Miriam began to fear that 
 something was the matter with her visitor ; that
 
 326 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 perhaps his mind had given away under the 
 excitement of the day. She detected a gleam 
 in his eye that she had never before seen in the 
 mild orb of the Tidewater Navigation Com- 
 pany's agent. Hastily excusing herself she 
 fled up the stairs. At Dorothy's door she 
 stopped. Dorothy, she hoped, was asleep. 
 But Dorothy herself called out, " Miriam! " 
 
 Mrs. Biddleson opened the door and went 
 in. Dorothy was sitting up in bed, very pale 
 but most evidently not sleepy. " Who was it 
 that rang the bell?" she asked languidly. 
 
 "Hush!" said Miriam, in a loud whisper, 
 closing the door after her carefully. " Some- 
 thing is the matter with Mr. Biggs. I believe 
 he has gone crazy. He's down there now." 
 
 Dorothy sat up very straight in bed. 
 "Crazy!" she echoed in a whisper. "Mr. 
 Biggs ! Miriam " 
 
 'Yes, crazy!" repeated Miriam firmly. 
 " It's ten o'clock and after, and he's down there 
 all dressed up and wants to see you. He 
 simply insists he must see you I told him you 
 were in bed and it didn't seem to make any
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 327 
 
 difference at all. I left him with Rae and 
 Mr. Harkaway, but I don't know what to 
 think. I never saw such a funny look in a 
 man's eyes!" 
 
 "Does he still want to see me?" demanded 
 Dorothy, blushing. 
 
 Miriam felt herself becoming hysterical, but 
 controlled herself as she enlarged on the 
 enormity of Mr. Biggs's persistence. Her 
 sister listened to her a moment and then got 
 out of bed. ' You run down and tell him I'll 
 see him," she said hastily. " Go on now, hurry 
 up, and I'll get on some things, Miriam." 
 
 "Never!" said Mrs. Biddleson firmly. 
 ' You stay right in bed. Why, I never heard 
 of such a thing ! " 
 
 "Probably not," said Dorothy, slipping 
 round the room. "But Mr. Biggs saved my 
 life to-day and then went and got Fred Fair- 
 banks's old launch at the risk of his life. And 
 if that man wants to see me he shall, even if it 
 is ten o'clock at night!" 
 
 " It's half past ten," said Miriam in a faint 
 voice, wondering whether it was all a bad
 
 328 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 dream. She felt sure it was when Dorothy 
 took her by the shoulders and thrust her out 
 of the room, saying impatiently, as she did so, 
 "Well, what are you staying here for? Can't 
 you see I've got to dress? " 
 
 In a daze Mrs. Biddleson slowly descended 
 the stairs, trying to think up some excuse that 
 would make Mr. Biggs leave the house before 
 Dorothy came down. The thinking took a 
 long while and it was five minutes before she 
 opened the sitting-room door. 
 
 Biggs looked up anxiously at her entrance 
 and said, " Is she coming down soon? " 
 
 'You'll have to excuse her to-night, Mr. 
 [Biggs," said Miriam, in what she meant for a 
 soothing tone. 
 
 Biggs stared at her and then at Biddleson. 
 His face set in firmer lines. A thought 
 seemed to strike him. "I suppose it is late," 
 he said apologetically. " But I couldn't get 
 here any sooner. And I really must see her, 
 Mrs. Biddleson! I'll stay here until I do, by 
 Jove!"
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 329 
 
 In her distress Miriam appealed with a 
 glance to Harkaway. That tried friend made 
 a bold attempt. " Why, Biggs, Miss Dorothy 
 wouldn't even see me," he said half humor- 
 ously. " And I'd be offended if she made an 
 exception in your favour, Biggs, old boy." 
 
 Biggs remained obdurate. He turned to 
 Miriam again. "What did she say?" he de- 
 manded. 
 
 At this moment Mrs. Biddleson heard a 
 sound on the stairs that made her hastily dart 
 from the room into the hall. At the very top 
 of the flight stood Dorothy, dressed in a shim- 
 mery neglige of some scarlet stuff. The 
 shaded lamps threw a fairy light on her, from 
 her softly rumpled hair to her little red slip- 
 pers. Miriam gasped, "Go back! Go back!" 
 
 Dorothy stopped short and said in her 
 slightly husky voice, " But Mr. Biggs wants to 
 see me!" 
 
 Those words reached Biggs's ears. He got 
 up, strode past the astounded Biddleson and 
 into the hall. He saw Dorothy, in her girlish
 
 330 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 beauty, looking down on him. " Ah," he said, 
 resting his hand on the low newel post. " I 
 simply had to see you ! " 
 
 Dorothy noticed that Biggs's face was very 
 earnest and that he was nicely dressed and 
 cleanly shaven. She took another step down, 
 in spite of Miriam's frantic gesture. " They 
 all think you're crazy to want to see me," she 
 said gently. 
 
 Biggs nodded. "I had to," he declared. 
 ' You see it was that Alicia thing you said ! " 
 
 Dorothy carefully withdrew the tip of one 
 slipper under the hem of the shimmering 
 gown. "Yes?" she said inquiringly. 
 
 "I'm a bally idiot," Biggs went on, seem- 
 ingly forgetful of the interested trio that was 
 ready to pounce on him if he began to show 
 violent symptoms. " But I must ' he em- 
 phasised the "must" "know whether you 
 feel that way to me." 
 
 Dorothy grew thoughtful. " Do you mean 
 you must know whether I feel towards you as 
 Alicia did?" she whispered down the wide 
 stairs.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 331 
 
 'Yes," said Biggs, gazing at her with all 
 his eyes. 
 
 Dorothy bent over slightly and took an- 
 other step down. "Did she think ever so 
 much of you?" she demanded gently. 
 
 Biggs suddenly swallowed. " I'm not 
 thinking of her," he said a little hoarsely. 
 "It's you!" 
 
 A warm wave of colour flowed into Doro- 
 thy's cheeks. She drew back a little. " Must 
 you know to-night? " she said softly. 
 
 "I must!" said Biggs firmly. "I came 
 here on purpose. I had to ! " 
 
 In the silence that followed Harkaway 
 quietly sought his coat and hat. Miriam 
 stared, breathless. Biddleson gaped shame- 
 lessly. Dorothy seemed to notice nothing of 
 all this. She was looking at Biggs. It was 
 Biggs alone who heard her whispered, " Yes! " 
 He would have plunged up the stairway, but 
 with that whisper Dorothy vanished, leaving 
 the shaded lamps to light only the empty 
 landing. 
 
 For a moment Biggs stared up the stair-
 
 332 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 case, and then he turned round and shook 
 hands with Miriam, who gazed at him fascinat- 
 edly, as if she were hypnotised. Biggs then 
 insisted on shaking hands with Biddleson and 
 Harkaway. With his coat on again, his hat 
 in hand, he bowed and opened the door. His 
 keen blue eyes were aflame with happiness. 
 He suddenly burst out to the silent three: 
 'You see, I simply had to come! I came to 
 see her,, don't you know ! " 
 
 With this he departed into the darkness, 
 and Miriam stared at her husband, who stared 
 back at her with such intensity that neither 
 saw Harkaway quietly slip out of the door, 
 too, into the darkness. 
 
 "Harvey Biggs! 3 ' said Miriam at last, in 
 an awed voice. 
 
 A little, happy laugh echoed down the 
 empty stairway. And "Dorothy Biggs!" 
 was what Mr. and Mrs. Biddleson heard from 
 the invisible heights.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 BIGGS GIVES UP HIS POSITION 
 
 A CURIOUS and subtle change had come over 
 Harvey Biggs the next morning. Although 
 he saw the boat off for Bones, collected his 
 scattered bills, receipts and memoranda, 
 tapped the barometer and generally behaved 
 as he always did, he did it all with a certain 
 British formality that would have reminded a 
 close observer of the days when Biggs first 
 came to Tidewater. He had the air of a man 
 who was about to dedicate the Albert Me- 
 morial, or tender the keys of London to the 
 Lord Mayor, or take his seat in the upper 
 house of Parliament. And, for some reason, 
 all this sat very well on Biggs, too. Putting 
 on his gloves, he locked the office and going 
 over to the bank asked for Biddleson. That 
 personage quickly responded, putting down 
 his morning mail, and accepted Biggs's for- 
 
 333
 
 mal handshake. " Come in, Biggs," he said 
 genially. 
 
 Biggs came in, found a chair near Biddle- 
 son's desk and said in an abrupt manner, 
 "I've come to tell you of my family, Biddle- 
 son. As I am going to marry your sister-in- 
 law, I fancy you're the guardian." 
 
 Biddleson promptly disclaimed that respon- 
 sibility. "Miriam has always looked after 
 her," he said awkwardly. " I really don't 
 know anything about her." 
 
 "It's about myself that I came to speak," 
 corrected Biggs. "I come of good family, 
 you would like to know," he said with dignity. 
 " Really good family " Biggs relaxed a 
 little " and all that, Biddleson. I know 
 Mrs. Biddleson counts on that. I shouldn't 
 like her to think that Dorothy is going to 
 marry a chap that isn't exactly the right sort 
 so far as parents and relatives go. I have 
 heard of the De Poe ancestry, so I thought 
 you might cable over to London, you know, 
 and they'd tell you about mine." 
 
 Biddleson blushed. "I know you well
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 335 
 
 enough," he said. 'You're all right. Good 
 job, quiet sort of fellow and all that. But 
 Miriam " 
 
 Biggs smiled faintly. " That's it," he said. 
 "I know your wife strongly disapproves of 
 me. Quite right, too, you know. So just 
 cable and find out. Old Hailey is our family 
 solicitor fine old chap never told a lie even 
 for a client. I've got his address here 
 and " 
 
 "Why cable?" said Biddleson. "Give me 
 the address and I'll write over just to sat- 
 isfy Miriam, of course. I know " 
 
 Biggs was obdurate. " No, cable ! I want 
 Dorothy to know, too, that I haven't gained 
 her consent under any false pretences. I 
 haven't any money, but my people are all 
 right, Biddleson. So cable to Hailey and 
 he'll tell you, so that Mrs. Biddleson and Dor- 
 othy will be certain about this." Biggs 
 flushed, feeling the importance of the transac- 
 tion. 
 
 " Well, perhaps it might make it easier for 
 Dorothy," Biddleson admitted doubtfully.
 
 336 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 " To tell the truth, Miriam likes you, but 
 she- -" 
 
 Biggs waited politely for Biddleson to fin- 
 ish. As Biddleson couldn't bring himself 
 to express his wife's exact sentiments, he 
 failed to conclude his sentence, but nodded his 
 head and assured Biggs again of his undying 
 regard. 
 
 " I want Dorothy to understand one thing," 
 Biggs insisted. " I haven't any money 
 never expect any. But these other things 
 count. Now be a good fellow and send off a 
 cablegram." 
 
 "But what shall I say?" 
 
 Biggs wrinkled his brows and finally 
 asked for a pencil. With this he was absorbed 
 for five minutes. At the end of that time he 
 handed Biddleson the following message: 
 
 T. G. H. Hailey, 
 
 Chancery Lane, London. 
 Send Thompson & Co., Bankers, statement 
 of birth and family of Edward Harvey Biggs- 
 
 Biggsworth, immediately. 
 
 BIDDLESON.
 
 337 
 
 This Biddleson read and then exclaimed, 
 " Then your name isn't Biggs, but it's Biggs- 
 worth!" 
 
 " No, it's Biggs," said that individual firmly. 
 " Nothing but Biggs. But the family name is 
 Biggsworth." This plain elucidation of a 
 knotty point brought from Biddleson a mere, 
 "Ha HA!" which he was ashamed of in- 
 stantly. 
 
 "All right," said Biddleson. "That mes- 
 sage seems to cover the ground. But it will 
 cost money, you see." 
 
 Biggs promptly drew out his purse. " I'll 
 pay it and an answer," he promised. "I'll 
 send it myself. If it goes straight off we 
 ought to get an answer back by this afternoon." 
 
 Biggs put up his purse, formally shook 
 hands with Biddleson and left. 
 
 Out on the street he hesitated. Should he 
 go out and see Dorothy? He glowed at the 
 thought. Then it struck him that possibly it 
 wouldn't be the correct thing to do, seeing he 
 was on trial yet, so to speak, till the cablegram 
 from Hailey should put him right. He com-
 
 338 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 promised by re-entering the bank and asking 
 Biddleson in a loud voice whether Dorothy was 
 well. Receiving a satisfactory answer he went 
 out and back to the office. But he was still 
 restless. A thought struck him. He took the 
 telephone trumpet off the hook and called up 
 Mrs. Biddleson. Having got her, he asked 
 for Dorothy. That young lady promptly 
 came to the telephone. 
 
 "This is Biggs," he said. "Did you catch 
 cold?" 
 
 He heard Dorothy's light laugh. " No, and 
 I've just found out from Professor Fairbanks 
 that you returned the launch in good order. 
 The professor is awfully pleased and grateful." 
 
 "Let him thank you," said Biggs, rubbing 
 his forehead with eagerness to say something 
 of what he felt. " By Jove, you looked stun- 
 ning last night." 
 
 To this the only answer was an " Oh ! " Biggs 
 felt the chilliness of it and realised that, after 
 all, he and Dorothy hadn't explained them- 
 selves very fully to each other. " I can't talk 
 over this bally wire," he complained. "But
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 339 
 
 I've cabled to London to the family solicitor 
 for my pedigree. I hope it will convince your 
 sister that I'm all right, Dorothy. But I 
 haven't any money! I think it might I sup- 
 posed that I fancied you might not want me 
 to call till that was settled." 
 
 Dorothy's laugh sounded through the tele- 
 phone again, and Biggs smiled as he heard, 
 " Silly boy ! I'm not going to marry your 
 family didn't you ask me to marry you? 
 and if you'll walk out this way I'll meet you 
 on the beach. The storm is all over and " 
 
 "I'm putting on my hat," said Biggs 
 promptly and hung up the receiver. As he 
 left the office he tapped the barometer thought- 
 fully. It almost immediately registered 31.98, 
 the highest ever recorded by that invaluable in- 
 strument. Old Mr. Hardy, just in from 
 Harkaway's office, stopped to inquire about 
 the weather from the departing Biggs. 
 
 " It is the highest I've ever seen it," said 
 Biggs calmly. " It will never be bad weather 
 again." 
 
 Hardy stared at the now vanishing Biggs
 
 340 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 and smiled. Harkaway had told him some- 
 thing of the events of the day before. He 
 knew nothing of Dorothy; but he bore in his 
 breast pocket a deed to the whole Harkaway 
 Addition, which he was just going down to 
 have recorded. He continued to smile, think- 
 ing of the home he intended to build on its 
 lovely prospect. 
 
 Biggs got back to his office just in time for 
 the early afternoon boat and amazed the mas- 
 ter of the Richardson by enjoining him care- 
 fully to ask the operator at Bones for a cable 
 message from England, to be addressed to Mr. 
 Thompson, the banker. 
 
 "But it will be telephoned over, as usual," 
 said the captain. " What's the rush? " 
 
 Biggs thrust him bodily across the gang- 
 plank. " You bring me that message," he said 
 quietly, " or I'll sink your bally boat and never 
 give you another receipt for baggage ! " 
 
 In the afternoon Biddleson met Harkaway 
 on the street and they stopped to chat about 
 the Durable. Harkaway seemed dissatisfied 
 with it, and blamed the carburetor. "I'll sell
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 341 
 
 my half to anybody," he said morosely. " We 
 got stung. It's the fault of that catalogue of 
 yours, too." 
 
 " That's a first-class machine," said Biddle- 
 son warmly. " Look at the fun we've had out 
 of it already. Haven't you got your money's 
 worth " 
 
 The expression on his old friend's face 
 stopped him. "I just sold my property," 
 Harkaway responded. "Hardy wanted it 
 badly and I had no use for it, so I let him have 
 it." 
 
 Biddleson regarded him silently, looked 
 away and then laughed, this time with an emo- 
 tion that even the abhorred "Ha HA!" 
 couldn't conceal from Harkaway. 
 
 "Biggs is a good fellow," said Harkaway 
 earnestly. 
 
 " Miriam doesn't like him," said Biddleson, 
 solemnly. 
 
 Harkaway shook his head. "He's a fine 
 chap," he insisted generously. "But after 
 all Bid, I like your wife above all women!" 
 
 Biddleson instantly became serious. " She's
 
 342 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 a fine woman, Hark," he agreed. "And I 
 never was quite in her class. But I'd like to 
 see her happy about Dorothy. Dorothy is her 
 little sister, you know, and she feels this bus- 
 iness terribly. It wouldn't have been so bad if 
 you hadn't been there and on the stairs, too! " 
 He was silent a moment and then broke into 
 a smile. " Biggs is capable of anything, Mir- 
 iam says. Ha HA!" 
 
 Harkaway laughed, too. Then a thought 
 struck him. " By the way, how's the profes- 
 sor?" 
 
 Biddleson's face fell. "He's going away 
 to-morrow. He didn't know anything about 
 last night till breakfast this morning when Mir- 
 iam told him. Dorothy wasn't down yet and 
 you know Miriam couldn't sleep for thinking 
 about it. So she told him and the professor 
 nearly fainted over his eggs, choked on his cof- 
 fee, you know. You never saw such a wilted 
 man in your life. And then Dorothy came in 
 and he tried to congratulate her and she pretty 
 nearly kissed him. I tell you, Hark," Bid- 
 dleson's face grew still more solemn "Dor-
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 343 
 
 othy oughtn't to do those things ! Told Fair- 
 banks she thought he was the finest chap in 
 the world and insisted on getting him six fresh 
 slices of toast!" 
 
 Harkaway grinned. "I must go up and 
 get her to tell me about it," he remarked. 
 "Lucky Fairbanks! Lovely Dorothy!" 
 
 " Come to dinner," said Biddleson earnestly. 
 
 "Will Biggs be there?" 
 
 " No-o-o. Miriam wouldn't ask him. Said 
 he was entirely too presumptuous. And she 
 used to like Biggs, too," he added reflectively. 
 
 "I can't come after all," said Harkaway 
 hastily. " But I'll come some other time." 
 
 "Better come," urged Biddleson. "Help 
 me out ! " 
 
 Harkaway smiled. " No, if the professor is 
 going away to-morrow I must have him to din- 
 ner with me to-night," he said. '' You know I 
 promised Dorothy I'd be nice to him. So I'll 
 have him over to my boarding house and we'll 
 come up later. So long! " 
 
 " Harkaway is a fine chap," thought Biddle- 
 son, as he returned to the bank.
 
 344 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 Later Harkaway was smiling into the drawn 
 face of the professor and trying to make light 
 of the day before. Fairbanks, being a man, 
 accepted this cheerfulness and played up to it. 
 And so they went off in the Durable, with old 
 man Hardy in the tonneau, to take a last view, 
 so far as Harkaway was concerned, of Hark- 
 away 's Addition. 
 
 It was half past eight when Biggs rang the 
 doorbell of the Biddleson cottage that night. 
 Dorothy herself came to the door, kissed him 
 and took his hat and coat. " I understand 
 that over in England the wives always have to 
 wait on their husbands," she remarked archly. 
 
 " Oh, I say," said Biggs, reddening. ' You 
 don't really mean that." 
 
 Dorothy bowed low. "Permit me to an- 
 nounce you," she said, flinging the sitting-room 
 door open. "Miriam, here is Mr. Harvey 
 Biggs!" 
 
 Miriam got up, as pleasantly as she could, 
 
 
 
 and shook hands. Biggs sat down, very red, 
 and seemed on the point of saying something 
 important. But the result of his effort was
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 345 
 
 merely to state that the barometer was very 
 high. Miriam accepted this graciously, and 
 Biggs was encouraged. " I hoped to bring up 
 a cable message," he said abruptly. "From 
 my family in England, you know. But it 
 didn't come." 
 
 Miriam was interested, as her husband had 
 said nothing about Biggs's visit to the bank in 
 the morning. Biggs went on, " I got your hus- 
 band to cable the solicitors and ask about my 
 people," he explained. " I know you're par- 
 ticular about family and all that quite proper, 
 too. And so I asked your husband to cable 
 across and get some information. Really, my 
 people are all right, Mrs. Biddleson." 
 
 Miriam refused to commit herself. Dor- 
 othy frowned, her pretty eyes on her lover. 
 "Harvey, I'm ashamed of you!" she said. 
 
 Biggs grew redder than ever. " Oh, I say, 
 by Jove," he protested. 
 
 "I am!" said Dorothy firmly. "I allow 
 you to make love to me up a stairway and pro- 
 pose to me while I'm in my dressing gown, 
 and then you think you have to explain about
 
 346 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 your family. I'm not marrying your family. 
 And if I marry you that makes it all right!" 
 
 Biggs wouldn't hear of this and Dorothy 
 realised that she had carried a jest too far. 
 Biggs didn't make it p_lain who his people were, 
 but he seemed to emphasise their goodness and 
 respectability. To this Dorothy listened 
 quietly. Then she said, mischievously, " Have 
 you any money, Harvey? " 
 
 Biggs wasn't at all surprised at such a ques- 
 tion. " Not a bally cent," he affirmed. 
 
 "Well, I'll marry you anyhow," said Dor- 
 othy, dimpling. 
 
 "But, Dorothy!" said Miriam coldly. 
 'You must be supported in the accustomed 
 style!" 
 
 What answer to this was on Dorothy's 
 tongue none ever knew except possibly 
 Biggs. For the bell rang and Harkaway and 
 Fairbanks appeared. When their coats were 
 off and they had looked at each other the 
 requisite number of times they consented to 
 enter the sitting-room and there offered their 
 congratulations to the calm Biggs and the
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 347 
 
 blushing Dorothy. Miriam surveyed them 
 pleasantly and mentally resolved that, outside 
 of her own family, no one should ever know 
 that she disapproved of Biggs. Dorothy was 
 committed, and, she admitted sorrowfully, 
 deeply and wonderfully in love. So she paid 
 Biggs so much attention in the next half hour 
 that he welcomed Biddleson's arrival. 
 
 Biddleson came in, rubbed his hands, glanced 
 around and remarked with an air, " Quite a 
 happy family, I declare ! " 
 
 The echo to this ineptitude was another ring 
 at the doorbell. Mr. Thompson was shown in. 
 
 The banker seemed flurried and embar- 
 rassed. He greeted Miriam and shook hands 
 solemnly all around. Then he cleared his 
 throat. " I have a message for Mr. Biggs," he 
 said diffidently. "Could I see Mr. Biggs a 
 moment?" 
 
 It appeared (by unanimous consent) that he 
 could. He withdrew himself and Biggs into 
 the hall, whence the others heard various mut- 
 terings, followed by Biggs's voice saying, 
 " Poor Dollie ! I must tell Dorothy."
 
 348 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 So Biggs came in, flourishing a piece of blue 
 paper which Mr. Thompson explained had 
 been brought down from Bones just that mo- 
 ment by the operator in a row boat. 
 ; ' Thought it was important," he said. " Said 
 he was a friend of Biggs's and so brought it 
 over." Mr. Thompson repeated the " brought 
 it over " several times while Dorothy was read- 
 ing the message, which Biggs handed her 
 quietly. 
 
 Dorothy read it and re-read it, and then 
 lifted dewy eyes to Biggs. "I'm so sorry!" 
 she said. 
 
 "Poor Dollie!" said Biggs warmly. 
 "Poor beggar!" 
 
 Miriam looked her curiosity and he instantly 
 handed the message to her. "The people 
 never told the bally solicitors my address," he 
 explained. " So when Mr. Biddleson cabled 
 them this morning they took the opportunity of 
 sending me word this way." 
 
 "But I don't understand," said Miriam, 
 holding the paper to the light.
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 349 
 
 " Read it out loud," suggested her husband. 
 Miriam obeyed. 
 
 LONDON, September 1st. 
 Messrs. Thompson's, Bankers, 
 
 Tidewater. 
 
 Inform Honourable Edward Harvey 
 Biggs-Biggs worth his brother Lord Adol- 
 phus fatally ill. Credit one thousand pounds 
 London & San Francisco Bank. Draw on 
 Earl of Brockhurst if needed. Come home. 
 
 HAILEY. 
 
 " Now what does that mean? " said Miriam, 
 completely at sea for once. 
 
 All looked at Biggs. He flushed a still 
 deeper red. " The Earl of Brockhurst is the 
 Governor," he explained gravely. " Adolphus 
 is my brother, the heir to the title and the prop- 
 erty. He never married, you know. That 
 says he is dying and so I must go home and 
 help out." 
 
 Miriam dived at the root of the matter 
 " But who are you? " she demanded. 
 
 "I suppose I'm the next Earl of Brock-
 
 350 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 
 
 hurst," said Biggs meekly. Then he caught 
 Dorothy's velvet eyes. " Poor Adolphus ! But 
 I'm glad after all. I'm glad. I hope you 
 don't mind, my dear, but you've got to be 
 Lady Biggsworth now, and later on you'll be 
 the Countess of Brockhurst." 
 
 "Poor Alicia!" said Dorothy with soft lips. 
 Biggs gave her a smile that told her by that 
 word she had warmed his heart, and forever 
 made herself worthy of any future title and al- 
 legiance. But Miriam was dazed and de- 
 manded further details. Biggs was unable to 
 give any. " I told Dorothy about it," he said 
 blankly. 
 
 Dorothy blushed and shook her head. 
 " Dear boy," she said softly, " you never once 
 told me your father was an earl." 
 
 " But I told you my people were all right," 
 he contended. 
 
 Mr. Thompson broke the silence by offering 
 his farewells. Then he turned to Biggs. "If 
 my bank can offer you any service, command 
 me," he said formally. He put away his spec- 
 tacles over which he had been peering at Biggs
 
 FIVE GALLONS OF GASOLINE 351 
 
 and Dorothy, and added with a cough, " Ahem! 
 Even to my wife's automobile." 
 
 Biggs smiled. " Thanks, if you'll give me 
 a lift toward the office," he said quietly. " I 
 must get back, I promised the captain that I'd 
 have his bills made out to-night." 
 
 "But you don't need to work any more!" 
 said Miriam. 
 
 Biggs went over and shook her hand. 
 
 ' You see, I'm paid to do it," he explained, " so 
 
 I must do it." Then he went to Dorothy and 
 
 bowed. "May I come to breakfast?" he 
 
 asked humbly. 
 
 FINIS
 
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 A story of to-day, telling how a rich girl acquires ideals of beautiful and 
 simple living, and of men and love, mate apart from the teachings of her 
 father, " Old Man Lynch ".of.Wall St. True to life, clever in treatment. 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26th ST. , NEW YORK
 
 A FEW OF 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP'S 
 Great Books at Little Prices 
 
 THE MUSIC MASTER. By Charles Klein. Illustrated 
 
 by John Rae. 
 
 This marvelously vivid narrative turns upon the search of a Ger- 
 nan musician in JNew York for his little daughter. Mr. Klein has 
 well portrayed his pathetic struggle with poverty, his varied expe- 
 riences in endeavoring to meet the demands of a public not trained 
 to an appreciation of the classic, and his final great hour when, in 
 the rapidly shifting events of a big city, his little daughter, now a 
 beautif nl young woman, is brought to his very door. A superb bit 
 of fiction, palpitating with the life of the great metropolis. The 
 play in which David Warfi eld scored his highest success. 
 
 DR. LAVENDAR'S PEOPLE. By Margaret Deland. 
 
 Illustrated by Lucius Hitchcock. 
 
 Mrs. Deland won so many friends through Old Chester Tales 
 that this volume needs no introduction beyond its title. The lova- 
 ble doctor is more ripened in this later book, and the simple come- 
 dies and tragedies of the old village are told with dramatic chann. 
 
 OLD CHESTER TALES. By Margaret Deland. Illustrated 
 
 by Howard Pyle. 
 
 Stories portraying with delightful humor and pathos a quaint peo- 
 ple in a sleepy old town. Dr. Lavendar, a very human and lovable 
 "preacher," is the connecting link between these dramatic stories 
 from life. 
 
 HE FELL IN LOVE WITH HIS WIFE. By E. P. Roe. 
 
 With frontispiece. 
 
 The hero is a farmer a man with honest, sincere views of life. 
 Beieft of his wife, his home is cared for by a succession of domes- 
 tics of varying degrees of inefficiency until, from a most unpromis- 
 ing source, comes a young woman who not only becomes his wife 
 but commands his respect and eventually wins his love. A bright 
 and delicate romance, revealing on both sides a love that surmounts 
 all difficulties and survives the censure of friends as well as the bit- 
 terness of enemies. 
 
 THE YOKE. By Elizabeth Miller. 
 
 Against the historical background of the days when the children 
 of Israel were delivered from the bondage of Egypt, the author has 
 sketched a romance of compelling charm. A biblical novel as great 
 as any since " Ben Hur." 
 
 SAUL OF TARSUS. By Elizabeth Miller. Illustrated by 
 
 Andre' Castaigne. 
 
 The scenes of this story are laid in Jerusalem, Alexandria, Rome 
 and Damascus. The Apostle Paul, the Martyr Stephen, Herod 
 A.grippa and the Emperors Tiberius and Caligula are among the 
 mighty figures that move through the pages. Wonderful descrip- 
 tions, and a love story of the purest and noblest type mark this 
 most remarkable religious romance. 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26th ST., NEW YORK
 
 A FEW OF 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP'S 
 Great Books at Little Prices 
 
 BRUVVER JIM'S BABY. By Philip Verrill Mighels. 
 
 An uproariously funny story of a tiny mining settlement in the 
 West, which is shaken to the very roots by the suddenpossession 
 of a baby, found on the plains by one of its residents. The town is 
 as disreputable a spot as the gold fever was ever responsible for, 
 and the coming of that baby causes the upheaval of every rooted 
 tradition of the place. Its christening, the problems of its toys and 
 its illness supersede in the minds of the miners all thought of earthy 
 treasure. 
 
 THE FURNACE OF GOLD. By Philip Verrill Mighels, 
 author of " Bruvver Jim's Baby." Illustrations by J. N- 
 Marchand. 
 
 An accurate and informing portrayal of scenes, types, and condi- 
 tions of the mining districts in modern Nevada. 
 
 The book is an out-door story, clean, exciting, exemplifying no- 
 bility and courage of character, and bravery, and heroism in the sort 
 of men and women we all admire and wish to know. 
 
 THE MESSAGE. By Louis Tracy. Illustrations by Joseph 
 C. Chase. 
 
 A breezy tale of how a bit of old parchment, concealed in a figure- 
 lead from a sunken vessel, comes into the possession of a pretty 
 girl and an army man during regatta week in the Isle of Wight. 
 Thi? ia the message and it enfolds a mystery, the development of 
 which the reader will follow with breathless interest. 
 THE SCARLET EMPIRE. By David M. Parry. Illus- 
 trations by Hermann C. Wall. 
 
 A young socialist, weary of life, plunges into the sea and awakes 
 n the lost island of Atlantis, known as the Scarlet Empire, where 
 a social democracy is in full operation, granting every man a living 
 but limiting food, conversation, education and marriage. 
 
 The hero passes through an enthralling love affair and other ad- 
 ventures but finally returns to his own New York world. 
 
 THE THIRD DEGREE. By Charles Klein and Arthur 
 Hornblqw. Illustrations by Clarence Rowe. 
 
 A novel which exposes the abuses in this country of the police 
 system. 
 
 The son of an aristocratic New York family marries a woman 
 socially beneath nim, but of strong, womanly qualities that, later 
 on, save the man from the tragic consequences of a dissipated life. 
 
 The wife believes in his inuocence and her wit and good sense 
 help her to win against the tremendous odds imposed by law. 
 
 -HE THIRTEENTH DISTRICT By Brand WhitlocK, 
 A realistic western story of love and politics and a searching study 
 of their influence on character. The author shows with extraordi- 
 nary vitality of treatment the tricks, the heat, the passion, the tu 
 mult of the political arena the triumph and strength of love 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP 526 WEST 26th ST. , NEW YORK
 
 A FEW OF 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP'S 
 Great Books at Little Prices 
 
 WHEN A MAN MARRIES. By Mary Roberts Rinehart 
 Illustrated by Harrison Fisher and Mayo Bunker. 
 
 A young artist, whose wife had recently divorced him, finds that 
 H visit is due from his Aunt Selina, an elderly lady having ideas 
 about things quite apart from the Bohemian set in which her 
 nephew is a shining light. The way in which matters are tempo- 
 rarily adjusted forms the motif of the story. 
 
 A farcical extravaganza, dramatized under the title of "Seven Days'* 
 
 THE FASHIONABLE ADVENTURES OF JOSHUA 
 
 CRAIG. By David Graham Phillips. Illustrated. 
 A young westerner, uncouth and unconventional, appears in 
 political and social life in Washington. He attains power in poli- 
 tics, and a young woman of the exclusive set becomes his wife, un- 
 dertaking his education in social amenities. 
 
 " DOC," GORDON. By Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman. Illus- 
 trated by Frank T. Merrill. 
 
 Against the familiar background of American town life, the 
 author portrays a group of people strangely involved in a mystery. 
 " Doc." Gordon, the one physician of the place, Dr. Elliot, his 
 assistant, a beautiful woman and her altogether charming daughtei 
 are all involved in the plot. A novel of great interest. 
 
 HOLY ORDERS. By Marie Corelli. 
 
 A dramatic story, in which is pictured a clergyman in touch witb 
 society people, stage favorites, simple village folk, powerful finan- 
 ciers and others, each presenting vital problems to this man "in 
 holy orders" problems that we are now struggling with in America. 
 KATRINE. By Elinor Macartney Lane. With frontispiece. 
 
 Katrine, the heroine of this story, is a lovely Irish girl, of lowly 
 birth, but gifted with a beautiful voice. 
 
 The narrative is based on the facts of an actual singer's career, 
 and the viewpoint throughout is a most exalted one. 
 
 THE FORTUNES OF FIFI. By Molly Elliot Seawell. 
 
 Illustrated by T. de Thulstrup. 
 
 A story of life in France at the time of the first Napoleon. Fifi, 
 a glad, rnad little actress of eighteen, is the star performer in a third 
 rate Parisian theatre. A story as dainty as a Watteau painting. 
 
 SHE THAT HESITATES. By Harris Dickson. Illus- 
 trated by C. W. Relyea. 
 
 The scene of this dashing romance shifts from Dresden to St. 
 Petersburg in the reign of Peter the Great, and then to New Orleans. 
 
 The hero is a French Soldier of Fortune, and the princess, who 
 hesitates but you must read the story to know how she that hesitates 
 may be lost and yet saved. 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26th ST., NEW YORK
 
 000133376 4