“No; that isn’t the way.  Let’s slide out quietly and inconspicuously, through this side door.”

Adopting this idea, Jack and Patty went out on a side veranda, and stepped across the terrace to the garden paths.  The moonlight turned the picturesque flower-beds to fairy fields, and Patty paused on one of the terrace landings.

“I don’t know as I want to go motoring, Jack,” she said, perching herself on the marble balustrade; “it’s so lovely here.”

“Just as you like, girlie.  Ha! methinks I hear vocal speech!  Some one approacheth!”

Farnsworth and Daisy Dow came strolling along the terrace, and Daisy took a seat beside Patty, while the two men stood in front of them.

“Won’t you girls catch cold?” said Farnsworth, in his matter-of-fact way.

“These be not mortal maidens,” said Jack, who was in whimsical mood.  “These be two goddesses from Olympian heights, who have deigned to visit us for a brief hour.”

“And unless you’re very good to us,” observed Patty, “we’ll spread our wings and fly away.”

“Let’s do something,” said Daisy, restlessly; “it’s poky, just sitting here, doing nothing.  I’d like to go in the ocean.  It must be lovely to bounce around in the surf by moonlight.”

“You’d bounce into bed with pneumonia,” said Patty.  “But Jack and I were talking of motoring.  Suppose we take two runabouts and go for a short spin.”

All agreed, and the quartette went to the garage for the cars.

The head chauffeur, who was not of an over kindly disposition, informed them that Miss Galbraith’s runabout was out of commission for the moment, though Miss Fairfield’s was in good shape.

“I’ll get mine,” proposed Jack, but Bill Farnsworth said, “No, I don’t understand an electric awfully well.  Let’s take this car.  I can run this O.K., and it will hold the four of us.”

“All right,” said Jack; “we’re only going a few blocks up the beach.  Hop in, Patty.”

Farnsworth and Daisy sat in front, and Patty and Jack behind, and they started off at a brisk speed.  The girls declined to go back to the house for wraps, as it was a warm evening, and the ride would be short.  But when Farnsworth found himself with the wheel in his hand and a long stretch of hard, white road ahead of him, he forgot all else in the glory of the opportunity, and he let the car go at an astonishing speed.

“Isn’t this fun!” cried Patty, but the words were fairly blown away from her lips as they dashed along.

“This is the way we Westerners ride!” exclaimed Daisy, as she sat upright beside Bill, her hair streaming back from her forehead, the light scarf she wore round her neck flapping back into Patty’s face.

“It’s grand!” gasped Jack.  “But I hope Big Bill knows what he’s about.”

“You bet he does!” replied Bill himself, and they whizzed on.

Patty had never gone so fast.  Though it was a warm night, the rush of wind chilled her, and she shivered.  Jack, seeing this, picked up a lap-robe and wrapped it about her.