“It’s the lady that’s a-runnin’ the car, ain’t it?  She’s the one that is under arrest,” said the policeman obstinately.

Ruth had not spoken since her automobile was stopped.

She had a lump in her throat, caused partly by anger and partly by embarrassment and fright.  Then, too, Ruth was wondering what her father would say.  In the years she had been running her automobile, over all the thousands of miles she had traveled, Ruth had never before been stopped for breaking the speed laws.  She had always promised Mr. Stuart to be careful.  And one cannot have followed the fortunes of Ruth Stuart and her friends in their adventures without realizing Ruth’s high and fine regard for her word.  Yet here were Ruth and her friends about to be taken to jail for breaking the laws of the little Virginia city.

It was small wonder that Ruth found it difficult to speak.

“I will go with the policeman,” she assented.  “Perhaps he will let you take Mollie and Grace on home.”

Of course no one paid the slightest attention to Ruth’s ridiculous suggestion.  Her friends were not very likely to leave her alone to argue her case before the justice of the peace.

“I say, man, do be reasonable,” Hugh urged.  He would not give up.  “You can hold me in jail all night if you will just let the others go.”

“Please don’t argue with the policeman, Hugh,” Ruth begged.  “He is only doing his duty.  I am so sorry, Mollie darling, for you and Grace.  But I know you won’t leave me.”

“Oh, we don’t mind,” the two girls protested.  “I suppose we can pay the fine and they will let us go at once.”

Hugh said nothing, for he knew that he had only a few dollars in his pocket.

When Ruth’s car finally reached the station house it was almost eleven o’clock.

The policeman took the automobile party inside the station.  It was bitter cold in the room, for the winter chill had fallen with the close of the December day.  The fire had died out in the air-tight iron stove in the room, and Mollie, Ruth and Grace could hardly keep from shivering.

“Well, where is the justice of the peace or whatever man we ought to see about this wretched business?” Hugh demanded.

At last the policeman looked a little apologetic.  “I’ll get some one to make up a fire for you,” he answered.  “I have got to go out and wake up the justice to look after your case.  It’s bed-time and he’s home asleep.”

“Do you expect us to sit here in this freezing dirty old room half the night while you go around looking up a magistrate?” Hugh demanded, wrathfully.

“I told you I would have the fire built up,” the policeman answered sullenly.  “But it ain’t my fault you got into this trouble.  You ought not to have broken the law.  We have had about as much trouble with automobilists in this here town as we are willing to stand for.  And I might as well tell you, right now, the court will make it pretty hot for you.  It may be I can’t get the justice to hear your case until to-morrow, and you’ll have to stay here all night.”