“Hungry!” asked Holmes, turning to them as he slowed the car near the railroad station.  “Well, we’ll have some lunch in just a minute.  I’m just going in here to make some inquiries about the roads and I’ll be right back.”

Bessie’s eyes followed him into the station, and then, just as she had done before, she slipped from the car as soon as he was inside, following him cautiously, but feeling that there was less danger than there had been at the store, since here, if she were surprised, she could explain that she felt cramped from the long ride, and had gotten out of the car to restore her circulation.  Then, peeping inside, she saw Holmes talking eagerly, and, as she thought, angrily, to Jake Hoover!

“He’ll be here soon—­jes’ as soon as he can get here,” she heard Jake say.  And she heard Holmes’s angry reply, and nothing more, since that was enough, and more than enough, to confirm her fears and make her understand that if she was to get out of this trap she must make a move at once.  And now, knowing perfectly well the risk she was running, she sped back to the car, and climbed aboard, but in the front seat, where Holmes had been sitting, and not next to Dolly, in her own proper place.  For her plan was nothing more nor less than to get away in Holmes’s own car!

Bessie had never driven an automobile in her life, and she knew as little, almost, as it was possible for anyone to know about them.  But she felt that all the sacrifices she had endured so far would be made useless unless she got away, and, moreover, she was sure now that Zara would need her help more than ever.  And if she could only get a little distance away from Holmes, she was sure that she and Dolly would be able to elude him.  So, doing exactly what she had seen Holmes do, she threw in the clutch, and, with nervous, trembling hands on the wheel of the big car, guided it as it gathered speed and moved across the railroad tracks.

From the moment when the idea of making her escape in this fashion had first entered her mind, Bessie had watched Holmes and every move he made like a cat, determined to be able to do as he did if the emergency arose.  And now her remarkable ability to do things that required, the skilled use of her hands stood her in good stead.

The car was a silent one at low speed, and it had gone nearly a hundred feet before Holmes realized that something was wrong, and came running out of the station, followed by the wide-eyed Jake Hoover.  And Bessie increased her start while he stood there, too stunned with amazement even to cry out.

By the time he had gathered his wits enough to begin shouting and running after his car, pursuit was hopeless, and Bessie, afraid any minute of having an accident, was running the car, still slowly, but too fast for anything but another car to overtake it, out along the road that led out of Jericho.

Dolly had screamed when she saw what Bessie meant to do, but after that she had been too frightened even to speak.  But when they were out of range of Holmes’s shouts and angry cries she regained her courage enough to lean over and speak to Bessie.