“You talk,” said Amy, her eyes widening, “as though there were wild animals or something in the woods.  I didn’t know they came as far east as this.”

“They don’t, goose,” said Mollie grumpily, as she pulled at the tire.  “I didn’t say anything about wild animals, did I?  Only we have to ride about two miles through the woods before we get to the lodge and I must say I didn’t want to do that in the dark.”

“But there is some sort of road, isn’t there?” asked Grace.

Mollie, bending over the lifting jack, shot her a withering glance.

“Of course there’s a road,” she said shortly.  “How else could we expect to use the cars?”

“It must be a sort of wagon road,” suggested Betty as she deftly helped her chum.  “And I don’t blame you for not wanting to try it at night, Mollie.  I don’t much like the idea myself.”

“I believe if we hurry that we can get there before dusk,” said Mrs. Irving confidently, though it might have been noticed that she kept her eyes rather anxiously on the fast sinking sun.

At last, after what seemed an eternity to the impatient girls, the new tire had replaced the old one, the old one was safely strapped on the back of the car, the tools were put away, and they were ready to start once more.

“Give her plenty of gas this time, Betty,” Mollie sung after her as the Little Captain climbed into her car.  If we can manage to get to the woods before dark we will be doing good work.  Let her go.”

With which advice she settled herself behind the wheel of her own car and they were off once more.

Betty did “give her plenty of gas,” the result being that they succeeded in reaching the wagon road that led into the woods to the lodge just on the edge of dusk.

However, when they started along the road they were dismayed to find that what was only dusk outside on the road became almost dark in here, and Betty had all she could do to keep to the road at all.

“Hadn’t you better put on your lights?” Grace suggested uneasily.  “We might run into a ditch or something.  Betty, I’m half scared.”

For answer Betty switched on the lights and the woods and the road ahead of them were suddenly flooded with a weird radiance.  It brought out branches and leaves and stones in such sharp contrast to the dark background that the effect was startling.

“Oh,” gasped Grace, “turn them off again, do, Betty.  It is positively ghastly.”

“Don’t be foolish,” said Betty, striving to make her voice sound matter-of-fact, her eyes glued to the road ahead of them as it twisted and turned through the woods.  “I don’t see why lights should make a perfectly harmless wood look ghastly.  And, anyway, I couldn’t turn them out now.  I don’t believe I could find my way.  You don’t want me to run into something, do you?”

“No, of course not,” Grace said more firmly, rather ashamed of her fears.  “I didn’t mean to act in a silly fashion.  But,” she turned to Betty quickly, “that hold-up and all—­ don’t you feel a little queer yourself, Betty?  Tell the truth.”