When Kenerley returned to the group on the veranda a wild shout greeted him, inquiring where Patty was.

“I told you she was going to elope,” returned Jim; “I was merely helping her along.  I left her just outside the gate on her way to meet her rustic swain.”

“Nonsense, Jim,” said his wife, “where did she go?  Over to the Crosbys’?”

“She didn’t say anything to me about the Crosbys.  In fact, Adele, she didn’t tell me where she was going, and I wasn’t so inquisitive as to ask her.  I let my guests do as they like and go where they choose.  Patty asked me for the runabout and I gave it to her.  If she had wanted the touring car she could have had it,—­or the limousine,—­or the wheelbarrow.”

A smile passed over Van Reypen’s face at the chance reference to the last-named vehicle, and his intuitions told him that Patty had gone for a solitary drive to get away from other people for a little while.

“Oh, look who’s here!” cried Daisy, suddenly, as a motor car came whizzing up the steps and out jumped Bill Farnsworth.

“I just stopped for a minute,” he said to Adele, “to see how you all are after your party.”

“All quite well,” said Adele, “but sorry you couldn’t stay here with us instead of going on.”

“Sorry, too,” said Farnsworth.  “Where’s Miss Fairfield?” and he looked about inquiringly.

“Gone for a drive,” replied Adele, and Farnsworth made no further reference to Patty.  But his call was short and soon he was again starting his car.

“Which way did Miss Fairfield go?” he murmured in a low voice to Kenerley, as his car moved off.

“East,” said Jim, with a teasing smile at Farnsworth, and then Bill was gone.

He swung out on to the broad highway and turned east.  There were no bypaths near and he had an intention of following and overtaking Patty.  He wanted to see her, and with Bill Farnsworth to want to do anything was to do it.

Now it chanced that Patty had had a detention.  Though an expert driver, and a fairly good mechanician for her own car, she was not entirely familiar with the car she was driving, and when it stopped stock-still at the side of the road, she found herself unable to discover the exact difficulty.

She was not overanxious, for it was a frequented road and she felt sure some car would come along, in whose driver she might feel sufficient confidence to ask help.  But it so chanced that she sat for some time before any car came.  The sun was warm and she threw off her coat, really enjoying basking in the sunshine while she waited.

And it was this sudden apparition of a golden head shining in the sunlight that gave Farnsworth a shock of surprise as he came up behind Patty’s car.

“By Jove!” he exclaimed, “there she is!  In trouble, too.  Jolly well I came along, bless her heart!  But it’s funny if she can’t manage the car.  I believe she’s sitting there purposely.”