Page:Outdoor Girls in a Motor Car.djvu/58

50 expert in its use. He had now put into practice what had been told him about his toy, and had added his observations of Mollie's operation of her car.

After starting the motor Paul had somehow managed to slip in the low gear, and the marvel of it was that he knew enough to disengage the clutch while he did this. Afterward he told how he had heard the demonstrator impress many times on Mollie the need of doing so.

"Oh, we'll never get him now!" cried Mollie, as she realized that the auto was moving under power now, and not merely by momentum. "Oh, Paul!"

The child was actually steering—the girls could see that, for the auto swerved in and out, narrowly missing the curbstone, as he turned and twisted the wheel too much.

"Paul! Paul!" cried his sister. "Stop it! Stop it!"

But Paul only laughed. He was having too much fun to want to stop.

It was hopeless for the girls to try to catch the auto now. They were far behind it, but still Betty ran on. Several narrow escapes had Paul on that perilous journey, and then in the nick of time he was saved from what might have been a serious accident.