Page:Rover Boys on Treasure Isle.djvu/150

136 myself. You had no right to place those cars in the hands of unreliable men. You risked our lives by so doing."

"Those men are reliable enough. One of them telephoned to me you had run away with the autos."

"The folks at the Dardell Hotel will tell you how reliable they were. I warned them not to drink, but they did, and they were in no condition to run any automobile."

"I don't allow just anybody to run my machines," stormed the man. "They are expensive pieces of property."

"Well, they are not worth as much as our necks, not by a good deal," said Tom.

"Don't you get impudent, young fellow!"

"He is not impudent," said Dick. "Your machines are all right—we didn't hurt them in the least. But I can tell you one thing," he proceeded earnestly. "We don't propose to pay for the hire of the chauffeurs."

"That's the talk," broke in Fred. "Pay him for the use of the cars only."

"You'll pay the whole bill!" growled the automobile owner.

"Not a cent more than the hire of the two cars," said Tom.