A merry laugh greeted Paul's conclusion and he grinned his own delight with himself.

"Still, I bet he don't know what a barnacle is," persisted Dave with good-natured derision.

"Why, you certain species of sh.e.l.l fish! What do you mean by your insolence?" demanded Jones, with mock dignity. "Barnacles--from the Latin word 'barn,' meaning a kind of stable, and the Greek word 'culls,' meaning an inferior kind of anything. Together, then, barnacles--an inferior kind of stable, a--a pig sty, say? So there you have it; but you might have let it go without forcing me to use such a low word as 'pigs' in the presence of gentlemen, just to make myself clear in your laborious mental processes."

Phil and Billy laughed at this sally but went on with their writing.

Dave must give one return shot, and it was:

"Jones, if words were water, you'd have been drowned long ago. The way you flounder around in 'em makes me think of a tumble bug climbing upstairs backwards."

Paul responded only with a solemn "Pooh! pooh!" as if he could not take time to notice seriously any such childish prattle. And while it must be admitted that there was nothing at all brilliant or elevating in the exchange of youthful repartee that had taken place, who shall say that both did not profit by it?

They had made each his thrust and parry and, give or take, without a thought of losing temper. They had had a few seconds' practice in quick thinking, which is always desirable. The whole difference between a brain of snap and vim and one both slow and dull, is likely to lie in practice in rapid, accurate work, or the lack of such training, rather than in an original difference in capacity.

Yet it must not be supposed that even Paul and Dave were constantly in an offensive and defensive att.i.tude toward one another. That would never have done at all. Sooner or later such a manner would have become irritating. The tongue whose words are too frequently sharp, or by constant habit, other than kind and considerate, will make trouble inevitably.

By themselves Jones and MacLester rarely indulged in such exchange as that of this morning. The fun of it was lacking when Phil and Billy were not by to serve as an audience. Alone together, the two were harmonious as could be. They were much more apt to differ at other times. An instance when they did not, however, occurred directly after the verbal contest lately recorded.

"We will make a run to Queensville, get a light lunch there and have dinner in camp to-night," remarked Chef Billy, sealing the letter he had written. He brought his fist down with a whack upon the envelope, not for sake of emphasis but to make sure of the flap being fast.

"Aw, Bill! I'm most starved _now_!" protested Paul.

"Here, too!" MacLester urged. "Something in this air seems to make a fellow want to eat all the time."

"Well, the point is, we've got to be starting. It's nearly noon," Worth answered.

"Yes, that's so," Phil Way agreed. "Maybe we better have an egg sandwich or something like that, all around, and it will do for now."

"Sure!" chirped Jones, emphatically. "Stuff will only spoil if we don't eat it up."

"Risk anything spoiling around here," was Billy's earnest comment; but he ordered that frying-pan and eggs be brought him forthwith, while he proceeded to rake together the remnants of the fire.

The route to Queensville was, for the first part, straight ahead upon the road bordering the Ship woods. Six miles distant, westerly, this road effected a junction with a thoroughfare running to north and south.

Distant a mile or two, in the former direction, was the direct road to Queensville. This and the north and south road were both a part of the twenty-six-mile race circuit.

It was easy to locate the road to Queensville once Gilroy, with its one general store, half dozen straggling dwellings, a church, a school and blacksmith shop, was reached, for numerous automobiles were traversing the course of the races in both directions. And how the Auto Boys scanned every car! And what a collection of machines it was!--Runabouts, roadsters and nondescript contrivances, the ident.i.ty of the manufacturers of which even Billy Worth could not determine. Some had been rebuilt in one way, some another and some were of strictly home production. But among all the cars, fine and otherwise, the lumbering black and gray Roadster Mr. Soapy Gaines called his own, was not seen.

In a quiet side street of Queensville the four friends left the Thirty.

They were but a few steps from the main thoroughfare upon which the business section was situated, and directly before them, as they turned into the street was a sign: "Alameda Headquarters."

"Here's one of the likely cars, now," exclaimed Phil. "Jim Wilder, cousin of our Mr. Wilder at home, drives her and he's great, they say!"

He would have added: "Let's see what they're doing," but already Billy, Dave and Paul had hastened forward, bent on that very mission.

As the lads approached, the crowd about the entrance to the building surged suddenly away and, waving his hand to all to stand back, a man in overalls and jumper pulled the heavy door about and it swung shut with a bang. The curious ones thus barred from further view of what was within--the racing car and drivers, probably--formed an a.s.semblage so dense that those nearest the door were not visible to the Auto Boys, at the edge of the gathering. But immediately the people began dispersing.

A minute later, through the thinning ranks, Paul Jones suddenly discovered the Chosen Trio.

He had just time to whisper and, with his friends, slip back of a group near the curbing when Gaines, Pickton and Perth pa.s.sed at the inner side of the walk. There appeared no room to doubt the Trio would go straight forward and, when they were fairly beyond the crowd, Billy and Phil, still watching them, stepped back into the open to get a better view.

The movement was unfortunate. Freddy Perth chanced to turn and his eyes rested at once upon the lads. With a gay laugh he caught the hands of Pickton and Gaines, wheeling them around. Pointing with his thumb, his arm half outstretched:

"How do you _do-o-o_?" he called triumphantly to the crestfallen Way and Worth.

"h.e.l.lo!" Phil responded with a frown, but looking about as if to see how Billy was bearing up, he was astonished to find himself alone.

CHAPTER XIII

AROUND THE GOLD CUP CIRCUIT

Phil's "h.e.l.lo!" was none too cordial, but glad under any circ.u.mstances to meet someone from home, and quite overjoyed to show the Auto Boys that the Chosen Trio were on the spot, Perth was hastening forward.

Again Way looked anxiously in all directions, trying vainly to learn whence his friends had so mysteriously fled. No sight or sound of them could he discover.

"Got your car running again sooner'n you expected, didn't you?" grinned Freddy, coming close up. "When did you get in?"

"Not sooner than _we_ expected--sooner than _you_ expected, wasn't it?"

responded Phil. "Haven't been here long. You came in this morning."

"How'd you know?" Perth demanded with a searching look.

"Bird told me," Phil smiled. "Where you staying?"

"Ask the bird that, too!" grinned Freddy.

"Well, see you later. Be here for the races, I take it," Way laughed, not at all put out by Perth's adroit reply to his own question. With a little wave of the hand he walked quickly away; but a glance over his shoulder a minute later a.s.sured him that Perth, Gaines and Pickton were following not far behind. The latter two had loitered in the background while the conversation with Fred was taking place.

If Phil was astonished to find himself so unexpectedly alone, it was apparent that the Trio were scarcely less so. Perth was certain he had seen Billy Worth at the same moment he had first seen Way. What had become of Billy and where were Dave and Paul?

Phil, himself, would have given something at this particular moment to have been able to answer these questions. Meanwhile it was obvious his first task was to escape from the three who followed. Where was Gaines'

Roadster? If he could lead the Trio far enough from their car that they would not have that means of pursuit, it might be that Billy and the rest would come along in the Thirty, pick him up and thus enable all to make their escape quite readily.

Acting on this thought, Phil turned into the first residence street intersecting Main, the business thoroughfare. Even now he was but a few blocks distant from where the Thirty had been left. Surely, he reasoned, some one of his friends would be watching the direction he took. One of them would manage, some way, to get into communication with him, even if they did not come dashing up with the machine and effect his rescue.

Was it an instance of telepathy--the action of Billy's mind, or Paul's or Dave's or of all three, upon Phil Way's--that caused the latter to think of a sudden, rapid dash in the car, after the Trio had been led a safe distance from their own machine, as a likely means of escaping them? Such a thing is not impossible. It is not, indeed, improbable. And yet, although stranger instances of thought transference have been fully proved, it may have been after all only a coincidence that the plan that came into Phil's mind was exactly the one Billy Worth suggested to Paul and David and which they prepared to put into execution.

Very luckily had Worth made a dive into the crowd the moment he found himself and Phil observed by Freddy Perth. Thinking Way followed, he called with a quick gasp to MacLester and Jones and darted into an open stairway. Quickly as they could the three ran up the steps into a narrow hall on the second floor.

A window was open toward the street and Worth was not long in discovering how to put it to good use. In dismay he saw, with Paul and Dave peeping out over his shoulder, that Phil had fallen fairly into the enemy's hands. He could not hear the words exchanged with Perth, but realized how mystified Way was as he waved his hand and walked away.

"Of course they'll follow. Won't let him get out of their sight!"

e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Billy. "We've got to make a grand rush in the machine and get Phil away from them before they know what's happened."

"Just let him lead them quite a stretch away. Gaines' car is probably right near here," Paul put in, eagerly.

The suggestion was adopted. Then Jones volunteered to keep Way and the enemy both in sight while Billy and Dave brought the Thirty up.