"Where's Mrs. Raymond; the strange woman?" she asked Nettie.

"She did not come out here," replied the maid. "Isn't she with you?"

"No, we left her in the library," Cora replied, and without further inquiry she looked down the driveway and could just see a vanishing shadow turn into the road. But it may not have been Mrs. Raymond.

"I guess she's gone," continued Cora to Nettie. "And I am sorry, for we wanted to keep her for the night. Well, I hope the poor creature was cheered up some. She seemed to need encouragement. We did all we could, perhaps."

"Is she gone?" asked Bess, when they all had come in again, having satisfied themselves that fine weather was promised for the morning. "I hoped she would tell us more about the Ford girl--give us a description of her, at least. We might run across her somewhere."

"It all seemed rather weird," said Cora. "But really we must be on the lookout. Who knows but we may help unravel the mystery?"

"But why did the woman hurry off so?" asked Belle, as if any one present knew.

"Suppose she thought we might think she caused the fire," Ed answered. "It looked strange for her to be in the barn at that time. But anyone could see that it was a small explosion--too much gas somewhere."

"Well, all we know about Nancy is her name," observed Cora. "We will have to trust to motor girls' luck for the rest. But I love a mystery."

"Of course," Eline declared, "if we could have the wonderful luck to find that girl we might be able to clear the poor woman's name. It looked to me as if the girl was in league with the robbers when she ran before they entered the room."

"No use speculating," Cora commented. "Better finish our arrangements.

It's getting late."

CHAPTER IV

ON THE ROAD

There was more "finishing" to be done than even Cora had thought, and, with her usual habit of looking after matters, she had counted on much.

But the thunder-shower, the fire, the finding of the strange woman, and listening to her still more strange story all combined to make the affair of getting ready for the trip in the morning no easy one.

But Cora was determined to carry out the plans as agreed on, so when her friends showed a disposition to delay, and dwell in conversation on the recent happenings, she "brought them up with a round turn," as Jack expressed it.

"I just can't get over that queer woman," observed Belle, during a lull in the talk, while Cora was jotting down in a pretty red leather notebook some matters she did not want to forget. "She had such--such a patient face."

"Maybe she was tired of waiting for a new one," suggested Norton, who was usually flippant. "I've heard that ladies can get new faces at these--er--beauty parlors."

"It's a pity there isn't some sort of a parlor where one can get--manners!" murmured Eline. She seemed to have taken a distinct dislike to the new young man.

Belle and Bess, who had overheard the remark, looked rather askance at Cora's relative, but said nothing.

"Now then!" exclaimed the young hostess, "since you have all gotten rid of as much of the effects of the fire as possible, we'll go over the main points to be sure nothing will go wrong. Oh, that's something I almost forgot. I must send mamma our address."

Mrs. Kimball had gone to Europe for a summer tour, leaving her daughter and son at home. When they went to the Cove the house would be in charge of a care-taker. Cora had not fully determined on her vacation plans when her mother went away, and now there was necessity for forwarding the address.

"I'll attend to that the last thing to-night," Cora went on. "I'll send mother a long letter, and write again as soon as we get settled at the Cove."

"If we ever _do_ get settled," murmured Walter. "Say, boys, am I any less--hammy?" and he sniffed at his coat about which still lingered the smell of gasoline.

"You're of the ham--saltiest--or hammiest!" declared Ed.

"You may break, you may burn the garage if you will The taste of the gasoline stays with it still."

It was Walter who mis-quoted this couplet.

"Oh, boys, please do be quiet!" begged Cora. "We will never get anything done if you don't!"

"It strikes me we got considerable done a short time ago, when we put that fire out," remarked Jack. Cora looked sharply at him.

"I'll be good, Sis--don't shoot--I'm coming down," he exclaimed, and he "slumped" at Eline's feet and made a fruitless endeavor to hold her slim, pretty hand.

"Stop!" she commanded with a blush.

"That's my privilege!" called Ed, as he made a quick move, but the visitor from the Windy City escaped by getting behind Bess, who was in the Roman chair.

"If you don't----" began Cora determinedly, and then she changed her tone.

"Please----" she pleaded.

"After that--nothing but silence!" came from Walter. "Go easy, boys!"

Silence did reign--or, considering the shower, might one not say "rain"

for a moment? Cora resumed.

"We are to start as early in the morning as possible," she said. "I figured--or rather Jack and Ed did--that the trip to Sandy Point Cove would take about three days--perhaps four if--if anything happened like tire trouble. But we are in no hurry, and we can spend five days on the road if we like.

"My cousin, Mrs. Fordam, will go along with us as a chaperone, so that stopping at hotels will be perfectly--proper."

"I thought it was always proper to stop at a hotel--when you had the price!" ventured Jack.

"You don't understand," declared his sister, giving him a look. "So Cousin Mary will be on the trip with us. I guess you all know her, except Eline and Norton. She's jolly and funny."

"Why can't she go right on to the Cove with us, and chaperone there, too?"

Belle wanted to know.

"Because Mamma's aunt--Mrs. Susan Chester--is to look after us there.

You'll like Aunt Susan, I'm sure."

"Are we to call her that?" Ed asked.

"Of course--she won't mind," spoke Cora. "Well, as I said, we'll go to the Cove--taking whatever time we please. There are two bungalows there, you know, and we girls are to have the larger one, so----"

"Well, I like that!" cried Jack, sitting up. "As if we fellows could dress in a band-box."

"Oh, your place is plenty big enough--you know it is!" retorted his sister. "And you know when you and I went down to look at them you said you liked the smaller one best, anyhow."

"Did I?" inquired Jack, slightly bewildered.