The Automobile Girls at Palm Beach; Or, Proving Their Mettle Under Southern Skies

by Laura Dent Crane

  CHAPTER XV

  CAUGHT NAPPING

  The following morning Barbara awoke with the feeling of one who hasexperienced a disagreeable dream. Was it a trick of her imagination, orhad she really seen their beautiful young countess deep in conversationwith Monsieur Duval and Mrs. De Lancey Smythe? True Bab had not seen herface, but her height, and carriage--the blue cloak--were unmistakable.

  On her return to their room Bab had not mentioned her unpleasantdiscovery to Ruth. She could not bear to voice any actual charge againstthe Countess Sophia. "Perhaps it will all be explained yet," she toldherself, and with a wisdom far beyond her years, she resolved to besilent, at least for the present, about what she had seen.

  When the launch which Mr. Stuart had chartered, with its freight ofpicnickers, had put out from shore and headed for the villa, where theywere to pick up the countess and Madame de Villiers, Barbara had loyallydecided to let not even the evidence of her own eyes sway her intocondemning the countess unheard.

  On their arrival at the villa they found the countess and Madame deVilliers ready and waiting for them, and the sailing party was sooncomfortably seated in the roomy launch. Madame de Villiers occupied awicker chair opposite Miss Sallie, while the young countess and the"Automobile Girls" had stretched a steamer rug over the roof of thesmall cabin, and lay upon it in picturesque attitudes under theirsunshades.

  There was a churning of the propeller, a shrill toot from the whistle,and the launch glided out over the water as smoothly as a canoe ridesdown stream.

  "We're off!" cried Mr. Stuart joyously.

  "I believe you are just a great boy still, Robert," smiled Miss Sallieindulgently.

  The day's excursion had been arranged by Mr. Stuart. He was anenthusiastic fisherman, and on his return from the fishing expeditionwith Mr. Warren he at once began to plan a similar excursion for the"Automobile Girls," extending his invitation to the countess and Madamede Villiers.

  It was an ideal day for a picnic. The sun shone brilliantly down on PalmBeach, making it look like an enchanted land. The bathers were out infull force. A little farther up the beach countless flower-trimmed hatsand many-hued parasols made gorgeous blots of color along the whitesands. Overhead the sky was an intense blue, and the water reflected theblueness in its depths.

  "You can never understand how happy this makes me," declared thecountess, bestowing an enchanting smile upon the little company. "Mr.Stuart, we thank you for the many pleasures you have given Cousine andme. Someday I hope I may be able to do something for you."

  "Wait until the picnic is over before you thank me, Countess," repliedher host. "The fishing may bore you, especially if the fish don't bite."

  "Ah, well," laughed the countess, "I could fish patiently all day, undera sky like this without complaining, if I were to catch nothing but aminnow."

  Mr. Stuart's fishing party had made an early start. They were to landsome miles up the coast, where those who were not of a mind to fishcould make themselves comfortable on shore.

  The journey was not a short one. It was well past eleven o'clock whenthey landed on a hard shell beach, broken here and there by patches ofmarsh grass.

  "You are especially privileged to be allowed to set foot on theseshores," Mr. Stuart assured his guests, as he handed them out of thelaunch. "The location of this place has been kept a secret; otherwise itwould be overrun with tourists and excursionists."

  "Is it so beautiful?" Ruth inquired.

  "Wait until you see it!" was Mr. Stuart's reply.

  The beach sloped upward so as to form a wall that completely hid theland behind it from view.

  Ruth and Barbara ran on ahead.

  "Oh, Father," cried Ruth excitedly. "This is a surprise!"

  The two girls were looking down into a beautiful little dell. It waslike a tiny oasis, with a sand wall on one side of it, and a mass ofpalmettoes, oak trees and cocoanut palms encircling it on the otherthree sides. The ground was carpeted thickly with violets. Yellowjasmine and elder flowers gleamed through the foliage. The branches ofthe oak trees were draped with gray Spanish moss, which made quite asombre background for the gay tropical scene.

  "This is to be your drawing-room and dining-room, Madame," declared Mr.Stuart, as he helped Madame de Villiers over the sandy hillock. "You maydo whatever you like here. You may pull the violets, or walk on them.There are no park rules."

  "Was there ever such a place in the world!" exclaimed Countess Sophia."I shall not leave it until we sail for home. The most wonderful of seatrout could not lure me from this enchanting spot."

  "We shall stay here, too," agreed Mollie and Grace. "I would rathergather violets than catch gold fish," Mollie assured Mr. Stuart.

  The wicker chairs were brought from the launch, so that Madame deVilliers and Aunt Sallie could be comfortable in their sylvan retreat.Ruth and Barbara went off with Mr. Stuart on the quest for fish, whilethe young countess, Mollie and Grace gathered wild flowers and madewreaths of the sweet-smelling yellow jasmine.

  Grace ran with her crown of wild jasmine and placed it on Miss Sallie'ssoft white hair. The countess placed her wreath on Madame de Villiers'shead.

  "Oh, happy day, Oh, day so dear!"

  sang Countess Sophia as she stuck one of the beautiful yellow flowersinto her dark hair and danced with Mollie over the sands.

  It was a happy day indeed--one that the little party would never forget!Mysteries and unanswered questions were banished. Even Bab forgot forthe time being all disquieting thoughts. The lovely young countess, withher eyes full of an appealing tenderness, had driven away all uglysuspicion.

  Several hours later the fishing party returned.

  "See what we've got!" Ruth exclaimed proudly, as she ran up the sandhill flourishing a string of speckled sea trout.

  "Miss am sho a lucky fisherman," agreed the old colored man in whoseboat Mr. Stuart and the two girls had been fishing.

  "But where are your fish, Barbara?" Grace inquired.

  Mr. Stuart laughed. "Bab is the unluckiest fisherman that ever threw outa line," he explained. "Shall I tell them, Bab?"

  Barbara flushed. "Oh, go ahead," she consented.

  "Well," Mr. Stuart continued, "Miss Barbara Thurston caught a tarpon ayard long this morning."

  "Where is it?" cried the waiting audience.

  "Back in the sea, whence it came, and it nearly took Mistress Bab alongwith it," Mr. Stuart answered. "When Barbara caught her tarpon, shebegan reeling in her line as fast as she could. But the tarpon was tooheavy for it, and the line broke. Then Bab prepared to dive into theocean after her fish."

  "I was so excited I forgot I did not have on my bathing suit," Babexplained. "I thought, if I could just dive down into the water, I couldcatch my tarpon, and then Mr. Stuart could pull us both back into theboat."

  "Reckless, Barbara!" cried Miss Stuart. "What will you do next!"

  "Don't scold, Aunt Sallie," Ruth begged. "It was too funny, and Fatherand I caught hold of Bab's skirts before she jumped. Then old Jim, thecolored man, got the fish. So we had a good look at him without Bab'sdrowning herself. But when we found that the catch was a tarpon, and notgood to eat, Father flung it back in the water."

  While Mr. Stuart and the girls were talking, Jim and the engineer fromthe launch built a fire. They were soon at work frying the fish forluncheon.

  Nobody noticed that a small naphtha launch had been creeping cautiouslyalong the coast. It was sheltered from view by the bank of sand. And itmanaged to hide itself in a little inlet about a quarter of a mile awayfrom Mr. Stuart's larger boat.

  After a hearty luncheon no one had much to say. The "Automobile Girls"were unusually silent. Finally they confessed to being dreadfullysleepy. There is something in the soft air of Florida that compelsdrowsiness. Miss Sallie and Madame de Villiers nodded in their chairs.Mr. Stuart, the countess and the four girls stretched themselves on thewarm sand. Jim slept under the lea of his small fishing boat, and theengineer of the launch went to sleep on the sand not far from
thewater's edge.

  For nearly an hour the entire party slumbered. All at once Mr. Stuartawoke with a feeling that something had happened. He rubbed his eyes,then counted the girls and his guests. Miss Sallie was safe under theshadow of her parasol, which had been fixed over her head. Madame deVilliers sat nodding in her chair.

  The afternoon shadows had begun to lengthen; a fresh breeze was stirringthe leaves of the palm trees. But, except for the occasional call of amocking bird, not a sound could be heard.

  Mr. Stuart waited. Did he not hear a faint noise coming from thedirection of his launch. "The engineer has probably gone aboard!" Mr.Stuart thought.

  "It is high time we were leaving for home," said he to himself.

  But as he stepped to the edge of the embankment he saw his engineerstill lying on the ground sleeping soundly.

  A small boat like a black speck disappeared around a curve in the shore.

  "What on earth does that mean?" cried Mr. Stuart. Leaping over the sandywall he ran toward his engineer. Mr. Stuart shook him gently. The manopened his eyes drowsily, yawned then raising himself to a sittingposition, looked stupidly about.

  "A strange boat has just put out from here," said Mr. Stuart quietly."We had better go out to the launch and see if all is well."

  The engineer rose to his feet, and still stupid from his heavy sleep,followed Mr. Stuart to the dinghy. The sound of voices aroused old Jimwho clambered to his feet blinking rapidly.

  Mr. Stuart and the engineer pushed off toward the launch, each feelingthat he was about to come upon something irregular. Their premonitionsproved wholly correct. The engine room of the pretty craft was a totalwreck. The machinery had been taken apart so deftly, it seemed as thoughan engineer alone could have accomplished it, while the most importantparts of the engine were missing.

  "Whose work is this?" ejaculated Mr. Stuart, clenching his fists inimpotent rage. Suddenly it dawned upon him what the wrecking of hislaunch meant. He was on an uninhabited shore with seven women, hisengineer, and colored servant, with no prospect of getting away thatnight.

  He felt in his pockets. A pen-knife was his only tool or weapon.

  Mr. Stuart rowed back to shore to break the disagreeable news to themembers of his party. But the sleepers were awake on his return. Theyhad seen Mr. Stuart row hurriedly out to the launch with the engineer,and surmised instantly that something had happened.

  "Oh, dear, oh, dear!" wailed the countess, when Mr. Stuart had explainedtheir plight. "Must I always bring ill-luck to you?"

  "Nonsense!" expostulated Mr. Stuart. "How could the wrecking of ourengine have any connection with you, Countess?"

  Old Jim who still stood blinking and stretching now began to vaguelygrasp the situation.

  "'Scuse me ladies," he mumbled. "I spects I'se jest been nappin' alittle. I ain't been 'zactly asleep."

  The "Automobile Girls" laughed, in spite of the difficulties whichconfronted them.

  "Oh no, you haven't been asleep," Mr. Stuart assured him, "but that napof yours was a close imitation of the real thing."

  Jim grinned sheepishly and hung his woolly head. "I 'low nothin' badain't happened, suh."

  "Something bad certainly has happened. In fact about as bad as it wellcould be, Jim," declared Mr. Stuart. "Some wretch has tampered with theengine of our launch and left us high and dry on this lonely shore. Wemust do something and that something quickly. It's getting late, and wedon't want to spend the night here, lovely as the place is. Where's thenearest house or village?"

  "Lor', suh," exclaimed old Jim. "This am a lonesome spot. There ain't novillage no wheres round heah!"

  "But where is the nearest house, then?" demanded Mr. Stuart.

  The darkey scratched his head reflectively.

  "Ole Miss Thorne might take you in, Massa. Her place am about two milesfrom here. She's my old missis. I live thar. I jest comes down here andhelps fishin' parties to land and takes them out in my boat in thedaytime. Nights I sleeps at my old missis's place. She comes of a finefamily she do. But she's a little teched in the head, suh."

  "All right, Jim; show us the way to the house. But how are we to find ahorse and wagon? My sister and Madame de Villiers will not care to walkthat distance."

  "I got an old horse and wagon hitched near here, Massa," Jim returned."I come over in it this morning."

  Mr. Stuart finally installed Miss Sallie, Madame de Villiers, and theyoung countess in the bottom of Jim's old wagon. He also stored theirlunch baskets away under the seats. Food might be precious before theyfound their way back to their hotel.

  Then Jim started his patient old horse, while Mr. Stuart and the"Automobile Girls" followed the wagon which led the way along a narrowroad through the heart of the jungle.

  But before leaving the deserted shore, Mr. Stuart went back to thelaunch. He tacked a note on the outside of the cabin. The note explainedthe accident to their engine. It also stated that Mr. Stuart and hisparty had gone to seek refuge at the home of a Miss Thorne, two milesback from the shore.

  Mr. Stuart did not believe the wrecker would return to the boat. He hadaccomplished his evil purpose. But Mr. Stuart did hope that anotherlaunch might visit the coast either that evening or in the earlymorning. Therefore he requested that any one who discovered his letterwould come to Miss Thorne's home for his party.