“there is one thing perfectly delightful about boarding schools,” declared tavia, “when the term closes we can go away, and leave it in another world. now, at dalton, we would have to see the old schoolhouse every time we went to daly’s for a pound of butter, a loaf of bread—and oh, yes! i almost forgot! mom said we could get some bologna. whew! don’t your mouth water, dorothy? we always did get good bologna at daly’s!”

“bologna!” echoed dorothy. “as if the young ladies of glenwood school would disgrace their appetites with such vulgar fare!”

at this she snatched up an empty cracker box, almost devouring its parifine paper, in hopes of finding a few more crumbs, although tavia had poured the last morsels of the wafers down her own throat the night before this conversation took place. yes, tavia had even made a funnel of the paper and “took” the powdered biscuits as doctors administer headache remedies.

[2]

“all the same,” went on tavia, “i distinctly remember that you had a longing for the skin of my sausage, along with the end piece, which you always claimed for your own share.”

“oh, please stop!” besought dorothy, “or i shall have to purloin my hash from the table to-night and stuff it into—”

“the armlet of your new, brown kid gloves,” finished tavia. “they’re the very color of a nice, big, red-brown bologna, and i believe the inspiration is a direct message. ‘the evolution of a bologna sausage,’ modern edition, bound in full kid. mine for the other glove. watch all the hash within sight to-night, and we’ll ask the girls to our clam-bake.”

“dear old dalton,” went on dorothy with a sigh. “after all there is no place like home,” and she dropped her blond head on her arms, in the familiar pose tavia described as “thinky.”

“but home was never like this,” declared the other, following up dorothy’s sentiment with her usual interjection of slang. at the same moment she made a dart for a tiny bottle of dorothy’s perfume, which was almost emptied down the front of tavia’s blue dress, before the owner of the treasure had time to interfere.

[3]

“oh, that’s mean!” exclaimed dorothy. “aunt winnie sent me that by mail. it was a special kind—”

“and you know my weakness for specials—real bargains! there!” and tavia caught dorothy up in her arms. “i’ll rub it all on your head. tresses of sunshine, perfumed with incense!”

“please stop!” begged dorothy. “my hair is all fixed!”

“well, it’s ‘fixest’ now. the superlative you know. i do hate your hair prim. never knew a girl with heavenly hair who did not want to make a mattress of it. i have wonderfully enhanced the beauty of your coiffure, mam’selle, for which i ask to be permitted one kiss!” and at this the two girls became so entangled in each other’s embrace that it would have been hard to tell whom the blond head belonged to, or who might be the owner of the bronze ringlets.

but dorothy dale was the blond, and octavia travers, “sported” the dark tresses. “sported” we say advisedly, for tavia loved sport better than she cared for her dinner, while dorothy, an entirely different type of girl, admired the things of this world that were good and beautiful, true and reliable; but at the same time she was no prude, and so enjoyed her friend’s sports, whenever the mischief involved no serious consequences.

[4]

that “doro” as her chums called dorothy, and tavia could be so unlike, and yet be such friends, was a matter of surprise to all their acquaintances. but those who have read of the young ladies in the previous stories of the series, “dorothy dale;—a girl of to-day,” and “dorothy dale at glenwood school,” have had sufficient introduction to these interesting characters to understand how natural it was for a lily (our friend dorothy) to love and encourage a frolicsome wild flower (tavia) to cling to the cultured stalk, to keep close to the saving influence of the lily’s heart—so close that no gardener would dare to tear away that wild flower from the lily’s clasp, without running the risk of cruelly injuring the more tender plant.

so it was with these two girls. no one could have destroyed their love and friendship for each other without so displacing their personalities as to make the matter one of serious consequences.

many other girls had coveted dorothy’s love; some had even tried to obtain it by false stories, or greatly exaggerated accounts of tavia’s frolics. but dorothy loved tavia, and believed in her, so all attempts to destroy her faith were futile. and it was this faith, when the time came, that inspired dorothy dale to keep the great secret.

[5]

glenwood school was situated amid the mountains of new england, and the two girls had completed one term there. on the afternoon when this story opens they were lounging in their own particular room, nineteen by number, waiting for the recreation bell to send its muffled chimes down the corridor.

they were waiting with unusual impatience, for the “hour of freedom” to come, for they expected visitors in an automobile.

“like as not,” tavia broke in suddenly, without offering a single excuse for the surprising interjection, “the fire bird will break down, and we won’t get our ride after all.”

“cheerful speculation,” interposed dorothy, “but not exactly probable. the fire bird is an auto that never breaks down.”

“what, never?” persisted tavia, laughing.

“no, never,” declared dorothy. “of course all automobiles are subject to turns, but to really break down—aunt winnie would never allow her boys to run a machine not entirely reliable.”

“o-o-o-oh!” drawled tavia, in mock surprise. then the girls settled down to wait.

[6]

the fire bird, was a touring car in which the girls had enjoyed some noted rides about their home town of dalton. dorothy’s aunt, mrs. winthrop white, of north birchland, owned the car, and her two sons, edward and nathaniel (or ned and nat, to give them the titles they always went by) good looking young fellows, were usually in charge of it when their favorite cousin dorothy, and her friend tavia, were the other passengers.

it may as well be stated at this time that nat and tavia were excellent friends, and even on a ride that had been termed notorious (on account of the strange experiences that befell the party while making a tour), tavia and nat had managed to have a good time, and made the best of their strange adventures.

it was not surprising then that on this afternoon, while dorothy and tavia waited for another ride in the fire bird, their brains should be busy with speculative thoughts. tavia was sure nat would think she had grown to be a real young lady, and dorothy was so anxious to see both her cousins, that she fell to thinking they might have outgrown the jolly, big-boy relationship, and would come to her stiff and stylish young men.

[7]

the peal of the recreation bell in the outer hall suddenly aroused the girls, and, at the same moment the “honk-honk” of the fire bird’s horn announced the arrival of the long expected boys.

“there they are!” exclaimed tavia, quite unnecessarily, for dorothy was already making her pearl-tinted veil secure over her yellow head; and while tavia was wasting her time, looking out of the window at the auto, which was surrounded by boys and girls who stood on the path, plainly admiring the two cousins and the stylish car, dorothy was quite ready for the ride.

“do come, tavia!” she called. “the afternoon is short enough!”

“com—ing!” shouted her irrepressible companion in high glee, making a lunge for her own veil, and tossing it over her head as she dashed down the corridor.

dorothy stopped at the office on her way out to tell the principal, mrs. pangborn, that the expected visitors had arrived, and that she and tavia were starting for the ride, permission to go having been granted in advance.

[8]

outside, just beyond the arch in the broad driveway, the fire bird panted and puffed, as if anxious to take flight again. ned was at the steering wheel and as for nat, he was helping tavia into the machine “with both hands” some jealous onlookers declared afterward. however dorothy’s friend rose-mary markin (known to her chums as cologne because of her euphonious first names) insisted differently in the argument that followed the puffing away of the car.

it was no small wonder that the coming of the fire bird should excite such comment among the girls at glenwood school. an automobile ride was no common happening there, for while many of the parents of the young ladies owned such machines, glenwood was far away from home and so were the autos.

edna black, called ned ebony, and regarded as tavia’s most intimate friend, insisted that tavia looked like a little brown sparrow, as she flew off, with the streamers of her brown veil flying like wings. molly richards, nick-named dick, and always “agin’ th’ government” like the foreigner in politics, declared that the girls “were not in it” with the boys, for, as she expressed it, “girls always do look like animated rag-bags in an automobile.”

“boys just put themselves on the seat and stay put,” she announced, “but girls—they seem to float above the car, and they give me the shivers!”

“all the same,” interrupted cologne, “the damsels manage to hang on.”

[9]

“and dorothy was a picture,” ventured nita brant, the girl given to “excessive expletive ejaculations,” according to the records of the nick association, the official club of the juniors.

so the fire bird, with its gay little party, flew over the hills of glenwood. dorothy was agreeably surprised to find her cousins just as good natured and just as boy-like as they had been when she had last seen them, and they, in turn, complimented her on her improved appearance.

“you look younger though you talk older,” ned assured dorothy, with a nice regard for the feminine feeling relative to age.

“and tavia looks—looks—how?” stammered nat, with a significant look at his elder brother.

“search me!” replied the other evasively, determined not to be trapped by nat into any “expert opinion.”

“beyond words!” finished nat, with a glance of unstinted admiration at his companion.

“bad as that?” mocked tavia. “the girls do call me ‘red head’ and ‘brick-top.’ yes, even ‘carroty’ is thrown at me when i do anything to make ned mad. you know that’s the girl,” she hurried to add, “the girl—edna black—ned ebony for short, you know. she’s the jolliest crowd—”

[10]

“how many of her?” asked ned, pretending to be ignorant of tavia’s school vernacular.

“legion,” was the enthusiastic answer, which elastic comment settled the question of edna black, for the time being, at least.

the roads through glenwood wound up and down like thread on a spool. scarcely did the fire bird find itself on the top of a hill before it went scooting down to the bottom. then another would loom up and it had to be done all over again.

this succession of steep grades, first tilting up and then down, kept ned busy throwing the clutches in and out, taking the hills on the low gear, then slipping into full speed ahead as a little level place was reached, and again throwing off the power and drifting down while the brakes screeched and hummed as if in protest at being made to work so hard. the two girls, meanwhile, were busy speculating on what would happen if an “something” should give way, or if the powerful car should suddenly refuse to obey the various levers, handles, pedals and the maze of things of which ned seemed to have perfect command.

[11]

“this reminds me of the switch-back railway,” remarked nat, as the machine suddenly lurched first up, and then down a rocky “bump.”

“y-y-y-es!” agreed ned, shouting to be heard above the pounding of the muffler. “it’s quite like a trip on the scenic railway—pretty pictures and all.”

“i hope it isn’t dangerous,” ventured dorothy, who had too vivid a remembrance of the narrow escape on a previous ride, to enjoy the possibility of a second adventure.

“no danger at all,” ned hastened to assure her.

“a long hill at last!” exclaimed nat, as the big strip of brown earth uncoiled before them, like so many miles of ribbon dropped from the sky, with a knot somewhere in the clouds. “a long hill for sure. none of your dinky little two-for-a-cent kinds this time!”

“oh!” gasped dorothy, involuntarily catching at ned’s arm. “be careful, ned!”

ned took a firmer grip on the steering wheel, as he finished throwing out the gear and shutting off the power, while the spark lever sent out a shrill sound as he swung it in a segment over the rachet.

[12]

the hill was not only remarkably steep, but consisted of a series of turns and twists. down the grade the car plunged in spite of the brakes that ned jammed on, with all his force, to prevent a runaway. he was a little pale, but calm, and with his steady hands on the wheel, clinging firmly to it in spite of the way it jerked about, as if trying to get free, he guided the fire bird down, the big machine swerving from right to left, but ever following where the lad directed it.

as they swung around a turn in the descending road a clump of trees obstructed the view for a moment. then the car glided beyond them, gathering speed every moment, in spite of the brakes.

“the creek!” yelled tavia in sudden terror, pointing to where a small, but deep stream flowed under the road. “there’s the creek and the bridge is broken!”

the water was spanned by a frail structure, generally out of order and in a state of uncertain repair. it needed but a glance to show that it was now in course of being mended, for there was a pile of material near it. work, however, had been temporarily suspended.

then, there flashed into view a warning signboard announcing that the old planking of the bridge had been taken up to allow the putting down of new, and that the bridge was impassable. the four horror-stricken occupants of the car saw this at a glance.

[13]

“stop the car!” cried tavia.

“can’t!” answered ned hoarsely. “i’ve got the emergency brake on, but it doesn’t seem to hold.”

“it’s all right,” called nat. “i saw a wagon go over the bridge when we were on our way to the school this afternoon.”

“but it crossed on some loose, narrow planks!” tavia gasped. “i saw them put the boards there yesterday when we were out for our walk! i forgot all about them! oh! stop the car! we can’t cross on the planks! we’ll all be killed!”

ned leaned forward, pulling with all his strength on the brake handle, as if to force it a few more notches back and make the steel band grip tighter the whirring wheels that were screeching out a shrill protest at the friction.

“i—i can’t do it!” he exclaimed almost in a whisper.

the fire bird was dashing along the steep incline. ned clung firmly to the steering wheel, for though there was terrible danger ahead, it was also close at hand should the auto swerve from the path. his face was white, and nat’s forced breathing sounded loud in the ears of the terror-stricken girls.

[14]

the bridge was but a few hundred feet away. the auto skidded along as if under power, though the gasolene was shut off.

“there’s a plank across the entrance! maybe that will stop us!” cried nat.

“never in this world!” replied ned, in despairing tones.

dorothy was sending up wordless prayers, but she did not stir from her seat, sitting bravely still, and not giving way to useless terror. nor did tavia, once the first shock was over, for she saw how quiet dorothy was, and she too, sank back among the cushions, waiting for the crash she felt would soon come.

“if some boards are only down!” murmured ned. “maybe i can steer—”

the next instant the fire bird had crashed through the obstruction plank. it splintered it as if it were a clothes pole, and, a moment later, rumbled out upon the frail, loose planking, laid length-wise across the floorless bridge, as a path for the repair teams.

“oh! oh!” shrieked the two girls in one breath.

[15]

nat jumped up from his seat, and, leaning forward, grasped his brother by the shoulders.

then what followed was always a mystery to the four who had an involuntary part in it. the front wheels took the narrow planks, and clung there as ned held the steering circle steady. there was a little bump as the rear wheels took the same small boards. there was a crashing, splintering sound and then, before any of those in the car had a chance to realize it, the fire bird had whizzed across the bridge and was brought to a quick stop on the other side.

“whew!” gasped ned, as he tried to open the paralyzed hands that seemed grown fast to the steering wheel.

“look at that!” cried nat, as he leaped from the car and pointed back toward the bridge. “we broke two planks in the very middle, and only the fast rate we clipped over them saved us from going down!”

“what an escape!” cried tavia as she jumped from her seat.

“is the car damaged?” asked dorothy, as she too alighted to stand beside her chum.

[16]

“something happened to the radiator when we hit the rail and broke it,” said ned, as he saw water escaping from the honey-comb reservoir. “but i guess it won’t amount to much. it isn’t leaking badly. the idea of the county having a picture bridge over a river! why there’s a swift current here, and it’s mighty deep. just look at that black whirlpool near the eddy. if we’d gone down there what the machine left of us would have been nicely cooled off at any rate!”

the two boys were soon busy examining the car, while dorothy and tavia stood in the road.

“wasn’t it dreadful!” exclaimed dorothy. “i do believe we ought not to go auto riding—something happens every time we go out.”

“and to think that i knew about the bridge!” whispered tavia. “only yesterday i saw it and noticed how unsafe it was. then i forgot all about it. oh, dorothy! if anything had happened it would have been my fault!”