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“Excitement is where I live,” said Mr. Ellis. “If I don’t find any waiting I make it.”

“If you are looking for excitement, we’ll have to find you some,” Jasper said pointedly.

Mr. Ellis only laughed. “Don’t put yourself out, dear boy,” he said. “I have enough for present necessities. If you think an automobile race is an easy thing to manage, try it. Every man who drives a racing-car has a coloratura soprano beaten to death for temperament. Then every racing-car has quirky spells; there’s the local committee to propitiate; the track to look after; and if that isn’t enough, there’s the promotion itself, the advertising. That’s my stunt–the advertising.”

“It’s a wonderful business, isn’t it?” asked Bettina. “To take a mile or so of dirt track and turn it into a sort of stage, with drama every minute and sometimes tragedy!”

“Wait a moment,” said Mr. Ellis; “I want to put that down. I’ll use it somewhere in the advertising.” He wrote by the light of a match, while we all sat rather stunned by both his personality and his alertness. “Everything’s grist that comes to my mill. I suppose you all remember when I completed the speedway at Indianapolis and had the Governor of Indiana lay a gold brick at the entrance? Great stunt that! But the best part of that story never reached the public.”

Bettina was leaning forward, all ears and thrills. “What was that?” she asked.

“I had the gold brick stolen that night–did it myself and carried the brick away in my pocket–only gold-plated, you know. Cost eight or nine dollars, all told, and brought a million dollars in advertising. But the papers were sore about some passes and wouldn’t use the story. Too bad we can’t use the brick here. Still have it kicking about somewhere.”

It was then, I think, that Jasper yawned loudly, apologized, said good-night and lounged away across the lawn. Bettina hardly knew he was going. She was bending forward, her chin in her palms, listening to Mr. Ellis tell about a driver in a motor race breaking his wrist cranking a car, and how he–Ellis–had jumped into the car and driven it to victory. Even Aggie was enthralled. It seemed as if, in the last hour, the great world of stress and keen wits and endeavor and mad speed had sat down on our door-step.

As Tish said when we were going up to bed, why shouldn’t Mr. Ellis brag? He had something to brag about.

IV

Although I felt quite sure that Tish had put up the prize money for Mr. Ellis, I could not be certain. And Tish’s attitude at that time did not invite inquiry. She took long rides daily with the Ellis man in his gray car, and I have reason to believe that their objective point was always the same–the race-track.

Mr. Ellis was the busiest man in Morris Valley. In the daytime he was superintending putting the track in condition, writing what he called “promotion stuff,” securing entries and forming the center of excited groups at the drug store and one or other of the two public garages. In the evenings he was generally to be found at Bettina’s feet.

Jasper did not come over any more. He sauntered past, evening after evening, very much white-flanneled and carrying a tennis racket. And once or twice he took out his old racing-car, and later shot by the house with a flutter of veils and a motor coat beside him.

Aggie was exceedingly sorry for him, and even went the length of having the cook bake a chocolate cake and put it on the window sill to cool. It had, however, no perceptible effect, except to draw from Mr. Ellis, who had been round at the garage looking at Jasper’s old racer, a remark that he was exceedingly fond of cake, and if he were urged–

That was, I believe, a week before the race. The big city papers had taken it up, according to Mr. Ellis, and entries were pouring in.