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Show The Blue ' Limousine By II. LOUIS RAYBOLD (McClure Syndicate WN'U Service.) A X7HEN the Carltons pulled into ' the New Brunswick touring camp their first thought was of the blue hmousine. Had it arrived ahead of them? A survey of the small, grassy park set on the hilltop revealed no sign of it among the few cars scattered about. Not that there was any hope to be gotten out of that It had happened before that they had gone to bed assured that they had eluded their camp follower only to find in the morning it had arrived sometime during the nignt. "But if they were really pursuing us, mother," had insisted Julie Carlton, Carl-ton, "they would make some effort to become acquainted. But they don't. They keep by themselves." The trouble was that ever since Mrs. Carlton had realized that her little girl was growing into an extremely ex-tremely pretty woman she had suffered suf-fered from the complex that her daughter would be the natural prey of all members of the other sex. And there had been certain circumstances circum-stances that almost jmtified her fears. Were they not, at this present moment, taking a trip to cure Julie of an absurd infatuation Mr the "boy next door" that frequent bete noir of fond mothers? Of course, Julie's father absolutely absolute-ly scouted the idea that any car had deliberately pursued them from Springfield through the White mountains, moun-tains, up the Maine coast, and across the border. And now he pointed out the probability prob-ability of their having turned off on the road that led to Fredericton. "They've just been taking a trunk route like the rest of us," he explained, ex-plained, hammering a tent stake into the ground. "Haven't seen them' all day, have we? Well " "Daddy!" Julie grabbed her father's fa-ther's arm. "There it is now the blue limousine!" In a cloud of dust from the gravel road arrived the huge car of ancient vintage for all its recent coat of azure paint. Hardly had it stopped, before the long-legged youth whose appearance had grown so familiar stepped out, cast his glance toward a square of level ground farthest from the Carlton car, and indicated the spot to his father in the driver's seat with a gesture. "Well," said Mr. Carlton, very firmly, "these tourist camps are free to all and as I've done nothing to put any one on my trail, they're welcome wel-come to track me to Hudson Bay if I go that far. And, for anything I've seen to the contrary, that young man doesn't even know our Julie exists!" The next few days, however, could but show if there was actual intention inten-tion behind all this. If the blue limousine party timed their departure depar-ture with that of the Carltons, who were remaining over for several days to take in side trips to Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward island, there would be little doubt that they, the Carltons, were the object of an inexplicable pursuit. On the second night, the blue limousine was still there, but the Carltons, spending two days in Amherst, Am-herst, were unaware of the fact. The third night the car was gone but not all of the equipment. On the following morning, Mr. Carlton, rising early for a speedy getaway, saw the long-legged young man come out of his tent, look around a bit, then start pitching out the duffle bags. Yet it is doubtful if he would have done what he did, had not he observed, ob-served, half an hour later, his daughter Julie sauntering over from the pump in the young man's company. com-pany. Had there really been other opportunities for them to meet? Throwing down the tent pole he was disjointing, he strode over to the blue limousine and addressed the young man's father. "Sort of funny how you people are trailing us," he said, abruptly. The other man looked sheepish, then grinned. With a cautious glance in the direction of his wife's tent, he came over to Carlton and whispered in his ear. "Say, I'm glad of a chance to tell you all about it. It was my wife's idea. We've been doing this motor camping business for fifteen years been everywhere. Got so there was no kick out of it, going the same old' places. So Abby suggested we get a thrill by not knowing where we would land up. Last we took was last summer and we took every third concrete road, but this summer sum-mer she says, 'Let's follow the first camping party we see after pulling out of the Athol camp.' And it was you. We haven't meant to be a nuisance. My son is just getting over an illness and his fiancee is off teaching in a girl's camp, so we brought him along. He's kind of disgusted with his mother's idea, but you sure have taken us into a fine country!" When Julie's father told her, she sniffed. "That nice young man told me all about it this morning," she said. "And, by the way, Dad, Niles wrote me that if I don't come home pretty soon to get the ring he bought me, he'll drive up here after me!" Mr. Carlton threw up his hands. "Never" he cried. "Being chased by a pre-war limousine is bad enough, but that rattle trap flivver of Niles' nothing doing. We start for home tomorrow!" |