Tony Walker

It was the sound of a car.

If it had gone straight by, I probably shouldn't have noticed it at all.

Only it did go straight by.

It seemed to stop farther up the road before it got to the house.

Even that didn't make much impression.

After all, cars do stop.

It must have been five or ten minutes before it was borne in on me that it hadn't gone on again.

So I got up and looked out of the window.

It had left off snowing, and there was a glare through the gate that showed that there were headlamps somewhere, just out of sight.

I thought I might as well stroll out and investigate.

I found a fair-sized limousine pulled up in the middle of the road about twenty yards short of my gate.

The light was rather blinding, but when I got close to it I found a girl with the bonnet open, tinkering with the engine.

quite an attractive young female from what one could see.

But she was so muffled up in furs that it was rather hard to tell.

I said, um, good evening.

Anything I can do?

She said she didn't know what was the matter.

The engine had just stopped and wouldn't start again.

And it had.

It wouldn't even turn either with the self-starter or the handle.