The Chosen Trio, it will be understood, was the name by which Messrs. Pickton, Gaines and Perth had elected to style themselves. "Chosen to be hanged, if anything!" Paul Jones had ungraciously said; but that is neither here nor there. The three were in no immediate danger of meeting such a fate, and they _were_ capable of making themselves most extremely disagreeable, without appearing to trespass beyond their lawful rights. Where one automobile was allowed, for instance, another might follow; and the public roads everywhere were built no more for one individual than for another. "Well, I was only going to say, if you'll give me the chance, that I know the four of 'em are going on a trip and what's more I know just about where," put in Fred Perth, as Soapy concluded. "They've hired Jim Underhill to attend to a lot of the work they had engaged to do and they told him he'd have to begin next week sometime. They wouldn't tell Jim where they were going. Just said, 'Ask me no questions an' I'll tell you no lies,' when he put it straight at 'em to know what for a trip was scheduled." "Next week, eh?" Pickton ejaculated. "_We're_ ready _now_. All we've got to do is watch their old boat and when they begin to pack up it will be ditto here. Nothing much to that, eh?" "Everything's fixed for me to leave any time," said Perth, thinking with satisfaction how, after much difficulty, he had obtained permission to accompany Gaines and Pickton on a proposed motoring expedition. "Huh! I'll just _go_," spoke Soapy in that braggadocio way so common to his kind. "Ought to get some new stuff in the touring outfit, I suppose," put in Pick, as if to himself, but really fearful that at the last moment, due to Gaines' well-known careless ways, the car would be found without one item of spare equipment. "By George! That's right! Run down to the Park Garage, Freddy. We'll load up some stuff and I'll have 'em put it in dad's next month's bill. We'll be away by that time." These instructions from Soapy, always willing to make purchases if they were to be charged, and the more so if he saw at hand a way to defer for a time an interview with his father in regard to them, changed the course of the Roadster away from the residence district of the city to the business center. As the car passed the down-town entrance to the park, the machine of the Auto Boys came up behind and, gliding past, halted before the door of the automobile establishment toward which the Chosen Trio had journeyed. The Roadster drew up beside the Thirty. "So you fellows are going to let daylight into some more mysteries, eh?" said Pick, in a tone of banter to the occupants of the other machine. "Are we?" asked Billy Worth, with a smile. "But you needn't tear yourselves away on that account. We haven't gone yet," Dave MacLester added as Soapy said, "Drive on!"