There was a crush of humanity as nudists and thugs alike struggled to climb into the palpitating bus. "Snap into it!" the driver barked. "They're comin' in droves, those cops, and they're all sore as hell!" * * * * * Marc and Toffee stumbled to the rear of the bus and dropped into adjoining seats. "At least we've got a running start," Toffee said breathlessly. "Toward what, though?" Marc asked dismally. "The law thinks I'm an undesirable and my wife thinks I'm a homicidal maniac. Have I thanked you sufficiently for your wonderful help in this affair?" "At least I tried," Toffee said. "You might show a little gratitude for that." But Marc wasn't listening. He was gaping at the others as they climbed aboard and fell into their seats up ahead. "My gosh!" he breathed. "What is it?" Toffee asked. "In all this excitement--and with all those nudists around--I didn't notice." "Notice what?" "The elixir is wearing off. Now, everybody's in their underwear! Except the nudists, of course." "Well, at least," Toffee sighed, "you can keep your eyes open now." "I'm not so sure," Marc said. "You should see Hotstuff's underwear--begonias on a field of purple." "No!" Toffee said delightedly. "I suppose even he has his poetic side." The conversation stopped short as the bus leaped ahead, throwing the passengers back in their seats. "We'll try to circle around them!" the driver called out. "Hang on!" There was a crash as the bus lunged back into the foliage. Branches lashed frenetically at the windows and skittered back into the distance. There was a communal scream as a large oak loomed before the windshield, but the driver, pulling frantically at the wheel, managed to send the bus swerving around it. Presently, the leaping, bucking vehicle fought its way clear of the wilds and emerged onto the green expanse of the lawns. It all happened too quickly for any of the participants to have a very clear view of exactly what happened. One thing, though, was woefully evident; the driver had gotten mixed up in his directions. As they quitted the undergrowth, they suddenly found themselves in a head-on rush toward the charging ranks of the law. All at once the landscape was fairly littered with scrambling, dissembling cops. A siren shrieked with mechanical outrage. "Give it the gas!" the passengers yelled. "Give it hell!" The driver reacted automatically and pressed his foot down on the gas with everything he had. The bus shot ahead, wildly out of control, and headed into a zig-zag course toward the house. In the path there suddenly loomed a pair of distracted figures who, at the sound of the churning bus, looked back and instantly froze in their tracks. "Julie!" Marc screamed, leaping from his seat and fighting his way to a position beside the driver. "Julie! Run!" Outside, Julie merely covered her face with her hands. "Oh, Lord!" she wailed. "Now he's after us with a bus!"