The Scarlet Car

A planned drive to the Harvard and Yale football game gives Billy Winthrop a welcome chance to spend the day with Beatrice Forbes, who is engaged to Ernest Peabody. Departing from her home opposite Central Park, the party joins a stream of cars flying college colors. Peabody's objections make the outing awkward before it begins, while repeated tire failures and repairs threaten to keep the travelers from reaching New Haven in time.

Richard Harding Davis mixes romantic rivalry with the comedy and uncertainty of early automobile travel in The Scarlet Car. Sam Forbes answers delays with impatient jokes, and Beatrice turns a roadside repair into an opportunity for a photograph. Later, a watchman confronts her and a young man on a private estate, bringing suspicion and danger into the adventure. The lively dialogue and changing situations give readers a glimpse of motoring as both a social pleasure and a source of unexpected trouble.