A snort and then a low snore was the driver's response. Rip van Winkle was asleep.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Sabrina shouted.
"Wake up!" Daphne yelled. "We have to go kill a monster."
Still there was nothing.
Each girl grabbed an ear and shouted as loudly as they could into it, but still Mr. van Winkle slumbered peacefully.
"We have to use the horn," Daphne said. "That's what woke him up the last time."
Sabrina leaped out of the car, opened the driver's door, and pushed down hard on the horn. There was a loud, gassy sound and a weak, fading honk followed by a clunk. Sabrina got down on her hands and knees. Underneath the car was a small, dangling mechanical device. She guessed it was the horn.
"It's broken!" she cried. "Everything on this car is broken!"
"What do we do? We have to get to the diner!"
Sabrina thought for a second and a crazy idea leaped into her head. She'd seen people drive cars. There were people in New York City who drove cabs who were nearly blind. How hard could it be?
"Get up in the front seat. I need your help," Sabrina said. "You have a funny look on your face," Daphne said as she got out of the car.
"Help me push him over," Sabrina said. "We're driving."
"Nuh-uh! That's crazy talk!"
"It's the only choice we have," Sabrina said. "Don't worry. I've been watching how it works."
Elvis let out a whine from the backseat.
"Daphne, we have to do this!" she continued.
The little girl surrendered and together they pushed the old man to the passenger side of the cab.
"I need you to handle the pedals," Sabrina said. "My legs can't reach."
Daphne reluctantly crawled into the space beneath the dashboard.
"The one on the right is the gas and the other one is the brake," Sabrina explained.
"Crazy talk!"
Daphne said, angrily.
Sabrina climbed into the driver's seat, adjusted the mirrors, and closed the door. She pulled the seatbelt over her shoulder and locked it into place. Then she took a deep breath and turned the key. The car roared to life.
"What do I do?" Daphne asked.
"Push on the gas," Sabrina said as she pulled the car's gearshift down into drive. The wheels squealed and the car lurched forward.
"Brake! Brake! Brake!"
she shouted but the car had already collided with the front porch. The mechanical Santa Claus crashed down from the roof onto the hood of the car. It's robotic "Ho! Ho! Ho!"s slowed and slurred until sparks shot out of Santa's ears and smoke billowed out from under his red cap.
"Aww, man. We are so getting coal for Christmas," Daphne said as she peeked over the dashboard at the mess.
"OK," Sabrina said, trying to relax. She looked down at the gearshift and realized she needed to put the taxi into reverse if she wanted to back out of the driveway. She pulled on the stick and the car rolled backward. When they reached the street, Sabrina turned the steering wheel and awkwardly guided the car onto the road. Then she put the car back into drive.
"Give it some gas," Sabrina said as they puttered along at five miles an hour.
"No!" Daphne said.
"It will take us a week to get there at this rate," Sabrina cried.
Daphne scowled and pushed hard on the gas. The car leaped forward and tore off down the road. Sabrina did her best to keep the old taxi on the pavement but it wasn't easy. The steering wheel had a significant pull to the right and the car kept veering into people's yards.
"There's a red light coming," Sabrina said.
Daphne pushed hard on the brake and the car stopped abruptly. Elvis rolled off the backseat and onto the floor.
This went on for several miles, with the girls passing only a few curious drivers who wisely steered their cars far away from the jalopy. It looked to Sabrina as if they were going to make it to the diner without too much damage, until they made a turn into Ferryport Landing's business district. She had always thought of the town as a slow, dull place. There was not a lot of traffic, but there were plenty of parked cars and with Sabrina's lack of experience, she slammed into several of them. Car alarms blasted, causing her to instinctively turn the car away from them only to find she was now in the oncoming traffic lane, scraping against the cars on the other side. The sound of screeching metal made her cringe.
Finally, they arrived at the Blue Plate Special and pulled into the parking lot of the diner. The girls hopped out and sprinted inside with Elvis in tow. The little bell rang roughly when they came through the door, causing a few customers to turn from their coffees and newspapers to see what all the commotion was about.