In all her life she never had been thus spoken to.

For a second she clenched her fist, as though to strike down this sodden brute there in the seat before her--a feat she would have been quite capable of.

But second thought convinced her of the peril of such an act.

Ahead of them a long down-grade stretched away, away, to a turn half-hidden under the arching greenery.
As the car struck this slope, it leaped into ever greater speed; and now, under the erratic guidance of the lolling wretch at the wheel, it began to sway in long, unsteady curves, first toward one ditch, then the other.
Another woman would have screamed; might even have tried to jump out.
But Kate was not of the hysteric sort.

More practical, she.
"I've got to climb over into the front seat," she realized in a flash, "and shut off the current--cut the power off--stop the car!" On the instant, she acted.