Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1889-08-30

Then followed a series of cries that made
our ears tingle.
''Who owns em?' "Head 'em off from the
hall, or we'll be out clock' "Who said it
breatheds" SIS it taggeda' ''They use it to
haul brickl"
"Hurry, please" cried a girlish voice.
Don't let my dog see you, or he'll have fits
again"
That settled it. With faces the color of an
auctioneer's flag, we turned down side street
and made direct for the academy.
All thoughts of vanity had fed, leaving in
their stead modification.
Davis met us at the porch with genuine
stare of establishment
''Hellol" he cried "What have we here
tandema WE'LL now, amt that just jollys"
We looked at each other, but neither could
see anything amusing. Evidently, Davis had
never rode tandem through our town.
They're fine for coasting,' he explained
''Wouldn't it be great scheme to try it on
Five Mile hill tomorrow It's Saturday,
you know"
"Just the thing" cried, enthusiastically.
"What do you say, Mels"
'Same thing"
Therefore, all present being unanimous on
the subject, it was agreed that we should
push the tandem up five miles of steady grade
for the pleasure of coasting down.
l turned out bright and early next morn
ing, to find Mel excitedly walking round and
round the tandem on the lawn.
81 say, Ben there's something the matter
with this machine" he cried, excitedly, as
came up.
"What is it!'
",That's it," was the rueful reply. "I've
looked at it for ten minutes, and can't see
what it is though there's something wrong"
l looked at it, too, with the same result
What could it bes Everything looked all
right, yet there was an indescribable sensa-
ton that something was wrong.
Coming to the conclusion that we must be
aboring under hallucination, we mounted
and rode slowly out Of the grounds.
How invigorating it was to skim along the
roads, packed as hard as flint lined with Or
chards and hedges, with occasional long, shall
low ruts that gave you wavy, springy
motion
Two miles Of these roads, and then we
reached the foot of Five Mile hill
A railroad curves around the left side,
going up, crosses the road, and strikes off tc
the right. For two hundred yards above
this, the road has its steepest grade Here we
found it necessary to dismount and push the
machine.
A quarter of mile farther we came to
what is called the "Hollow"-a kind of ravine,
a couple of hundred feet broad, with slanting
banks fourteen feet high.
There are places on Five Mile hill that
comparatively speaking, are very near level
On these we would gather strength for an
other exertion, and then, toiling, painting, we
would creep slowly up
There were bus few turns, broad and far
between.
Just two hours and thirty-five minutes
after leaving the academy we stopped on the
crest of Five Mile hill, the perspiration
streaming down our dusty faces, our hands
blistered and cramped with holding the ham
dies, our feet nearly paralyzed with the
strain.
But in spite of the above drawbacks, we
managed to make a victorious assault on an
apple orchard.
Seated on our tandem at one side of the
road, we amused ourselves by placing the
fruit where it would do the most good, re-
counting the trip to find what pleasure we
had derived from it-and found none at all
and deciding whether to return or make an
other assault.
We decided on the former Pushing the
machine into the middle of the road, mount
ed. Mel held driver in one hand to prevent
its starting, bis watch in the other to time our
downward journey.
"Ready!"
And receiving an affirmative reply, he
sprang into his saddle
Two or three turns ON the pedals to give us
start, and with feet pressed firmly on the
rubber foot rests hands clasping the vi
brating handle bars, we prepared for a quick
run.
1t was quicker than we anticipated. Down
the road we went at a fast increasing speed
When we reached what l considered q three
minute gait thought it about time to stop
the increase.
My fingers closed over the brake lever; it
came in nearly to the handle bar, but no
slackening in the speed was perceptible
"One isn't enough" thought swat till
Mel puts his on"
The next moment Mel leaned forward and
shouted for me to put the brake on. What
could that meant l looked back and saw
his fingers were clasped so tightly around
both bar and lever that they were white
As if by instinct, we both looked down at
the axle where the band brake ran on
small, smooth wheel 1t was gone!
The rods were neatly bolted in the holes
made for the band, where all the power in
the universe exerted on the brake levers could
never affect the speed.
saw it all in an instant-one of Davis
practical Jokes He had removed it. no
doubt, to cause us an exciting hunt for the
missing article.
That was what had caused our uneasiness
in the morning. yet we had been unable to
determine what it was.
Oh, that we had investigated What would
be the results
There was nothing to stop us from going
at that headlong speed clear to the bottom
five miles away-unless, of course, we were
thrown off at the hollow Or fell off at once
Trees, stumps and rocks flew past with
lightning like rapidity. A straight stretch
of road we covered with the speed of a pas
senger train.
A long curve, that, in spita Of the ample
space, caused us to run so near the outer
edge and ditch that my heart rose into my
mouth.
Then came a clark shadow in the road, q
warning cry from Mel, and we described an
arc over the top bank, to land with stunning
force in the hollow. A great sweep, quick
rise, and we flew high up, to land with SINH
lar force in the road again.
In that one second in the air l glanced off
to the left, and Neutrality-suspicious. long
freight train coming swiftly toward the cross
ing. Would it cross before we did, or would
We
Two long and two short whistles for the
crossing. l shuddered. To go down that
last slope, directly into that line of flying
cars, meant instant death.
There was no turning aside No; we
would either have to beat the train over
the crossing or hold back and let it pass us
the former one chance in hundred, the
latter an impossibility.
As we started down that last slope we
caught sight of the powerful locomotive, its
connecting rods flying like high sped dynanle
engine, its solid mass trembling with every
defect in the rails, and coming toward us
with speed that threatened to cross before
we could.
Oh, how slow the tandem seemed to move!
Yet in reality, it was flying along at in
creased, rather than diminished speed.
A short sharp, ear splitting whistle, call
ing for "brakes," denoted that the engineer
want ed to sion