Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1895-09-12
A ROMANCE OF THE DAY.
s. -aA THEL, think Of
w> the step that you
IN 80 are about to take
~ say before you break
NcE . .H off this engage
e w ment and perhaps
V&y,~ ruin both of our
&&XtkESf l;~roe


George, it makes me very unhappy;
but never, never can marry a man
who rides a Buster"
D"And so you will let wheel come
between us. That shall never be,
Ethel; for sooner will give up all my
hopes of inheriting my uncle's estate,
which have valued for your sake only.
Yes, will give it up"
"And that must not be, George. Ii
you displease him you not only throw
to the winds large fortune, but you
are left penniless. Then what would
we live on? No; there is no alterna-
tive. All is over between u.s."
"Ethel, think. Here is old Uncle
Reuben, with one foot in the grave, a
devotee of the Buster wheel, and l
must ride Buster. He says that no
nephew of his shall risk his life and
limb on a Whizzer And you-you
will not ride with me unless l use a
Whizzer." ..
Ethel Wheeler was silent. At length
she replied: George, l will never
marry man who rides anything but
a Whizzer. No person of sense would
ride any other machine. And as to
that foolish old Mr.. Tires, he has no
right to insist that you ride a horrid
Buster. Come, George, try and"
Van Spoke shook his head and gazed
out over the sunlit sound. There was
silence, save for the humming of the
bees in the vines that shaded the broad
veranda.
He arose to his feet, and looking
earnestly at the fair girl who was re-
clining among the cushions of the
great chair, he said, slowly: ETHEL
Wheeling, you have let a machine, a
mere machine, come between us. For
tune has decreed that l must ride a
buster. All bonds between us are
broken. May you forget it; but
Il"
He turned away and strobe rapidly
toward the end of the veranda, where
he had left his bicycle.
The girl buried her face among the
cushions and groaned: II will never,
never use any wheel but Whizzer."
For moment she wept; then she re-
covered herself and would have called
after him but he was far out of hear
ing, spinning down the driveway out
of the park.
As Van Spoke pedaled rapidly along
the smooth road that skirted the
sound, his heart seemed to him to be
resting almost on the saddle of his
wheel, SO heavy was it. His, he felt,
was hard fate, for he loved Ethel
Wheeling with his whole soul, and
now it was all over between them.
She would not marry another for some
years at least. He was confident that
1t would be long time before she re-
covered from the effects of their sep
Rration.
Then his uncle could not last much
longer. If she would only wait for
him
He heard a pling-pling and looked
up. Coming swiftly toward him was
another wheel, the rider of which
had his chin almost resting on the
handle bar as he forced his machine
along. Van Spoke caught sight of his
that his wheel wiggled violently ant
then threw him headlong on the grassy
bank at the roadside. 100 '..
Charley Spockett," he groaned
land on brand-new Whizzer. Oh
Ethel! Ethel. heartless woman!" W.
He rose to his knees and gazed dowr
the road just in time to see his riva
swing round turn into the lane tha
led to Wheeling's place. Aching il
every joint, in heart and in mind
cursing himself and Sproclett and hi
venerable uncle, he clambered one,
more onto his machine and rode ava!
toward home. ,aaaE E HgaW vn ans
YEARLY he worked up the hill on tn
brow of which stood the Tires house
A groom was just leading away hi
uncle's bicycle as he reached the door
way. He threw himself from, his ma
chine, turned it over to the man an
went in search of his patron. FL
found him seated in cool corner O
the porch putting vigorously and fan
ming himself %
Reuben Tires was a handsome oil
nHa $3.50