Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-10-12
The sail dropped and blew out, and T

| l. tho ohi alOpPCI anu Dl6W Oub, uuu l
lpulled taut the sheet.
The effect was instantaneous. II
was as if an additional and violent i'm.
pulse had been applied to the ma.
chine, for it started off with O bound
at new rate of speed. The strong
wind filled the canvas like balloon
till the bamboo mast bent with the
strain. Ethel said nothing and hung
on like heroine, while I had much
difficulty in keeping my hold ON the
pedals, being unprovided with toe
clips. At last 1 was compelled to put
my feet upon the forks and devote all
my energy to the task of steering.
The speed increased every moment.
Once we struck u stone and seemed
to bound six feet before touch.
ing the road again, but I recovered
my balance after q frenzied wob-
BILE. The sail obstructed my view of
the road ahead, the weight on the
front forks increased the difficulty of
accurate steering, and as the high
speed made the least movement of the
handles produce most surprising
evolution, it was no easy matter to
keep straight course.
The roar of the sail drowned the
noise of the pursuing tornado. and I
dared not turn my head. I faucied,
however, that we were gaining; it
seemed impossible that even whirl-
wind could travel at greater speed
than our own headlong rush. Now
and then I heard crash as some
! 1, z Il II I \. I i
but deadened as these sounds were,
it was impossible to judge of their
distance.
On sudden, however, split
shingle dropped beside my wheel and
startled me. At all risks L craned my
neck about and looked back. The
sight saw was terrifying. The black
monster seer ed to be towering right
above my shoulders, though in reality
it must have been several hundred feet
in the rear. had glimpse of boards
and all sorts of rubbish whirling high
in air, along with some futtering
birds carried resistlessly round and
round by the current. The roar OF
the tornado was obvious enough now
that my head was turned toward it.
The strong wind that ran Immediately
before the storm protected Us in &C.
celebrating our speed, and I suppose
this is the reason why we had not
been sooner overtaken. But the
"twister" was closing in fast, and this
could not avail us long.
The next crossroads were not far
away, and all depended on being able
to reach them. I could not improve
matters by pedaling; to put my feet
upon the whizzing pedals would only
have hindered their revolution. ]
slackened the sheets little and
clutched the handles desperately-all
L could do. The 1.-the mast creaked; !;
so did the boom. The wind grew
more violent, but now seemed mingled
with so many cross-currents that the
sail tapped and we began to lose
speed. The crossroads were not
more than quarter of mile distant.
1t would have been impossible to
turn the corner at so high speed, so ]
allowed the dangerous slackening to
go on. We still seemed to fly like
flash of light But the tornado was
fearfully close and could no longer be
kept at arms length. L saw the dust
of my wheels sucked into the eddy
and my hat suddenly went whirling
after it.
The turning point was very near
now, and 1 began to hope that we
might yet make it. Whiz! whirrl
we went, but could almost feel the
grip of the whirlwind upon my hair.
At lastl The corner was reached; we
rounded it with terrific swing and
dashed down the side-road-across
the route of the sweeping destruction.
But to lose at tho very moment of
victory. Boards and shingles began
to rain around us. A stick struck
me on the head and discon.
certed me so that we struck
stone and wobbled. At that crisis a
large piece of plank dropped with a
tremendous thump upon the front
Wheel,
The shock was too violent to be re.
sisted. 1 executed wild plunge
sideways from the saddle, alighting
on my face in a bed of thistles. Ethel
and the bicycle tumbled together be-
side me, and at that moment the
hurricane arrived with q roar like an
express train and gathered us in. I
have confused recollection of being
mixed up with the wheel, of endeavor-
ing to sGve Ethel of being banged
about and whirled into the air, and
then lost consciousness.
r. was brought to myself by cold
rain falling in my face. 1 awoke in
a dazed state and discovered myself
lying on my back in a muddy field,
surrounded by all sorts of agricultural
wreckage. got up stifly. feeling as
if every bone in my body were broken,
but with the exception of bleeding
cut on my head no particular damage
seemed to have been incurred, after
all. The cyclone had passed on, and
[ could see it gyrating and swirling
in the distance, but it already seemed
to be growing smaller and less violent.
chill 1ri1pla pf win xyoa 70 llip6r in