La Junta tribune., 1906-10-20
1T II E
.Autom attic
Road Agent
3, WILLIAM WALLACE COCK
By WILLIAM WALLACE COCK

LIE th- machlLe Na- nothing u0-e
harmful rEan ! motor c5vgbgy- AID
ghea the n-ask fen ray faith N ~
versatile friend Was shaken . Is
very foundations
That kIpt0n in q most sGiut4ry way
wzs hoist of his own pstard did much
TO rrsiore the status quo ante Of cur
cordial relations That myself was
Involved disastro1sly in his rescue
froHn a scheme of comprehensive law
Iessness Was of small moment. consid-
erins the b-neneent results Of the
aflr->afl rescue
Great geniuses. ] suppose. spin their
siirtering webs in the dark At any
rate khpron's ingenuity when at high
est pressure withdrew into some lair
where IL could be alone with its origi-
nator.
In the present Instance the lair was
the rear room of our adobe dwelling
in Mafsn nza.. y. n. From that rear
room came all day long and far into
the night a mellow -clink" OF hammer
on anvil. and against Its closely cur
tained windows struck sporadic CLEANS
OF q portable forge.
The while be worked on in mysteri-
Gus secrecy l shaved at the printers
trade 20 keep him In funds for mate
rial 80 great was my trust In his
ability that | handed over my wages
every Saturday Eight without question.
Whenever Knp,on showed himself he
was grimy with smoke and dust.
griiny, lDt coInpIsceni.
-Wfiisut'' lie remarked as we sat
OVER one Of our frugal meals, ''ihe
machine 1 am building Is going 10
prove a ten strike. Money! My dear
boy, We shall take in the coin hand
over sist Today Won are To give them
two wes.ss' notice at the printing Of
ice"
s.ise ysn ready TO ten me what the
unag is3- | inquired.
Not yet. In two weeks. however,
Il VIII give N. great pleasure 10 In
form yOu fully"
During the next fortnight klipton
surprised me by allowing me 10 retain
my wages. ON the night I severed my
connection with the Mntauzas Mercury
be took me by the hand and led me IN
To the room where he had been labor
ing for the last three mdrths.
Before me was a skeleton motor car
small. compact - little more than
wheels and platform, with the neces-
sary box u house the machinery. But
the car itself was only an Insignificant
part of my friends amazing machine.
Welded TO il and forming one with
the vehicle was a monstroslty Ia the
form Of a steel man: not a whole man,
merely the head. trunk and arms, built
on gigantic model-the half OF
magog.
This latter day centaur was a hide
Gus conception. Its vacuous face and
staring eyes sent uDcanny shivers
creeping through my nerves. and
turned away with n gasp.
In each hand the semiiigure clasped
a long barreled Colts revolver. The
steel arms were joinfed. and Klipton
was lifting them proudly and moving
them this way and that when turned
my back.
$50 that Is what have been putting
my wages into for the last ten weeksr'
! exclaimed, perhaps a trife bitterly.
| had caJole,i myself into the belief tha,
klipton had been solving the problem
OF aerial navigation and my disap-
polntment was keen.
''Kl!pton's Motor Cowboy" my friend
explained friumphantly, primarily
designed TO benefit the cattle industry
and incidentally Marcus Klipton and
his friend. William Quinn.
When charged with electricity, this
machine viii think, act and do every
thing but talk for a period varying
from twenty -four hours to a week. de-
pending upon the amount OF energy
used up by the car. .--sra--
But the revolversr' I cried.
-Ail cowboys have revolvers," he an
swered, as I thought. evasiveiy.
1t seems poorly designed to meet the
requirements of a cattle range ven
tured, mastering UP courage TO con
tinue my examination Of the odd con-
traption- W.
You don't understand these things.
William" said klipton calmly.
IF youid explain how q patent cow
boy Is going to make money for Us
hand over fist. I think I could under
stand that =
You'll have a practical demonstra-
ton Of that tomorrow" be returned.
Next morning Kiipfon shook me into
wakefulness and requested me to arise
and dress with as much dispatch az
possible WhiIe getting into my clotheA
stole a glance into the rear room.
The motor cowboy was gone. its de-
parture having been accomplished by
means OF q seven foot breach In the
adobe vail I swept Klipton with a
questioning glance
Il pushed it down to the power
plant said be. and filed II with eIec
tricity. Its now away on trial.
Il should Ike 10 see how Il stands