Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1906-09-12
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
THE HORSE BRAKE.
By EDGAR FRANKLIN

JnlnS more RAPID than the walk she
had used for so many years, and
feared that at her advanced age the
excitement might prove injurious.
But Maud broke into such a sedate
canter when Hawkins had thumped
her ribs few times with his heels, and
her kindly old face seemed to wear
such gentle expression as she ap-
preached, that l breathed easier.
Now, Griggs!" cried Hawkins, COM
ing abreast. 'Watch-now!"
He thrust one hand behind, grasped
the lever, and gave it tug. The little
rods remained in the air.
A puzzled expression fitted over
Hawkins face, and as he cantered by
| he appeared to tug trifie harder.
This time something happened
/ heard whir like the echo of a
sawmill, and saw several yards of steel
spring shoot out of the inwards of the
machine. l heard sort of frantic
Shrek from Maud S. l saw sudden
cloud of pebbles and dust in the road,
such as l should imagine would be
kicked up by an exploding shetland
that was ALL
Hawkins, Maud, and the Internal
machine were making for the county
town with none of the grace, but near
ly all the speed, of a shooting star.
For few seconds l stood daZed.
Then it occurred to me that Haw-
kins' wife would later wish to know
what his dying words had been, and l
| int R1,;r
sent it about in its own length, almost
jumped the hedge, and thus started
upon race whose memory will haunt
me when greater things have faded
into the forgotten past.
My runabout, while hardly a racer
is supposed to have some pretty speedy
machinery stored away in it, but the
engine had big undertaking in try
ing to overhaul that old mare
1t was painfully apparent that some
thing righteous indignation
at being the victim of one of Hawkins
experiments-had 'oused a latent devil
within Maud S. Ter heels were vi
ciously threshing up the dirt at the
foot of the hill before l began my
blOod-curdling Goa st at the top.
How under the sun anything could
go faster than did that automobile is
beyond my conception; yet when
reached the level ground again ant
breathed a little rrayer of thanks thai
an all-wise Providence had spared my
life on the hill, Hawkins seemed still
to have the same lead
That he was travelling like a hurri
cane was evidenced by the wake Of
fear maddened chickens and barking
dogs that were just recovering theil
senses when 1 came upon them.
l put my lever to the last notch.
Heavens, how that auto went! L
rocked from one side of the road tt
the other. 1t bounded over grea
stones and tried to veer into bitches
with the express purpose of hurting
me to destruction.
1t snorted and pulled and ratified ant
skidded; but above all, it went!
There is no use attempting a record
of my impressions during that frs
half-mile-in fact, 1 am not aware thai
had any. But after a time l drew
nearer to Hawkins, and at last came
within 80 feet of the galloping Maud
Hawkins face was white and set, he
, bounced painfully up and down, risk
ing his neck at every bounce, but one
hand kept death-like grip on the
lever of the horse brake.
Jump" L screamed. Throw your
] self Off"
n Hawkins regarded me with much the
expression the early Christians must
have worn when conducted into the
arena.
NO" he shouted. "It's"-bump-"it
all right. It'll'-bump-"work in q
minute"
mo, it won't. Jump, for Heaven:
sake, jump"
l think that Hawkins had framed 3
reply, but just then particularly hare
bump appeared to knock the breath
out of his body. He took a better
grip on the bride and said no more.
l hardly knew what to do. Ever,
minute brought us nearer to the town
where traffic is rather heavy all day.
Up to now we had had a clear track
but in another five minutes collision
would be almost as inevitable as the
sunset.
: endeavored to recall the First Aid
to the Injured treatment for fractured
, skulls and broken backs, and thanked
goodness that there would be only one
r auto to complete the mangling o.
5 Hawkins remains, should they droI
into the road after the smash.
5 Would there? 1 glanced backward
/ and gasped. Others had joined tn,
pursuit, and 1 was merely the van
/ guard of procession.
Twenty feet to the rear doomed tn,
black muzzle of Enos Jackson's trotter
i with Jackson in his little road-cart