The Virginia enterprise., 1906-10-19
and then crashed to the ground like an
overturned TOW horse

and then crashed to the ground like an
overturned toy horse.
Hawkins shot off into space, and at
the moment didn't care greatly where
he landed. I was vaguely conscious
that he collided head-on with the row
of milk-cans, bu1 my main anxiety was
to shut OH my power, set the brake.
point the auto into the ditch and i1mn.
And l did it all in about one Sec
ond.
After the jump, my recollection
grows hazy. I know that one of my
feet landed in an open milk-can, and
that grabbed wildly at several others.
Then the cans and toppled headlong
over the embankment and went down,
down, down, while, fainter and fainter,
I could hear something like:
whoa! Whoa! Col darn ye! Ow!
Stop that boss! Bang! Rattle! Rattle!
Bang! Whoa! Stop, can't ye?'
Then peculiarly unyielding milk
| can landed on my head and l seemed
to float away.
I have reason to believe that | sat
UP about two minutes later. The crash
was over and peace had settled once
more upon the face of nature.
From far away came the sound Of
galloping hoofs, belonging, no doubt,
to some of the horses who had partici-
pated in the late excitement.
The embankment was strewn with
men and milk-cans, chiefly the latter.
NO one seemed to be wholly dead, al
though one or two looked pretty
near it.
"A few feet away, Burkett, the consta-
bic, was having convulsion in his
vain endeavor to extricate his Uranium
from milk-can. The sounds that is
sued from that can made me blush.
jackson was sitting up and staring
duly at the river, while DR.. Brother
ton, with his frock-coat split to the
collar, was fishing fragments of his
medicine case out of another can.
Others of the erstwhile procession
were distributed about the embank-
ment in various conditions, but, as l
have said, nobody seemed to have
parted company with the vital spark
Hawkins alone was invisible, and as
l struggled to my feet this fact puzzled
me considerably
A pile of milk-cans balanced on the
rivers edge, and on the chance Of find
ing the inventors remains, tipped
them into the stream. Underneath.
stretched on the cold, unsympathetic
ground, his feet dabbling idly in the
water, his clothes in a hundred shreds,
a great lump on his brow, was Haw-
knis, stunned and bleeding!
AS I turned to summon Brotherton,
Hawkins opened his eyes.
| / am not one to cherish a grudge I
felt that Hawkins Invention had been
its own terrible punishment. So
helped hm to his feet as gently as pos
| sible, and waited for apologize utter
ances.
You see, Griggs," began Hawkins,
uncertainly-"you see, the-the ratchet
on the big wheel-stuck. I'll put
new-a new ratchet there, and oil
lots of oil-on the-the-''
| AAo] . SAAOuSA, 41o"h1 1 SdlO.
/ Come home"
Yes, but don't you see," he groaned,
holding fast to his battered Skull as
helped him back to the road, IF I get
that one little point perfected-it-it
will revol-"
LET it!' snapped. "Sit here until
l see what's left of my automobile"
Ten minutes later, Patrick having
appeared to take charge of Maud s.,
Hawkins and I were making our
homeward way in the runabout, which
had mercifully been spared.
something in my face must have for
bidden conversation, for Hawkins
wrapped the soiled fragments of his
ra1ment about him in offended dignity
and was silent on the subject of horse
brake.
Nor have l ever heard of the thing
since. Possibly Mrs. Hawkins sue
ceeded in demonstrating the fallacy of
the whole horse-brake theory; in fact,
from the expression on her face when
we reached the house, am inclined to
think that she did.
Mrs. Hawkins can be strong minded
on occasion, and her tongue is in no
way inadequate to the needs of her
mind
At any rate, friend of mine in the
patent Office, whom 1 asked about the
matter some time ago, tells me that the
Hawkins Horse-brake has never been
patented, so that presume the inven-
ton is in it's grave. AS public-spirit-
ed citizen, venture to add that this is
a blessing.
Copyright, 1906, by w. G. Chapman.
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