Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-14

was long day to wait, if we won through
serious 1nishap, we should save day; for t
no train to Granada until morning, and Die
keen on the adventure, for the adventure 5
| was for another reason.
After all, we reminded each other, it was
Of only hundred and twenty miles With
to interfere, the Gloria ought to fly over the
in four hours and what if everyone did tt
courage us? We had experienced that
sort of thing in Blarrltz, and the dangers
had resolved themselves into chimeras.
Nothing in Spain was so troublesome
nowadays as the busybodies would have
one believe-nOt even the beggars. To
think, if we had known at erez that
Granada was the lodestar, we could have
reached Ronda in a run of four hours day
before yesterday But it was useless to
repine, and fate had given us Ronda
By the time we had passed through the
struggling village of Campillos the moon
was up, a great white, incandescent globe
of light, SO brilliant that instead of drain
ing color from rock and grass and
flower it gave new and almost super
natural values to all. Antiquera, on its
wild crags, was ragged black hole in the
silver sky, until we shot into the town
under the dominating castle of crimson
memories A sharp turn to the left
swept us out of the place, and so good
was the road that Dick and | began to
laugh at the gloomy representations
which thus far had not been fulfilled
But soon came chaos of wild noun
tains, deep chasms, and grim steppes,
solitary, unpeopled, forbidding under the
moon If we broke an axle here, with
leagues to walk to the nearest farm, there
was no hope of Granada tomorrow. And
now the road was equally we'll fitted for
breaking axles, necks, and hearts. 1t was
made of rock in petrifed waves, among
which the Gloria tioundered and jumped
as Dick had expected her to do when
she crossed the Spanish border long ago.
Every part of her shivered as though she
was a horse in the bull ring, and pitied
her as if she had nerve in every spring
and chain.
This is no road; it's a nightmare"
groaned Dick But if it was, it was nightma
ran with us, glaring, showing frightful fangs
after mile of horror. uSt as the steep 81
descent offered a softer cushion for the
tires, and hope stirred within us, we broke i
a region as imagination pictures in the S
Lisbon after the great earthquake. Gul
vertical riffs scored the highway, gaping to
the Gloria or at least bite off a wheel
earthly lip of a cleft would crumble and fall
driving wheels skinned along the edge; NJ
with all the nerve and nicely | might, tt
would rock as she hung half over gully.
l coaxed her down the hill, and, driving out
labyrinth of crevasses, l breathed sigh of
But the next instant had only time to ia
brakes to save the car from vaulting into
river which ran across the road. Caref
banked on either side, the stream flowed
cutting the descent at right angles What
depth might prove, l had to risk it. Moul
nearer embankment, drove down into the
water, where the moon laughed up at me a
her glittering reflection.
Good old San Cristoval!" cried Dick as
through without damage and climbed the
bank, to plump down breakneck descen
other side.
But it was early still to praise the saint
only to look ahead to see how much more
do for US we were to win through to Grana
Where little clump of houses had assembl
bottom of the hill, as if to watch our stru
other and far broader river flowed 1t a
across the highway, as if roads were made
beds; and this time the situation was so ser
/ stopped the Gloria to reflect.
There was no doubt about it; this river
Though cart might ford it safely, and
food of ripping silver no higher than the ax1
different with an automobile. l wondered
what would happen to the silencer if its
heated metal was suddenly plunged into CO