Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-25


want you to do me a favor"
Mr.. Dodds." said. II was just on the
point Of doing you one:
Good" he exclaimed. DO you know
how to drive horse? Do you know no"
to drive a horse furiously?"
1 told him it had always been my Gus
tom to drive horse gently. for thought
the horse was good friend to man and
should be treated as such.
Then you will not do" he said. with
evident disappointment. Il need some
one who can drive furiously. I have
rented a horse from the liveryman, and
have been trying for several days to drive
II furiously and l can't do 1t. / admit
am only an amateur. / think l do not
know how to get a furious drive out of a
livery horse. You could do me a great
service If you could drive furiously. but
If you can't I shall have to. get some
other friend to do 1t.
saw at once where my duty lay. Some
how Mr.. Dodds had got wind Of the COM
ing elopement and I had chance to
square myself with my conscience and
perhaps save a couple of lives. l put a
question to make sure.
"Mr. Dodds," I said, perhaps I will
do. I cannot drive a horse as furiously
as the lightning express"-here l watched
his face closely and saw that my next
words brought a happier look to it-"but
I dare say l can drive 1t as furiously as
as a second hand Viborg- Potzcommer.
cannot agree to drive a livery horse
furiously but l can drive it near-furious-
ly. I am willing to try. But am pretty
much engaged just now. In fact. the
only date have open is the 9th Of June.
Will that date do?"
He grasped my hand with an iron grip
and wrung 1t warmly. l knew then that
I was right in my conjecture that he had
as ne had sworn me to secrecy he told me
all about it. and I agreed to accompany
him in the buggy when he chased the ter
ror-stricken fugitives. 1t was not until
I reached home that I happened to think
Of the embarrassing position In which l
had placed myself I was booked to run
with the hare and to course with the
hounds. I had promised to elope with
Ferguson and to follow the elopement
with Mr.. Dodds. hardly slept that
ton that l could start with the clippers
and then quietly drop overheard and go
back for Mr.. Dodds that sleep came to
my eyes.
As the fatal day approached Ferguson
and Mr.. Dodds became more and more
nervous. I may say they went all to
pieces, and at length they came to me
separately and each placed his end Of the
elopement entirely in my hands. They
each took me aside, one at a time. and
patted me on the back, and told me what
great executive ability I had, and told
me that they gave it up-that they were
too nervous to do the thing justice-and
that they looked to me to see that moth
ing was left undone. A man never had
more trying thing to do than to look
after both ends Of an elopement Even
Dolly came to me and had to have me
stand on the lid of her trunk so that she
could get 1t closed
The elopement was to be at midnight,
and Ferguson told me that he looked to
me to see that Mr.. Dodds was inveigled
from the house long enough to give the
clippers chance to get fair start. That
meant that I had to get Mr.. Dodds
great distance from the house. for the
Viborg- Potzcommer made a noise like
saw-and-planing mill. and If Mr. Dodds
was within three miles Of the house he
would be sure to hear 1t: and know 1t.
too for no other motor In the state made
such a noise. I said to leave it to me.
arranged 1t by telling Mr.. Dodds to go to
the livery stable and wait for me there
said it would be best for me to hide at
the house and see II the elopement took
place and then come and get him If It
did He was very grateful.
When l had him out Of the way I car
ried down Dolly's trunk and strapped 1t
behind the automobile, and helped her to
climb over it, for the Viborg- Potzcommer
was one of the open-atthe-back ma
chimes, and then I cranked it up. and
got in and we were off. We sped away
into the night as silently as a band saw
chewing up a cant-hook. We made a
noise like trolley car going up a steep
grade with two fat wheels. or corn
shelter trying to strip the blades off a
lawn mower. AS we were speeding away
at about four miles an hour Ferguson
asked me why I had cluttered up the ton
neau by examining my bicycle into 1t. but
explained that it might come handy if
we happened to run out of gasoline. I
said I could take the bicycle and go to
the nearest place where there was gaso-
line and get some, and that satisfied him.
Dolly said It was bit Of thoughtfulness
she had not expected me to be equal to-.
And just then we did run out Of gasoline
and we had not come quite ten miles. I
told Ferguson he was silly to start on an
elopement without seeing that his tank
was full, and he said he had looked to me
to see that all such things were attended
to- I would not have any words with
him. but took the oil can / had thought
fully provided and got on my wheel and
went for some.
found Mr.. Dodds calm but impatient.
l told him to get into the buggy. and
put the oil can in-I had not been so fool