The Washington herald., 1909-05-16

/ Chauffeur laughs the creatures 70 scorn.
/ They cannot get into his eyes and dis
turb his vision and II few OF them fut-
I ter down his neck 1t is all in a night S
| journey. But they have 20 respect for
anybody who quotes poetry on a mid
night ride The Man from Baltimore
knows that sad fact from actual ex-
/ perience.
On one side Of the deep and dark "a
vine is the pike. with an automibns
swiftly forging along On the other side,
a freight train numbering slowly. with
/ the engine breathing noisily under It's
heavy load II is no effort for the auto
mobile TO overtake and pass the bur
deued locomotive and before long the
( impatient snorts OF the weary monster
are among the things that were
--TOo-C-o-tt" '-Too-o-o-t." '-TOo-o-o-ts''
Across the ravine, while We are abreast
OF the train. the invisible engineer
sounds a cheerful whistle by way Of
/ friendly recognition
~a0Rk,'' ''Honk," ''Honk.''
The Real Chauffeur instantly returns
the salute and the entente cordiaIe be
tween the old and the new is established.
find their true relationship. Thus does
the ancient and despised pike come again
into its own.
The Girl IL White laughed softly as she
folded the scarf which she had waved ii
the darkness with unnecessary vehe-
menCe. I wonder. she said. what
thoughts are fittering through the brain
% that engineer as he sees the head
lights OF our automobile on this distant
road"
We wonder. too. He knew his desti-
nation. he was bound 10 his narrow
path by steel rails which literally encom-
passed him in their unyielding grip. Or
our side OF the Tavine. however, was a
machine which might travel 10 the end
OF the world. Chicago. san Francisco.
Alaska. Siberia. Berlin. Paris-suywher
everywhere. the tireless car was willing
and able 10 transport its load OF human
freight i could 60 hither ard yOn. re
sponsive 20 the freakiest desire OF the
man who gr2sped The circling rim OF tie
steering wheel and undeJeTred by the
darkest curtain that night ever dropped
upon a sleeping world.
\ journey Of seventy miles at night.
the car vhirring steadily over every foot
of the distance, Is a fascinating expert
ence- Sometimes, however. there are
undesirable moments. A horseshoe nail
in the rcad may work havoc with the
tire. Then Il is 3 matter Of opening the
hidden tool boxes and extracting ham
mers and pliers and exploring under the
seats for an extra inner tube. while the
lamps afford a minimum Of light for
maximum OF work. View from the prop
er standpoint, however. even the chang
ing OF an inner tube IS picturesque and q
modern Rembrandt might fnd inspi-a-
ton for his brush in the play OF the ftful
shadows upon The group gathered on the
road The Lady with the Dark Brown
Hair dwelt elOQuently upon the artistic
possibilities OF the picture. Like some
body or other in Patience she talked
Of matters elemental in terms quite
transcendentaL The more she talked the
more enthusiastic she became.
In the midst Of her pleasant discourse.
however. the Real Chauffeur. whose
hands were grimy and whose noble brow
dripped with beads OF perspiration,
grunted an unappreciatve grunt-
Some warning drops Of rain. a gust Of
easterly wind. and then q storm which
literally blocked the way for twenty
miles.
The clouds descended In solid sheets Of
water. The wind blew a hurricane and
drove the rain against the mica curtains
with terrific force. Tne road became OBJ
scured and driving the car passed from
pleasure into an anxious task. The
spreading branches or a giant oak along
the road were welcomed as q rustic
garage until a momentary cessation Of
the rain made Il possible for another
mile TO be cautiously traveTsed over a
deluged highway. More rain. another
period OF refuge under a tree, another
baptism through the open sides Of the
machine, for the wind blew the rain
under the hood. and then another effort
10 gain a nile along the journey. The
road was 10 longer a recognizable high
way. but was transformed into a series
of lakes and rivers, with the water so
deep in the hOllOws that the machine
seemed to be fording stream Where
the sand was soft and Shiny the car
wobbled like drunken sailor The inces-
saRt lightning brilliantly Illuminated
the road as far as the eye could see.
At last, when the Girl in White was ex-
pressing her disbelief n the existence
Of dry apparel anywhere in the world and
when the Lady with the Dark Brown
Hair had secured the promise Of a new
taiior-raade gown, the fury Of the tempest
became exhausted. Upon the lowering
clouds duh white glare eighteen miles
away gave assurance Ike the pillar OF
fire by night. that the promised land was
not far distant The machine sped ner-
rily along the pike. to the accompani-
ment Of tuneful choruses BY drenche5
but still cheerful singers. and an hour
later the nocturnal autOmobilists were
laughing over their adventures around
a ehafing dish OF juicy. steaming oysters.
The Lady with the Dark Brown Hair
threatens some Of these days 10 gio-ify
midnight motoring in an epic poem 1T
is fascinating experience" she SAYS.
only" and here she looks over To me
and smileS-"Only- II oa0ht not "a rz54.s---