Gilpin observer., 1910-04-07

father shake to wake him up, brief
ly explained matters and disappeared
into the house. When the ak was re-
turned. and while the borrower was
wondering where the lender had dis
appeared to, the old pensioner re-
piled:
That's all right Always ready to
obleege folks in trouble. So your auto
broke down. eh?"
"Well-er-1ust a slight accident"
Lucky for you that you wasn't
coming down hill instead of going up"
Yes. 1t was"
Last year there were two or three
accidents along here. and it took the
men half day to make repairs If
they've got machines now that they
can repair with an old ak in ten min
utes It's big gain. / guess there's
some buttermilk from the churning
this morning. and if"
"Thanks-thanks, but / must be go
ing Very kind of you. indeed"
III the old pensioners eyes had not
been SO dim he might have seen a
young man Flushing like a girl as he
walked towards the gate, but he didn't
see, and in his hospitality he called
out:
Call again any time you break
down. II amt out here take the az
and use 1t as long as you want to-"
Father, how could you speak that
way to him?" exclaimed the daughter
at his elbow as soon as the latch of
the gate had clicked.
Lordy, but what haze / done now!
A young feller's auto breaks down in
front of the house and We lend him
an ak and tell him he can have it
again any time. You are always ready
to give buttermilk to tramps, and I
wondered why you didn't come out
and offer him a glass. ! don't want
folks to think I've turned stingy in
my old age"
During the next month Molly
Thatcher heard from the gossips of
the village that the young man was
connected with the big new factory
nve miles away. She got sight of him
and his auto at least every other day.
but he peered in vain for her. She
had a maids curiosity, but she also
had a maids timidity. At nine O'Clock
one moonlight night. as the village
lights were going out and strange
silence was creeping over the land.
she walked down to the gate and
leaned upon it. She had not been
standing there ten minutes when the
mum OF an auto came to her ears
from the crest of the hill a quarter of
a mile away. She had heard that the
dark-haired man sometimes rode about
at night She would wait until the
! machine came nearer and then step
behind the rose bush
Puff. Puff. Chug" And then the
girl heard sharp snap, and some
thing told her that the auto was COM
ing down the hill uncontrolled. She
sprang through the gate and saw 1t
coming There was only one person
In the vehicle and intuition and the
moonlight identified him. The course
was fairly straight. but the brake was
not working. Second by second the
speed increased and as the machine
came whizzing past she raised her
hand above her head and screamed
to the man:
Jump for your life! You will be
killed at the bridget"
For the fraction of second he
looked into her eyes and smiled and
she had to turn and seize hold of the
gate while she waited for what must
happen at the foot of the hill and the
narrow bridge. And when the crash
came she screamed to her father.
doing on the porch. and ran scream.
Ing down the path the wild auto had
followed. When neighbor aroused
neighbor and half a dozen men gath.
cred at the wreck they found the girl
under the hill seated on the grass and
the head Of an unconscious young man
In her lap.
He is dead!" some of them whis-
pered after a look.
No! mol 1t can't be sol" she al.
most fiercely replied.
HE must be taken to the inn and a
! doctor called"
No. take him to our house. Run
for mattress. Lift him carefully. II
he hadn't been coming down the hill
In hopes-in hopes to see-to see"
Cut and bruised and suffering from
the shock. but no bones broken" re-
ported the doctor to young Marshalrs
friends next morning. Leave him
right here and don't worry about him."
Two weeks later. az the young man
was able to ride away in the auto of
a friend no said to the old pensioner
before departing:
Il may not want to borrow your AZ.
but ! should like your permission to
call again.
Why. Of course. of course. l tell
Molly we must be neighborly."
And will you be neighborly," was
quietly asked Of the girl a. the gate
was reached.