Putnam patriot., 1911-12-29
better this spring "

better this spring"
 bitter gray eyes passed deliberately over the large room with all its traces of a family life extending back to pre- Colonial times. but he said no more.
 It was an exquisite morning. too vir- ginal for June. too richly warm for May. When the two exchanged the sunny road for the factory office, a nortA room none too light. it was a moment before their dazzled eyes per ceived no one was present This was BaiAey's private office. and its owner had passed into the room beyond.
 T will wait" conceded Mir French. dismissing the boy who had ushered them in Sit down. Emily; Bailey will return directly. no doubt"
 But Emily had already sat down. for she knew the voice speaking beyond the half-open door, and that the long. prevented meeting was now immi- nent
 Tt will not do" Lestrange was stat ing definitely. Tt should be rein forced"
 Its always been strong enough" Bailey's slower tones objected For years. It's not a thing likely to break"
 Not likely to break? Look at last years record, Mir. Bailey. and tell me that. A broken steering-knuekle killed Brook in Indiana. another sent Little to the hospital in Massachusetts, the same thing wrecked the leader at the last Beach race and dashed him through the fence. Do you know what it means to the driver of a machine hurling itself along the narrow verge of destruction, when the steering wheel suddenly turns useless in his grasp? Can you feel the sick helpless ness. the confronting of death. the compressed second before the crash? Is it worth while to risk it for a bit of costless steel?"
 The clear realism of the picture forced a pause. filled by the dull roar and throb through the machinery crowded building.
 They were not our cars that broke. any of them" Bailey insisted.
 Not our cars. no. But the steering knuckle of my own machine broke un- der my hands last March. on the road and if I had been on a curve instead of a straight stretch there would have been a wreck As it was, brought her to a stop in tie ditch There is no other thing that may not leave a fighting chance after it breaks but this leaves absolutely none. know, you both know, that the steer ing-wheel is the only weapon in the drivers grasp. If it fails him, he goes out and his mechanician with him"
 Emily paled, shrinking. She re- membered the road under the naples and Lestrange's laughing face rs he leaned breathless across his useless wheel. That was what it had meant, then, the lightly treated episode!
 You'd better fix it like he wants it." advised Dicks disturbed tones. Remember, he's got to drive the car Friday and Saturday. Bailey, not us"
 Its not alone for my racer I'm speaking. but for every car that leaves the shop" Lestrange caught him up. "Tm not fiinching; I've driven the car, before and I will again. It may hold for ever, that part, but I've tested 1t and it's a weak point-take the warn- ing for what it's worth"
 There was a movement as If he rose with the last word Emily laid her hand on the arm of the char, turning her excited dark eyes on her uncle. Surely if ever MT Ffrench was to meet his manager, this was the mo- ment; when Lestrange's ringing argu- ment was still in their ears, his splen- did force of earnestness still vibrant in the atmosphere. And suddenly she wanted them to meet, passionately wanted Ethan Ffrench's liking for this man.
 Uncle" she began. "Uncle--"
 But it was not Bestrange's light step that halted on the threshold.
 "Why, I didn't know" exclaimed Bailey. Excuse me, Mir. Ffrench, they didn't tell me you were down"
 He glanced over his shoulder; as he pulled shut the door Emily fancied she heard an echo, as if the two young men left the next room. Bitterly dis appointed, she sank back
 That was your manager with youg' MT. French frigidly inquired.
 ~Yes; he went upstairs to see how l.. out a handkerchief and rubbed his brow. Excuse me. it's warm. Yes. he wants me to strengthen a knuckle he's spoken considerable about it. guess he's right; better too much than too little"
 q do not see that follows. I should imagine that you understood building chassis better than this racing driver. You had best consult outside experts in construction before making a change"
 "Unclel" Emily cried
 There's a twenty-four hour race starts tomorrow night" Bailey sug- gested uneasily Its easy fixed. and we might be wrong"
 We have always made them this way?"
 "Yes. but"
 Consult experts, then. I do rot like your managers tone; he is too as- suming. Now let me see those pa- pers.
 Emily's parasol slipped to the floor with a sharp crash as she stood up. quite pale and shaken