Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

nall. he jumped suddenly 10 Ills leeI Will
an exclamation of fright, waving his fashion
able patent leather shoes in his hand. 1t
was now nearly half past eight, and the
Allardyce house over five miles away
RUNG scrambled from his grand pose with
- undignifed haste. All the Cinnamon
began jabbering at once, while divers ele-
giant representative besought them by all
the losses in heaven to hustle those eleven
dozen carnations into the back of the buck
board. Bung, still in his sock feet and carry
ing his shoes, trotted hastily to the road to
unhitch the impatient Daisy. Hok Dlngs
retinue was in the act of loading the We
hicle with the ordered flowers, Hank Tong
was respectfully helping Bung to his seat a
little, withered yellow man was holding the
reins-when the unexpected occurred with
its usual spontaneity. Daisy decided to run
away! | know not whether it was the hOli
day spirit in the air or lurking sense of
humor that caused this rash decision on the
part of Judge divers pampered steed. At
any rate, she ran.
The little, withered Chinaman who held
the reins threw them at Bung and gave up
after two yards of following and stumbled
on his face. Down the dusty road charged
Daisy, volleying and laundering in the best
manner of the Light Brigade. A fearful jab-
the cavalcade disappeared in the rising
moonlight amid alarming hoofbeats and
Bung's helpless supplications of "WhOa up,
Hossie!' as he futilely sawed on the reins.
1t was indeed a ghostly spectacle that All
Lee Bung presented in his whirlwind ride.
His soiled white gloves clutched the slippery
reins, his silk hat crawled farther and far
ther over his eyes, and every loose end of
him, including coattails, collar, and pigtail,
streamed bannerlike behind Daisy's speed
would not have alarmed jockey; for age
and fairness had rendered her obtuse to the
frenzied ecstasy of real coltish runaway.
Yet she did very well, miraculously keeping
to the road and splashing round muddy cor
ners so sharply that the blackboard travelled
on one wheel only Mrs. Allardyce's eleven
dozen carnations strewed a floral path along
the way. Bung was finally crouching in the
bottom of the vehicle, hauling at the sportive
Daisy, who, the bit in her teeth, cared little
for his feeble yanks, and an occasional freshet
of wet, yellow adobe added nothing to the
beauty of his evening dress.
Daisy chose strange zigzags and short
cuts, now and then electing to bounce across
an open field or double on her tracks Bung
had not the faintest idea where he was,
and in utter despair he crouched in the bot
tom of the wagon and moaned, "Whoa up,
Hossie!"
At the fourth or fifth turn across open
fields and down unfrequented lanes the fly
ing excursion encountered the milk wagon
of Otto Klein, who was unloading half empty
cans by the roadside. There was a crash
like an exploding battleship as the right rear
wheel of Bung's blackboard struck Klein's
milky load. A snow-white cascade shot in
air and descended upon Bung's silk hat with
splendid accuracy. Yet Daisy kept right on.
The shower of milk had the effect of re-
viving Bung from his torpor, and he began
considering ways and means of stopping this
fierce charge. There was possibility, he
thought, of swinging himself to the mares
back and Selling her by the bride. By the
favor of some good joss she had kept to the
road so far; but Bung could see ahead the
lights of great house and numerous auto
mobiles he realized that danger lay
ahead. Therefore he damned his hat still
farther over his eyes, measured the distance
between the dashboard and Daisy's back,
Strengthened his muscles, and prepared for
spring
EVERYBODY agreed that the big room in
II the Allardyce mansion looked lovely for
the wedding. Everybody was there to agree.
The driveWavs and roads for acres round the