The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1913-07-11
WHY He
SOLD IT
By RUTH GRAHAM

Bv RUTH GRAHAM
II hear" said Jones to Rogers. that
you have sold your automobile"
~ have"
Jones was surprised at the nan Civ.
Ing up the auto sport for he had been
an enthusiastic autOmobilist.
Had an upset1'
mo"
Found 1t cost too much to keep the
machine in repair. l reckon"
mot that. either"
well. Them looking at a handsome
collie that was evidently in Rogers
company. you've set up a dog instead
Of a car az less expensive and more
amusing"
Il sold my auto for $500. and you
couldn't buy the dog for $1,000"
Ibid you pay that for him?"
mo; l didn't pay anything"
Come; what does It all meant"
Rogers asked Jones into the house
and told the story:
my friends always supposed from
the speed / put on while travelling
through the country on good straight
roads that I was perfectly fearless. 1t
wasn't so at all. l realized the dan
ger of fast travelling. but enjoyed the
sport so we'll that l was willing to take
the risk. Fact is. danger always adds
to the zest Of sport. The very thought
that l might burst a tire at any mo-
ment and swerve into q telegraph pole
or q stone fence. gave me a ~pleasurable
thrill. Besides these was the danger
Of some drunken driver coming along
with a wild yep and knocking me into
the middle of next week."
WELL" interrupted Jones. which
was it that cured you Of AUTOMOBILE.
ing?"
who's telling this story-you o ~
"You. Go on"
Nothing broke in my machine and
nobody ran into me. My auto was as
good as ever except for several years
use. and l never had q spill while l
drove her. don't know for certain.
but l think II | had been tossed
through the wind shield and shot a
dozen yards forward without getting
killed l would have been all the hotter
for autoing.
But I'm not getting on with my sto.
~. was driving along one day at q
forty mile gait when. looking ahead. ]
saw a place where the road ran through
q narrow cut. 1t wasn't q turnpike by
any means, but one of those country
roads in which, when teams meet,
must pull up In the best place to let the
other pass. The narrow bit ! was tell
ing you about was just wide enough to
get through without scraping. On
either side the ground sloped at an an
gle quite capable Of overturning q car.
no matter how slow It was moving. I
craned my neck to see II any one was
coming that | would meet In the cut.
I didn't zee an auto or q wagon. but !
did see something that sent q cold
chill through me-a little child tod
ding about right In between the two
banks.
1T was heal dark. and l didn't e
what was in the way till I was almost
on It gave q warning toot. but It
didn't even attract the child's atten-
tion. It vas 30 young that | couldn't
tell whether 1t was q boy or a girl. but
by its dress I concluded It was Q girl
She was making a dirt heap In the
road. Az to age. she must have been
between two OF three years old.
$50 much went through my mind In
la few seconds that It seems there
wasn't time for 1t all. knew there
must be a house near BY Dr. the child
wouldn't have been there. glanced
to- the right and the left and on the
left saw q small cottage about 200 feet
from the road How I did long for
some one to run from the house t., get
the child out Of my way: But when
saw her there wasn't time for any one
to 60 over half the distance. looked
at the right bank to see II It would
be- possible to run up over It without
my machine turning turtle. There was
no possibility Of climbing It without
going lover on the child. II not on my
self. The left bank was worse than
the right
s.I've heard what an awfu: strain It
u. on q locomotive engineer 70 y
Down . human being. but had no con-
cepti0n Of the horror OF It till now
put On my emergency brake. or tried
to. but l was % ratified that I lost time
In SETTING my foot on Il. 81 the dime
was pretty nea the child wal go
ing slow enough. ~but-ereat Scott
what difference does It make how slow
you're going when You run over = soft
little bundle Of 1esh IKE that?
II had given up all hope when OF a.
sudden I saw q yellow streak making
from the house to the child. It was Z
dog. and I've never seen a train or an