Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1913-05-15

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after Straker's car.
Chamberlain and Aleck, triumphant
ly leading the horse. came back in
time to see the settling cloud of dust.
Mr. Chamberlain-Mr Van Camp!"
cried Agatha, They've gone! They've
gone! They've got away!"
Who's got away" demanded Cham
berlain.
"All of them!" groaned Agatha. as
she sank down on the piazza steps.
"Jimminy Christmas" calculated
Mr.. Straker This beats any ten
twentythirty 1 ever saw. Regular
Dick Deadwood game! And he's run
off with my new racer!"
What" yelled Chamberlain. did
that bloomin' sheriff let that bloomin'
rascal get away?"
He isn't anybody I'd care to keep"
chuckled Straker. But you know the
new racers worth something"
| Did Chatelard go off in that ma
chine?" again inquired Chamberlain
slowly and distinctly of the two wom-
| en-.
| Precisely said Melanie, while Aga
! thas bowed head nodded
By Jove, that sheriff's a duffer.
Here, Van, give me the horse" And
with the words Chamberlain grabbed
Little Simon's best roadster, mounted
| him bareback, and turned his head up
| the road
III catch him yeti" he yelled back.
| But he didn't. Three miles farther
along he came upon the wreck. The
racer was lying on its side in ditch
| which recent rains had converted in
| to a substantial volume of mire and
mud. The white machine was drawn
costly up under a spreading hemlock
farther on, but Mr. Hand and the sher-
lift were nowhere in sight.
AS Chamberlain stopped to gaze on
the overturned car, he heard the
crashing Of underbrush in the woods
near by. The steps came nearer. 1t
was evident the chase was up: they
we're off the scent and Obliged to re-
! turn.
"Humphi" grunted Chamberlain. and
for once the clear springs of his dis
position were made turbid with satire
We're all pack of bloomin' asses
that's what we are. What in helrs
the matter with us?"
While he was tying the horse to a
tree. Hand appeared, silent, with an
unfathomable disgust written on his
countenance. AS usual, he who was
the least to blame came in for the
hottest of the censure; and yet. there
was sort of fellowship indicated nv
Chamberlain's extraordinary arraign-
ment of them both. He was scarcely
known ever to have been profane. but
at this moment he searched for wicked
words and interspersed his speech with
them recklessly, if not with skill. It
is the duty of the historian to expur-
| gate.
Il don't know just how you happen
to be in this game" pronounced Cham
berlain hotly, but all I've got to saw
Is you're an assam Internal ass"
Hand, rolling up his sleeves, remain
ed silent.
Il suppose If you'd had a perfectly
good million-dollar bank note. you'd
have let it blow away-piffi right out
of your kands!" he fumed. "Or the
title deed of Mount Olympus-or a
ticket to a front seat in the New Jeru-
salem. That's all 1t amounts to. Catch
an eel, only to let him slip through
your fngers-eh, you'll"
Mr.. Hand made no answer. Instead
he waded into the ditch-stream and
/ placed shoulder under the racing
| car. Chamberlain's instinct for doing
| his share of work caused him to roll
up his trousers and wade in, shoulder
/ to shoulder with Hand, even while he
was lecturing on the feebleness OF
mans wits.
Good horse running loose into barb
wire fences had to be caught. but It
| didn't need a squadron of men and a
forty-acre lot to do it in. Might have
known he'd give us the slip If he
could-biggest rascal In Europe!" And
so on. Chamberlain, usually rather a
silent man, blew himself empty for
once, conscious all the time that he.
| himself, was quite as much to blame
| as Hand could possibly have been.
And Hand knew that he knew, but
kept his counsel Hand ought to be
| prime minister by this time
| When the racing car was righted, he
went swiftly and skilfully to work in
| vestigating the damage and putting
| the machine in order. as far as posi-
BILE. Chamberlain presently became
impressed with his mechanical dexter
! ity.
by Jove, you can see into her,
cant you." Hand continued silent.
and left it to his companion to put on
the finishing verbal touches.
Tow her home and fill her up and
she'll be all right. eh?" said Chamber
lain but Hand kept on tinksring. The