Evening times-Republican., 1914-01-02
BERTRAltD BABcock

cNApYGR ~.
An o. AeaasslRtanes.

~ stables, and he was looking up
| ward aloag the toFtpous course Of the
road az It steadily mounted to the
highlands
Down that road from the plateau
above . large touring automobile was
rushing. swaying from side to side as
| the man at the wheel took rockingly
| the many turns in the course. There
was a woman beside him. Suddenly
! she arose and screamed. A moment
later she had Jumped from the car and
| was standing in safety in the road
watching the terrifying descent Of the
automobile.
Not all of the women in the group
at the FalconhuYst stables saw the wo-
man after she had left the lurching
vehicle, as some Of them were too oc-
cupied with their own fears and ter.
rors, for gradually, after their frst
moments of amazement. they realized
that the car was beyond control.
After the woman Jumped the z::n
! looked backward for just eeeting in
slant az though assuring himself that
she were safe. Then he doubled over
his wheel.
To the auboists among the watchees
It was soon apparent that the man In
the car possessed no means Of check
ing its momantuN. Plainly his brakes
| were not working. As he came nearer
and nearer to them they could see that
he was hlmhling with his change gear
lever In an effort to throw into mesh
the reverse and check the car, but
something stuck and the gears did not
engage. Then Lady Diana moved
closer to the road, her face white, but
self possessed. She thought that she
recognized the stanch figure in the
car that through some deep seated In
stinctsof .sportsmanship did not and
had not attempted; to leave its seat
Making a megaphone Of her hands,
she called up:
Throw in your nrst; throw in your
hrst! Thst'n siacken you.''
But even before she spoke the man
in the car had been attempting to do
so. The lever shot forward. and then.
before he could try to mesh the gears.
the car literally careened on two
wheels. The riders hand was forced
to quit the lever and with his other
hand grasp more nrmly the wheel.
He rounded the curve and literally
fell. car and man, down the last de-
scent that separated him from the bit
Of road beside tho Falconhurst stables.
Now he seemed to have clear sailing.
for the road ran straight, and half a
mile beyond the stables there was
slight rise that would be more than
sufacient to check the speed OF the car,
intense though it was.
As car and man blurred past Lady
Diana she thought she caught from
the car the words. THANK you," and
the flash OF hand waved in the air.
The next instant there was thun-
derous crash, followed by the mani
fold and multitudinous sounds Of spe-
arate mechanisms of metal being rent
asunder all In one second, yet follow
ing one another In minute fractions Of
that second.
The eye Of the rider must have devil
ated from his course in that brief
point Of time when he had waved his
hand and called his thanks to the girl.
who had the presence Of mind to shout
to him the only thing possible in that
crisis.
His car, deviatin: ever 80 slightly in
that instant, had rushed into the stone
corner Of the bridge just at the side Of
the footpath. It lay in fragments and
twisted bits Of metal. The man, hurl-
ed to the middle Of the highway.
sprawled there. bleeding and uncon-
scious.
For long moment men and women
stood without moving. Then Rayner
and Beverley broke the spell. and
half dozen Of them darted forward,
took up the form in the road and car
ried It into the stable yard. Lady
Diana upon her arm received the limp.
hanging head as they put the man
upon the ground.
Z "Quick, Lambert. some brandy" or
dered Beverley to The Whips trainer.
Grandfather: he's dying!'' exclaimed.
pityingiy. Lady Diana.
Then she looked long into the face.
"Its the stranger. my artist" she
said, vast sadness falling upon her
as she saw the wrist lying there limp
upon which not 20 long before her
hunter had set its mark. He had
laughed 80 blithely and had taken so
good naturedlyj what had seemed tn
her matter Of SO much coucern, and
here he lay dead or dying. Poor
take him to the castle at Once-Qt
sonce!'
Captain Sartoris had been looking
into the face Of the Inert stranger on
the ground for aavsral moments In II
puzzled fashion. He knew that he knew
the man. but the banishment Of con-
sciousness had msde such differ
ence In the TEXTURES that he could not
recall. suddenly hs made an exclama-
..Good heavens, ceusin: Do ycu -