The Washington times., 1916-11-11
copyright. 1916. by the Star Company. All
Foreign Rights Reserved.)
vI.-The Mysterious Motor Car.


could hardly have chosen a bet
ter place for a, speed trial, to test the
success of a new invention, nor better
time than the earliest hint Of dawn.
There had been a storm yesterday, and
the green rollers doomed upon the sand
as they curled over ana flung their white
foam toward the wheels of Scarlet Run
ner; but with the birth of day the wind
had died. The car purred rhythmically,
and Christopher hummed happily as lie
drove.
He was excited. forr an experiment
which had absorbed two weeks OF his
time. and many coins OF his hard-earned
money, was proving a success. He had
felt certain that not only need he not
fear police traps II he exceeded the legal
limit In driving land had he not made
the journey expressly TO exceed the
legal limit?, but that there would not
be a single soul to see and report scar.
let Runners law-breaking Keats. iet
here, at half-past four In the morning.
on this desolate beach, he was on me
point of coming pump upon half
dozen men, who might almost nave
been waiting to catch him.
For once his Imagination failed. For a
moment he saw nothing suggestive In
the grouping of half a dozen eager men
round some object, half engulfed III
water, which they were striving TO orag
out. But, in fact, Christopher nad
some excuse for his temporary seif-ap-
His latest client had finished we'd
ding trip en- automobile. whereupon
Race had returned to London ana been
thrown into the society OF a Fellow
enthusiast for motors-a young engineer
who had designed a new invention IL
was a very clever invention, for Mt
stroke revolutionized all existing sys-
TENS of transmission, ana did away
with gear-box, pinions. and Gluten. Inc
engine worked q pump. whose business
was to compress oil and force 1t under
high pressure to two turbines on the
back axle. These turbines turned me
wheels, land there you are" as the
inventor explained. exulting over hts
model. The system was capable OF in
finite gradations of speed. by guiding
this stream of oil toward the center or
toward the. periphery OF the turpin th
transmitting force. the mechanism was
smooth and silent as the motor or
dream; and a great proportion or tne
engine power was able to act directiy
on the wheels.
Scarlet Runner, thus reRenerated.
had come out of a London workshop
only two days. ago, her owner PROUD
that she should be the first car IN
England to inauEurate new on era ha
had in London streets had been tri-
umphant: and now here was Chris.
topher with his scarlet darling. heart
and engine both beating in the nope
OF a long, satisfactory trial. with the
sea and the rising sun as sole wilt
nesses A. .xro,o
and would have turned. sacrificing
the last mile of the five. had not
one of the men seen him and begun
10 shout and beckon. At the same
moment several others broke away
from the group to hurry across the
sand toward the approaching motion:
and sSse the tEhg tG they had
rounded was half-submerged auto
In a second all desire to depart was
burned up by a fire of c arn0s nears m
so near that. faint as was sun the
light, he could see the make and color
OF tho drowning car.
Here was a mystery which made a
special appeal to the heart OF mo-
'"HaiIoa, What's happened here"
EXCLAIMED CHRISTOPHER to ..,, the ,I man
a queer business"
brown old fisherman. And as to
hss hapPsnsd the aq BABE SDSorn
for the matter of that. But some
things, happenedas and as you say
something queer. ,,,.
can give us information,", remarked
a young fellow, also a fisherman;
We have sent fer the safd police tbe e eE9m
to catch sight of this ere; ana we
got topether some mates 20 heip drag
her out OF the water before the tide
80 long. her wheels have sunk into
the sand, and we can't move her.
T'p help with that work y0Sd II bs some eo6 6tt
you will hitch rope rounu ner i mi,
car can tow her. But here comes
policeman now" 80 ,,
A blue clad man, hastily dressed al
a summons. was approaching. guldea
BY a hoy. He stared grayely at the
automobile. murmured that II looked
like murder or suicide. and began
scribbling notes in a book produEed
from his pocket. while the derelict
was being rescued. \ young fisher
man Volunteered to get rope round
the car. and soon succeeded, though
It was a battle with the the waves waves The re
fisherman hauled on II, ana, Race
driving his motor up the beach. the
drowned automobile crawled dripping
out of the sea.
ination of the derelict, and announced
with certainty that 1t was a Han
sard, of date about four years DID,
but elaDOrately alleTeu anu WouerH-
ICED. He peeTed into the gear-box.
saw that. the pinions were clean and
new and said that the motor had
apparently not run many miles since
being repaired. Another point to which
he drew attention of the constable
was that the number of the motor
had been carefully chiseled OFF, and
that the number-plate of the car IT.
self was missing. This showed that
its abandonment had been an act
OF deliberation. and the plate must
have been lately removed, as an au-
tomobile lacking such mark could
hardly have passed through the
streets OF the smallest village with
out attracting attention.
Christopher had made a night run:
as Scarlet Runner was now fitted
with a fine 'searchlight which could
turn darkness into day, therefore he
had no, abiding-place in the neigh
borhood. Nevertheless he had the
curiousity to remain for an hour or
two at Tilton- on Sea after towing the
Hansard there. in the. hope of some
calculation OF the mystery. But no
unknown motorist had stayed "a the
81 ANh