The Dickinson press., 1917-02-03
CUPlD's QUICK
WORK
By ETHEL HOLMES

Arthur Armstrong was driving up
grade in his motorcar and nearing q
sharp turn.
loot! loot! loot, foot, toot!
On the other side of the summit the
ground fell of. A motor was coming
up at the accelerated speed used by
all chauffeurs in hill climbing. At the
wheel was a girl, the only occupant.
Not being quick enough in turning or
not having the strength, she shot out
on to the wrong side of the road-on
her left.
Armstrong; a received the blow
on the bumper and was not injured.
The girls car was put out of commits
sion, and the girl-well, the girl was
caught in A~mstrong's arms. But it
should be noticed that Armstrong was
a famous baseball catcher.
Are you hurt" he asked a%nxiously.'
Il think not" she said, but she Law
limp in the stalwart arms. Armstrong
looked down into her face anxiously,
Her eyes were closed. His lips were
within an inch Of hers. He reduced
the interval to zero.
"Oh, my! Good gracious!" she ex-
claimed, starting up and looking at her
car.
"How fortunate!" said Armstrong,
"~Fortunate! Do you call that wreck
fortunateY"
II mean that you are o seriously
hurt"
"But my brand new a is ruined"
Better that than you should have
been killed or mangled. Had you been
thrown against the car or hadn't MISS
ed the wind shield by a hairs breadth
you would have been killed. AS it
was, being thrown into"-
He stopped short.
"Oh, dear, what am I going to do?"
moaned the girl.
"Iu take you home. My car is all
right"
"But mine-what shall we do
with it,"
Armstrong looked puzzled. They were
in the country, far from any town.
tits Off the road" he said, "and won't
endanger any one. Well go to the
nearest garage and have them send
out for it. But I'm afraid it isn't
worth hauling In"
This being the only thing that could
be done, she consented reluctantly.
Armstrong got out Of his car, gathered
up her belongings, then, returning to
his car, pushed a button, pressed a foot
brake, made other starting moves and
began to descend the slope before him.
The girl cast a lingering look at the
wreck and wiped away a tear.
There is every reason to believe that
Cupid had sat beside the girl and
caused the disaster. Else why should
it have occurred, and why should she
have been shot into Armstrong; arms,
being just enough upset to lie there
long enough for him to kiss her ruby
lips? And there is every reason to
believe that Cupid, having caused the
collision, hoped into the rear seat Of
Armstrong; car. At any rate, every
thing from that moment was beauti-
fully arranged to hasten a union be-
tween these two young persons.
In the first place, it was late in the
afternoon and growing dark. As soon
as he had started Armstrong pressed
a button to turn on his lights. No light
came.
That's bad,' he said. 1.-The shock
must have broken the electric connec-
tion."
If Cupid was managing the affair
this was his most important work. No
one but a fool dare run an auto at
night without lights. Another clever
stroke was that Armstrong had no
skid chains, and there was a lot of
ice on the road, which, being of as
phalt, was thereby made very slippery.
In addition to this, the country was
billy and the road full of turns. The
time was late in November, and with
in twenty minutes after the collision
darkness fell over the face of the land.
Coming to what looked through the
gloom as If the road suddenly ended
it was a sharp turn-Armstrong pulled
as far out Of the road as he dared and
stopped.
It'll never do to go any farther in
this machine he said.
"Oh, dear, what shall we do?"
I'VE must find a house. And I don't
see any way but for US to stay there
and 60 on in the morning." =
"That would be impossible in my
case."
"Why SOP" .4
After some pressure the girl said
that her father and mother we're
French. The French have very strin-
gent notions as to a girl being away
from home, "unaccounted for. overnight.
Her life would be blighted.
"We1 have to find a house, all the
same" said Armstrong. 1.-THE rest of
it we can settle later"
Leaving the auto, they went back
over the road, having seer a light
some distance to the rear Maybe It
had been put out. At any rate, they
didn't find it. They wandered for