The Monticellonian., 1917-02-08

to attempt to drive. 1 saw him glare at Morton in his Carrier, and saw Nor. ton return the glare every whit as cruelty. There could be no doubt that if tragedy were averted one of the two would leave the course a broken man, never to race again.
 They were off. They had started on the long race, all ten of them, and as each car swept by the crowd cheered wildly and discussed the issue in bable of tones. But soon they settled themselves down to await the long drawn out issue. Presently the weak CT cars began to lag behind or drop out of the race. Tires burst. mechan- ism went out of gear, defeated drivers sullenly retired. Five were left in, then four. Then three. Suddenly | caught sight of a woman upon the bench below me. not ten paces dis tant.
 It was Mae Connolly, and she looked as Byzantine lady might have looked when the warriors fought or the char ioteers raced in the arena. She was cold, but as intensely cold as a bar of steel that sears the hand like fire in an arctic winter. She sat unmoving, hard ly breathing, her flashing eyes dilated her lips apart, as though she drank in the spectacle of the contest and await ed a bloody ending She seemed as perfectly poised and as self-sure as the tigress crouching for her victim She did oh ;n tot when Harris swept by, when Morton now his only rival, raced after him. hardly three cars lengths distant. The specks in the far distance grew larger and resolved themselves into the cars again. Now they were passing on the penultimate lap. and I saw that Nor ton had drawn closer. The concourse roared, but still the woman sat un- moved. Tarrant was moved; Im- manuel sat as though dumbly awaiting the inevitable catastrophe; but the woman was not moved And 1 knew that it was the lust for conquest that entranced her. It was for her these men were striving and she knew that it was to be a strife unto death.
 And now the ears were whirling back again on the last round of all, and the spectators stood up and yelled and screamed and shouted themselves into husky whispers. They were al most abreast now-Harris leading; they were abreast, Morton was pass ing him, inch by inch. inch 6y inch Harris was falling back, No. 1t was the delusion caused by the foreshort- ening of the bend of the track Harris was still in the lead-or was Morton? My eyes swan. I heard a thousand cries, asseryating, denying And then, amid all that confusion, 1 saw Mae Connolly again, seated just as immov- ably. but now with head craned for ward, and her thumb
 Her thumb was pointing upward. unconseiously she had assumed the at titude of the degenerate Roman wom- an, unsated by the combat until it reached the last extremity. Uncon- seiously and gracefully she had stretched out her arm, and the thumb stood up from the extended hand
 Perhaps she might have solved the disputed question whether thumbs up or thumbs down meant the death sig nal But unquestionab1e there was death in her face.
 There was death in the air, every where. l felt it as though an angel had passed by.
 Crashi There was no other sound, neither preliminary whir nor grinding of wheels and aXles, nor burst of air inflated tires. Just one sharp sound, and the deepdrawn and universal sigh. The race was over Twelve paces from the judges seats the cars had run to- gether, cold-fused into a single mass of shattered metallic fragments. And men were already pulling their human freight from under them.
 Perhaps it was because the fulfil ment of her destiny had revived the human soul in the woman and slain the tigress for ever, or perhaps only my imagination had led me to see the inhuman qualities in her. But she was out among the crowd. and by her lovers side, and her arms sought for him under the wrecked mass of his car. and even above the shouts I heard the agonized cry upon her lips;
 Frank Frank. Come to mel"
 saw no more then because of the masses around the cars. rose to go. Immanuel followed me, and Tarrant As we reached the ground we heard shouting; then a lane was made anu four men came through slowly, bear. ing something upon stretcher, com pletely hidden beneath blanket. And then somehow we found ourselves forming part of an enormous ring, and in the center of it was Mae Connolly, and she was sobbing and laughing and clinging round the neck of man who walked straight and erect and still car. ried his injured shoulder in a brace. And it was Harris.
 He was unhurt; not even the brace was shifted. There was smile of bravado on his face, but on the wom. ans such joy as I had never seen on any face before. Then l knew that Harris would never drive racing car again.
 Its a miracle man near by was saying. q saw the whole thing. Nor. ton tried to foul deliberately He wanted to cut past"
 "Cut past? l tell you he smashed bang into him." answered another. He'd rather have died than lose this race"
 Well, he had that wish gratified." nnnu.nrod Inc fret tnnnn