South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-10-24

The llveliest apprehension can Dc
dulled by some fresher excitement
This was borne ~ upon me one
fishing excursion, when I found my
self alone IN the car "a hich had
been nay fathers gift on the road
20 the nearest village.
Ny father. who had developed a
bad case OF fishing mania, had de-
parted early in the morning for his
favorfte sport. He had promised 10
come back later for Marion, but the
child aWOke teverlsh an dfrettui,
and Lillian. after taking her tenn
perature. found herself out Of the
remedy furnished Dy her family ply
stefan. whicE she always gives Mar
ion when me child has one OF her
rather frequent digestive attacks.
OF course. I volunteered at once
70 90 for It. and neither Lillian
who Is always on edge when Marion
- iIl-nor I thought once of the
tacit pact we had made that 1
should 70 nowhere alone. 1 do not
recall IL until I was a good mile
from our little camp, well on my
way 20 the village OF sag Harbor.
with It's quaint. musty traditions OF
whaling days. struggling hard not 20
be smothcred by the influx Of fac
tories with foreign laboreTs.
BY the time 4 re,alIr. It I was
too absorbed IN tue mechanism OF
my car To- worry as 20 whether l
might encounter some unpleasant
reminder OF the tragic problem OF
crime from which we has escaped
for a bit. This little imprOmptu
trip was the first had taken all by
"a D.. D.. ia h..
car for miles almost every day with
either my father or Lillian. some
times both OF them and Marion with
me. But the very fact of having
some one 10 send Tor help in case OF
an emergency had made me feel far
more secure Don driving than did this
trip, when anything going wrong
meant my sitting by the roadside
perhaps for long time before /
could get word 20 "a garage man.
In my hurry 10 depart / had not
gone through that ineXordblc rit-
ual OF the motOrist-gas DIVA
ter. Suppose I had not enough OF
any one of the three for my short
journey i listened critically 20 the
hum OF the engine. wondering
whether I should hear the tateful
knocking which would signify a lack
% OIL anu " aANAAfA AftAA 4AAF ADA
the smoking which would mean no
water, or the slackening which
would spell a lack of gas.
I resolved to go first TO the sup
ply shop, where presided the lean.
saturine but sterling citizen who
was reputed TO be able 10 take any
car 10 pieces and put IL together
again with both eyes shut and one
hand tied behind him. could
draw up in front of his shop with
out either parking as the village or
dinanCe compelled motorists 10 do
on the main street or turning
around-in neither OF which was
proficient. Indeed / was at that
stage OF motor knowledge where 1
would drive around six blocks i'm or
der 90 avoid turning around or
backing IN the middle of one OF
them. Illuminating as il was, / re-
solved TO ask Mr.. Jones. the garage
genius. If he would not turn the
machine around and head it In the
direction OF home while ne was sup
plying It's various DEFICIENCIES and ]
was taking advantage OF the time Ga
get the required medicine from the
pharmacy. only a few doors away.
Mr.. Jones regarded me with the
blank nOn-COmmittal air with which
ne favOrs every one coming 20 him
for aid. He has the reputation Of
being the fairest. most silent and
most independent man in all SaG
Harbor. lie never speaks first. asks
What's the trouble '' or uttcTs any
or the other platitudes common 70
first aiders OF every variety. He
stands motionless as a statue while
you state your wants. then disap-
Hrrf HrH sd IS
armed with whatever he needs for
repairs. Ii is "a matter OF public
glee In the village that a multi-mil
lionaire member OF a neighboring
summer Colony-a man who had
given him great deal of work
one day came 20 his door IN a tow
ering hurry demanding some i'm
mediate repair
When these are through" Jones
had responded quietly but firmly. in
dlcating two modest flivvers and a
farm sfruCk. the com bined repairs on
which amounted 10 less than two
dollars
In silence he listened 10 my re
quest for supplies. and I thought ]
saw the semblance of a grin twitch
the corners OF his mouth when I re-
quested him 10 turn my car around
AoE me. LldLEls i WAS LLltALa4lA re-
hearsing a boast TO Lillian of hav-
ing obtained a smile from MI Jones
when his face took on once more
its grim expression and his slight
bow dismissed me curtly from his
horizon
] walked quickly ID the street "a
the pharmacy. handing Lillians pre-
scription 10 the quiet. efficient
looking proprietor. who scrutlnlzed
ir through his modish pince nez
then disappeared with u behind the
counter.
To beguile the tedium OF waiting ]
walked 20 the window and looked
out idly into the village street quite
respectfully filled with cars Through
them presently threaded a smart
runabout % the type used by phy-
s.cians. il stopped before the phar-
macy door. and the tall. slender
man who was driving was out OF
The car almost before his brakes
caught and hurried through the
door beside ne.
I caught my breath sharply as he
passed me. unseelDg. and I averted
my face in order 10 collect my wits
before I faced him. For. changed
older. his hair thickly tinged with
rray 10 Enthusiastically was Dr.