Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-01-14

,,e ore of those wild, weird nights
,bon electric flashes shoot down
,-om the inky clouds.
nh The rainfall looks like Niagara at its
- worst, whatever way you look
4. The road was as hard and
~ a.h nc the bottom of the Schuylkill.
s'',rh Thoro were lamps and electric bulbs
,anty along the highway. They
aren't lighted, but that was small
N .t0r in comparison with the prob
lem on hand.
a. +no side of one of the marshy
h ~. somewhere between here and As
tou" rr park, "a sailor was breaking his
pull pull over the crank of Ford.
Iors and hard he labored. He
LII nne ,er oycr,-the engine, not the
I,nI TnrI. he spun it and was rewarded
rStb" rr;tb a cough. She coughed at the
w,xt vnxt spin and on the next, started to
hhsoatb through one nostrii.
p1Tb Tho sailor crawled aboard and turned
a. "cr;npled nose of the machine in the
ssr ssanpral direction of this city.
Packed and damned
r,o touring car was crowded-that
!. thora were four occupying seats. II
Is Sos tbe fag end of an imperfect day,
wn,owhere waS in the neighborhood of s
SUI. Everybody was tired. physically,
I. M Tho loud claps of the thunder, the
p';olod flashes of lightning, the incon-
sstont Gtt coughing of the engine, the trea-
Sborors road and the two sleepy front
,nhts that binked continually all tended
~ nuicken mental activity.
" Tbn rickety Ford kept breathing la
horiously, but it kept breathing. Then
.or,c one must have operated on the sep
tnm svn for gradually the air spread to all
tour postrils and the journey appeared
soft" -, ,
,oacbed. Then it became hard. The
occupants of the good ship remained
coated between bumps. AT other times
they % we're hanging between the top and
the floor.
Perfectly Imperfect
The hard roads were perfect excep!
.,r tbe holes and the good ship was
rorfoct ~, except for the skids. 1t was
Loosv to take n turn, for all the sailor
Td al was to apply the breaks, hold
.,rb+ to the wheel and the nose turned
W ,Msn another direction. Sometimes it was
the right direction.
" THE only thing that guided the sailor
ond his mates on their voyage was u
nraver 1t was impossible to tell where
tbo' gnide posts were located. but the
s"i,oT seemed to smell few and when
over the scent was strong, he wheeled
n the portside, or starboard. threw er
into low, got the full glare of the
stubborn lights on the sign and took a
look. ,., :.
a heavy sea. 1t shot from one side OF
tba road to the other. This is no charge
sgo;nst the sailors chauffering ability.
The wheel wasn't turned, but the road
was. 4,
The ruts were frequent and deep and
those in the rear seat had to keep their
guards high to prevent conclusion OF
the brain.
The thunder continued to roar and
the lightning cracked as if it were ten
feet overhead. The four night riders
looked as if they were about to pay a
VISIT to Davy Jones's locker. Their eyes
were out on their lashes and they sat
on the edge of cushions as if ready to
take dive and swim ashore If the ship
sank.
Now for DiavOlO
We said four were ready for the high
dive. We should have said three, Ono
Of the hardy tars was as nervous as
spectators at chess match. The thun
der, the lightning, the roads. the rain
meant nothing in his young life.
He was sleepier than the lights, but
he never blinked. His lamps were
shut tight. He was breathing worse
than the engine, for he didn't use his
nostrils for that purpose at all: II
might have been moonlight night fol
all he knew--or cared.
In his dreams ne might have beer
riding along the best road in the world
and in Packard equipped with West
inghouse springs or other shock alb
Sorbers. The effect was the same. He
was sound asleep.
And the thunder roared, the light
ming flashed, the rains beat upon the top,
the good ship skidded and bumped and
bumped and skidded and he slept on anj
| on.
Trenton was reached and passed, the
ship ratified over the pay bridge and