The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1920-02-27
ROADSTERS
W.
By DOROTHY DOUGLAS

up the miles as IL furnishing until they
were all consumed.
Helen had invited a large number
OF friends, on the spur of the mo-
ment, for a weekend party. and there
was scant time TO provision the
closed home before the first guest
should arrive. They would all motor
out from the city and would get a
mighty cold reception unless she hur-
rled a bit.
Arriving at Great Neck. Helen
drew up at the butchers, and her
purchases put. as usual. In her car.
she went with them TO the grocery
shop TO make another order.
Her little roadster swung against
the curb n few yards beyond the
door. A delivery wagon was directly
In front. 81 Helen took the next best
position.
Inside the shop she made her large
order.
"Just put them In the car" she
told the grocery boy.
~ iouuSttI! uutSlioHtu tut
boy. as, laden with the huge box,
he obeyed orders.
A nod and a smile answered him, and
Helen then turned TO write a check In
payment.
IL was n scant i've minutes before
she emerged ready for the final spin
that would lead her. w~ell-stocked with
O for the inner man, up 10 the big
driveway to her country home.
Helen sent n swift glance into the
car, TO make sure her big box was
safely there.
There was no boxl And the boy had
returned em%pty-handed to the store
before she had finished making out
her check. She FASTENED back TO de-
mand of the grocer the whereabouts
of her order.
III put Ii in the roadster" said the
boy, and accompanied Helen to the
door. There his heart gave a nasty
turn. There must have been two sim
liar cars by the curb and he had placed
the groceries in the wrong car.
Helen grasped the facts Immediately,
and scanned the main street for the
other roadster. If il were I'm sight it
her box, rather Than wait until n du-
plicate order was made up.
That's probably the car turning the
bend" she decided, and swiftly jumped
into her seat. Being in a tremendous
hurry, and trying to follow the direc-
tion of that fast disappearing cal.
Helen did all the wrong things. She
flung into reverse gear. stalled her en-
CINE, almost banged head-on into the
n trolley in sight. and finally got
away.
She sped after the receding car
as il she lOnged 10 kill every inhabi-
ant of Great Neck. IT seemed often
as il fortune were favoring that 9TH
er car, for when Helen seemed about
10 spring alongside il she invariably
had TO slacken for a truck or the sud-
den appearance of a child I'm the road
way.
Wrath was gathering In her eyes
and her cheeks were scarlet with ex-
element. Had she not been the
daughter Of a well-knOwn towns
man Helen undoubtedly would have
screamed at the occupant Of that
twin roadster to stop and give her
her groceries. Time was getting
shorter, and she realized that her
guests would be cooling impatient
heels on her massive stone doorstep.
The man, for 1t was q man in gray
tweed cap pulled we'll over his eyes,
was Oblivious to the fact that he was
being angrily followed.
But suddenly he turned off a long
bit of clear road. and in another sec
ond 1t would have seemed as if the
Vanderbilt cup race was On. for the
two cars careened along that high
way as if in hot pursuit of a whirl-
wind. 1t was then that the man
knew he was being watched, but
merely as the occupant of one speedy
car trying TO pass the other.
They went mood to hood until
about the finish of clear road. 1t
was then that the tweed cap driver
a that his opponent was a girl.
He had not made the observation be-
fore. being well content with trying
the full capacity of his engines power.
Now, with true gentlemanly tact
ne shut off gas. slowed almost imper-
ceptibly. and let the girl drive well
past him. He fell 10 wondering then
if he had been racing with a mad
woman, for she was turning straight
in the roadway so that a collision
was only averted by swift, intelligent
use Of the brake and steering wheel.
The sudden stop flung Davis with
a bang against his wheel. 1t was then
that he heartily CAV vent TO an ex-
preston not f.attering TO woman driv-
ers.
You have my groceries" the an
cry sentence flashed from one car 10
the other.
Davis stared at the flaming cheeks
and brilliant eyes of his stormy accu-
ser. then dragging reluctant eyes
away he glanced down into his car.
Then. he did the most unpardona-
BILE thing he had so far done. he
laughed uproariously.
Helen Moore was furious.