The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-12-03
cHAPT v.
The Manic Triad.

To be stopped before / could reach
my goal was no part of my plan, so
opened things up and gave the little
three-wheeled dinky all the gas it
could use. keeping a sharp lookout
ahead, and meaning to pull up little
way short of the graveyard city, ADAM
aoning the car and making the actual
approach on foot.
Judging from the way the scenery
was racing backward. | estimated that
the little car must be doing at least
thirty miles to the hour: which meant
forty minutes or such a matter, to
cover the twenty-one miles. If oppos-
ing train or trains, whatever they
might be, would only keep out of my
way for those precious forty min
minutes.
| pushed the small motor to its limit
and was getting along beautifully until
suddenly, on a grade that was a bit
sleeper than USUAL, the popping ex-
haust quit short off, the engine slowed
down, and the car, squeaking and
grinding, came to a stand on a low
embankment between two of the hill
cuttings
There wasn't anything very compli-
Gated about the little motor. and soon
discovered that broken ignition wire
was what had killed it, Happily.
there was a small toolbox under the
seat, and In the kit there was nail
of pliers. But sometimes-and this
was one of then-a bit of material Is
as important as the tools TO work with.
The broken wire was too short to cou.
PIE up again, and there wasn't an men
of spare wire TO be found in the
kit.
They say that necessity is the moth
er of invention but I'll defy anybody
to invent piece of wire in tile middle
of the Great Sahara desert Every
| minute ! was expecting to hear the
rumble and roar OF u train.
In this extremity il was "a little
desert zephyr that gave me the great
idea. A gentle breeze came signing up
the draw from some overheated area
gut beyond. and finding no trees on
the barren hills, il sang its little song
in the thickly clustering telegraph
wires on the poles. Why. sure! /
said TO myself here was my wire
miles and miles of it. All had to do
| was to climb up and get it
Gentle reader. | wonder if you've
ever tried to climb a telegraph pole
without the eontrivanees that line
pan buckles upon his feet? If you
haven't. the advice of this amateur is
| don't. Half n dozen times | shinnied
/ ND to perhaps the height of mans
head. only TO come sliding down again
on run. At last. by series, of inch
ings ! contrived to get within arm S
reach of the lowest crosspiece Pliers
in hand | strained for the nearest
wire, progged it. and began TO twist il
baek and forth to break It,
i Not to let me miss any of the thrills
II was at the nrecise instant of tht
wtre-breaking that nly straining ear:
caught the sound they had been lis
tening for; a far-away, drumming rum
BILE that seemed to come from nowher,
in particular Then. out of the sam,
indefinite circumambience came
warning that was still more unmistak
ahle--the long-flrawn blast of loco
motive whistle
/ didn't climb down that pole;
came down like the time bali on tn
flagstaff in Washington at high noon
Moreover. struck the ground run
ming. as one might say. All thought
1 of tinkering that eanfuunded motto
j had vanished and nay one great objeC
Il in life was to get the car off the trac
i before a worse thing should happier
Il was doing fairly NeiI with tie Iiftin
and tugging when the enemy hove /
4 sight less Than five hundred yard
away. And that wasn't all, either A
precisely the same instant. as if it ha
been timed by the same mechanics
that had brought the freight trail
here came wild engine around til
curve in the opposite direction wit
its whistle vaIye held open aud maxim
racket to wake the dead. The b.
reft motor-car riders had found a i
connective somewhere and were chasiH
me.
Il One mad heaye at the stranded "a
oline car. mighty boost that got a
but one wheel of il in the clear. al
| was gone streaking it like JAG
rabbit for the tail timber-only the
ii wasn't a stick of timber nearer ths
= the slopes of the backgrounding mou
m tains.
One glance over my shoulder as
u fied showed me what | was In 70