New Britain herald., 1922-04-24
CHAPTER I

It was early afternoon and down ir the hollow which shielded the scramb. ling little town of Dominion the ail was warm and lazy with the friend Illness Of May.
 long, sleek, yellow racer camt to stop beside the gas tank and wheezed into silence. A young man rose from his almost flat position in the low-slung drivers scat, stretched himself and stared upward toward the Glaring white of Mount Taluehcn the highest peak of the continental backbone, drowning In the coldness Of snows that never departed
 Cas-"
 Yep The young man stretched again. "Fill up the tank-and better give me half gallon of oil.'
 Young he was, almost hoyish. vet connterbalancing this was a serious ness Of expression that almost ap- preached somhcrness. The eyes were dark with something that approached sorrow, the lips had q tightncss about them which gave evidence of the pressure of suffering. all form
 
 come upon him unaware. But in q flash it was gone, and boyish again, he had turned, laughing, to survey the gas ctender
 Barry Houston, huh? Must be a new make. l."
 "Camouflage," laughed the young man again. That's my name"
 "Oh, Is it?" and the villager chuckled with him. .You'vc got tn plate fight where tn name O a car is pastered usually, and it plum fooled me. Where you headed for?"
 lover Hazard"
 'Aint daft, are you?"
 T hope not, It's May, isn't it?"
 Look up there.' The old man pointed to tho splotches of white, thousands of feet above. Tt may be spring down here, boy, but it Janu- ary up there. They's only been two ears over Hazard since November and they come through last week. Both of 'em was old stagcrs. Both of 'em came through here loollin' like icicles an swearing t beat four O a kind"
 y ton. His life had been that of the smooth spaces, of the easy ascent of well paved grades. of streets and com- forts and of luXuries. The very rag gedness Of the thing before him lured him ard drew him on.
 They've got me- came quietly. 'I'm-I'm going to make the try."
 The gears meshed A stream of smokes from the new oil spat out for a second Then, roaring and chort- ling with the beginning of battle, the machine swept away toward the slight turn that indicated the scraggly end of the little town of Dominion, and the beginning of the first grade.
 "A six per cent grade if it's an inch!" he murmured. And this is only the beginning"
 He settled more firmly in his seat and gripped hard at the steering wheel. Gradually, the severity of the grade had increased to ten, to twelve and in short pitches to even eighteen and twenty per cent
 stop, while the red, missing water splattered from the radiator cock, and the lifted hood gave the machine a chance to cool before replenishment came from the murky discolored stream and melted snow water Pant ing and light headed from the alti- tude, Barry leaned against the ma chine for moment; something touched his face and melted there snow.
 An hour-and three more after that "a last final, clattering journey, and Barry leaped from the sea- with something akin to enthusiasm.
 Through the swirling snow which sifted past the glare of his headlights, he could discern sign which told him he had reached the summit, that he now stood at the literal top of the world.
 From now on he could progress with the knowledge that his engine at least need labor no longer. But the dangers; Barry knew that they had only begun. The descent would be as steep as the climb he had just made.
 Again he started, the brake bands squeaking and protesting, the ma chine soughing dangerously as now and again it's sheer weight forced it forward at dangerous speeds.
 He grasped desperately for the emergency brake For five minutes there had come the strong odor of burning rubber; the foot brake lin- ings were gone; everything depended upon the emergency now! And all most with the first strain-
 Careening, the car seemed to leap beneath him. The brakes were gone, the emergency had not even lasted through the first hill. Barry Hous