Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-03-13

was racing backward, I estimated that
the little car must be doing at least
thirty miles to the hour; which meant
forty minute or such a matter, to
cover the twenty-onc miles. If oppos-
ing train or trains, whatever they
might be, would only keep out Of my
way for those precious forty min
pushed the small motor to it's linz
it and was getting along beautifully
until suddenly, on a grade that was.
a bit sleeper than usual, the popping
exhaust quit short of, the engine
slowed down, and the car, squeaking
and grinding. came to a stand on a
low embankmcnt between two Of the
hill cuttings.
|Therewasn't anything very compli-
Gated about the little motor, and I
wire was whatehad killed it. Happily,
there was a small toolbox under the
seat, and in the kit there was a pair
Of pliers. But sometimes-and this
was one of then-a. bit of material is
rs important as the tools to work with.
The broken wire was too short to cou-
pie up again, and there wasn't an inch
OF spare wire to be found in the
kit.
|, They say that necessity lie the moth
er Of invention: but I'll defy anybody
to invent a piece OF wire in the middle
Of the Great Sahara desert. Every
minute l was expecting to hear the
rumble and roar of a train.
In this extremity it was a little
desert zephyr that gave me the great
idea. A gentle breeze came signing up
the draw from some ~overhcated area
out beyond, and finding no trees on
the barren hills, it sang it's little song
an the thickly clustering telegraph
wires on the poles. Why, sure. l
said to myself: here was my wire
miles and miles of it. All l had to do
was to climb up and get it.
Gentle reader. I wonder if you've
ever tried to climb a telegraph pole
without the contrivances That a line
man buckles upon his feet? If you
haven't. the advice Of this amateur is
l"ont. Half a dozen times / shinnied
up 70 perhaps the height Of a. mans
mead only to come sliding down again
on a run. At last. by a series OF inch.
lnsscontrlved to get within arms
reach of the lowest crosspiece. Pliers
IN land, ] strained for the neares,
wire, rrogged it, and begansto twist II
oack and forth to break il.
NOT TO let me miss any of the thrills
II was at the precise instant of the
"lre-oreaklng that my strainine ears
caught the sound they had been lia-
ten1ng for; a far-away, drumming
ruhlpie That seemed to come from no.
"here IN particular. Then, out Of tho
same indefinite circumstances can 4
warning that was still, more unrnistak w.
motive whistle. "''oeo'
didn't climb do-.
came down like the time-bau ~ ~
Eiiagstaf in Washington at high noor
moreover. l struck the ground VIM.
ming. as one might say. All thoupht.
OF tlnkering that ~confounded mofor
a vanished and my one great onieot
IN NE was to'get the car off the ira u
pe1ore a worse thing should hannan
! was doing fairly well with Tho III
ing n tugging when the enemy nov.
IN slsht less than five hundred vards
aWay. AND that wasn't all, either. Al
precisely the same instant, as IL il had
psen tl0ned oy the same mechanism
Ia. Ia Drought the freight train
go cnn'e a wild engine around the
its whistle valve held open and ,,,aE
lne a racket to wake the dad IT..
berett motorcar riders had fo,nt =
locomotive, somewhere and yara nha.
ing me. 1''as'
One mac neave at the stra n ded -.
ohne car, a mighty boost tha: s -,
put wheel Of 1t in the clear 80
! was gone-streaking it like = tacL4
rappi Tor the tall timber--on,v ihasn,
wasn't a stick Of timber nearer .h..
the slopes OF the Background rnn,,r
tains. 80 noun
One glance over my sf,o,,,d.-
lied showed me what I was IN -.
that the story was to be immodi. .o,'
continued in our next. Both enrinaeI
Ir1ed to stop; did stop in time 10 49,
the greater catastrophe. Three ~ -.
men jumped from the freight am 80,
from the wild engine to come "a. ~
after me. II fancied 1 could ~. .easlaa
their moneys worth 1t that eamsn
Deing pretty fair training-.n
pitched out to try to turn the h.no
thetioAl theory into = condition
It was q great race. Thromrh y.
a n into another We went ~" u
Ing figure Fights around ne sii. -,
back again, dodSine into nsv 1919. ans
and out Of them into Others ci-c,,..a
among great sandstone bomid.,. .rWu.l'
took all sorts OF weird names I, IN
passing glimpse. - =
don't know Just how inn
cnase laatsd but ~ Va leng snn,t.;
e tive very eonsidsrabiA 1aSre
of reepeet TOR the nerve and rsssss
stsncs OF those highly indienanf 80