davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1922-01-01

stick, but he comes from the east.
Some day she'll get tireds of school
teaching and he'll grab her. Marry
in haste and repent at Reno, like
the fellow says"
That's right. Fix up the bill. Roy?
G'by"
Buffman was off. Five minutes later
he was six and three quarters miles
away. In his mind was but one
thought-to make up the lost time ::
in his eyes was no vision save
speedometer and spark lever and the
road that rushed toward him.
A little after dark he rumbled at
Roy: Here. Take her. Going to get
some sleep" He did sleep. for an
hour, tfen struggling into full wake
fulness. he dug his knuckles into his
eyes like a little sleepy boy. glanced
at the speedometer, laid a hand on
the steering wheel and snapped at
Roy: "All right Move over"
At dawn nothing existed in the
world save the compulsion to keep
her at top speed. The earth was shut
off from fim by a wall of roar and
speed. He did not rouse to human
Evening star., 1922-01-01

lowing: Ready in two minutes. boss"
Buffum was on his feet, drawing on
his gauntlets and leather coat. She
looked at him gravely, while he
urged:
"Going on. Day from now the
strain will begin to kind of get me.
Will you think about me then? Will
you wireless me some good thoughts?"
"Yes!-very quietly.
He yanked off his big gauntlet. He
felt her hand fragile in his. Then he
was gone, marching down the walk,
climbing into the car, demanding of
Roy: '.Look over oil and battery and
ev'thing?'
"You bet We did everything" said
the garage man. Get a little rest?"
"Yea Had a chance to sit in the
shade and loaf"
"saw you talking to .Aurilla Riv-
Roy interrupted: "All right, all
right, boss. Shoot!"
Buffum heard the garage man out:
"Fine girl, Aurilla is. Smart s q
whip. She's real swell. Born and
brought up here, too."
'sWho's this that Miss Rivers is en-
gagged to?" Buffum risked.
"Well. I guess probably she'll marry.
Rev. Dawson. He's dried-up old
Evening star., 1922-01-01

had to stop to think whether he was
east or west, and now-Yes, this
was Iowa. Of course. But that ver-
zebra belonged to New England.
And to New England belonged the
&C nch- shell and the mahogany table
in the wide hall, with its strip of
rag-carpet, down which Miss Rivers
led him to the telephone-an old
fashioned wall instrument. Buffum
noticed that Miss Rivers conscien-
tiously disappeared through the wide
door at the end of the hall. into a
garden of pinks and pansies and
sweet William.
please get me long distance"
I'm long distance and short dis
tance and
"All right This is Buffum, the
transcontinental racer want to
talk to Detroit, Michigan,-Mallard
Motor Company,-office of the
president"
He waited ten minutes. He sat on
the edge of William and May chair.
and felt obese, clumsy, extremity
dirty. He ventured off his chair
disappearing of the thunder of his
footsteps-and stood in the doorway
of a room which. he fancied. con
tanned all the Rivers treasures. The
corner by the bow window seemed
to be a shrine. Above genuine
antediluvian haircloth sofa were
three pictures: In the center was a
lather good painting of a man who
was the very spirit of 1850 in New
England grim white fore
head. Roman nose, prim triangle of
shirtfront. On the right was a
watercolor of house. white door
ed. narrow-eaved. small Widowed.
standing out against gray sand and
blue water. with moored motor
dory beyond. On the woodshed ell
OF the pictured house was nailed up
the name-board of ship-the
Eenninah Sparrow.
On the left of the portrait was a
fairly recent enlarged photograph of
a man somewhat like the granther
Of 1850. so far as Romanness Of nose
Evening star., 1922-01-01
SPEED.

they had a coat OF arms, but Apogee
folks didn't think much of armorial
bearings.
"Haye YOU been on the cape your
self" Buffum queried. Il remember
driving through Harlepool, but
don't recall anything but white
houses and a meeting house. with
whale of big steeple.'
"The dream of my life has been to
go to Harlepool. Once, when father
had to go to Bosten he did run down
there by himself. That's when ne
brought back the portrait of grand
father. and the painting OF the oio
house. and the furniture ana all. lie
said it made him so melancholy 10
see the changes in the town. anu ne
never would, go again; then-he uied
I'm saving up money for Il trip pack
east | do believe in democracy. but
at the same time / feel that families
like the Riverses owe it to the world
to set an example. and ] want to
find my own people again My own
people,
Maybe you're right I'm from the
soil. Dy-rect, But somehow l can
see il in you. same as | do in the
portrait of your grandfather. l wish
I-well. never mind
"Eut you are an arist"crat You
do things that other people don't
dare TO. While you were tclephoninE
saw our school principal. and he
said you were n feudAl Thane and an
Ajax and all kinds d.
Here. Now Yua. Quit! Stop!
Wait. A lot Of people. especially on
newspapers. give me Il lot of taffy
lust because / can drive fast What
| need is some one like you-fine,
keen-to make me realize what
roughneck i am"
X i: X
CHE looked at him cleareyed. and
~ pondered: I'm afraid most of the
Apogee boys think I'm rather prim."
",rhey would! That's why they're
stuck in Apogee." Buffum searched
her eyes and speculated: II wonder
if we aren't alike in this way: Neither
Evening star., 1922-01-01
A Record Smashing Story

nearer n Clinton. Get this soldered.
Here! Youw
The Here! YOU" was directed at
the driver of an ancient roadster.
Got to hustle this boat into next
town. Want you to haul me in
Roy Bender had already snatched
a tow-rope from the back of the rae
ing car, was fastening it to the front
axle of the Mallard, the rear of the
roadster.
< X X X
DUFFUM gave no time for disputes.
continent. Here's ten dollars. Want
your machine ten minutes. I'll drive"
He had crowded into the seat. AL
ready, with Roy steering the Mallard,
they were headed for Apogee.
A shouting crowd ran out from
house and store. Buffum slowly looked
them over. OF man in corduroy
trousers and khaki shirt. who had
pumped out OF a garage. he demanded:
"Who's the best solderer in town."
81 am. Good as anybody in Iowa."
"Now, wait! Know who l am?"
"Sure! You're Buffum.''
MY radiator is shot to thunder.
Got to be soldered. want six hours
work done in one hour. or less. How
about the hardware store? Isn't there
a solderer there that's even better than
you?"
Eyes. guess maybe old Frank Dieters
is"
Get him. and get the other good
men. and get busy. One of you work
on each side. Roy Bender here will
boss you.'' Already Roy was taking
down the radiator. lone hour, re-
member Hurry. Plenty of money in
it"
"Oh. We don't care anything about
tie money!
Thanks, old man. Well. l might
as we'll grab a little sleep. Whereli
get a long distance Connection" he
yawned.
ACROSS the street. at Mrs. Rivers.
Be less noise there than in the ga
rage, l guess"
Over the way was house that was
Evening star., 1922-01-01
The Shapes of Eggs

AN expert recently entertained tnA
- Geological Society Of LondoS
with a mathematical discussion of the
differences in the shape Of egxs
A few eggs, like those of the owl ano
the tortoise, are spherical or nearly
so; a few, like the grebe's or the
cormorant's, are elliptical, with sym.
metricaI ends; the great majority.
like the hens, are ovoid, or bluntt9
at one end than at the other.
The hens eggs are always laia
blunt end foremost Eggs which
are the most unsymmetrical are also
eggs of large size relatively to the
parent birds. The yolks of eggs are
spherical, whatever the form of the
entire egg may be. This Is shown to
be due to their being inclosed in
fluid, the white" which makes the
nressure everywhere on the surface
Of the yolk practically constant.
Evening star., 1922-01-01
"AnchOr Ice" I"

THIS is the popular name given in
many parts Of our country to the
ice formed at the bottom of swiftly
running streams. This ice usually
forms about stones and logs where
the current is disturbed. What
gives il interest is the circumstance
that its formation seems TO be con-
trary to the laws that govern freez-
ing water.
We know that still water ice be-
gins TO form on the surface. We
are told that in cooling down to
thirty-nine degrees. Fahrenheit.
water contracts and that it's specific
gravity increases SO that the colder
water will be at the bottom. But
in cooling down from thirty-nine de-
grees TO thirty-two, the water ex-
pands and the coolest water will be
at the top and the freezing will be-
gin there. If the surface is dis
turbed by wind or by current the
crystals cannot attach themselves
and ice does not form, though the
water be cooled below the freezing
point. 1t is in these circumstances
that ice forms at the bottom One
of the puzzling features of this for
nation is that it forms where the
lower currents seem most disturbed.
The watermen of various localities
believe in the possibility of the water
freezing at the bottom of river.
the surface remaining liquid. They
assert that boat hooks, eel picks,
etc, constantly come in contact with
a coating of ice at the bottom, are
often seen rising to the surface with
mud, weeds and stone adherinS
Millers have asserted that the wheels
of their watermills have become
frozen to the bottom of the stream
while the surface of the water was
still unfrozen.
Evening star., 1922-01-01

| large square box with an OctaSonal
cupola on the mansard roof. 1t was set
back in a yard Of rough grass and old
crabapple trees. At the gate were
smallish, severe woman, in spectacles
and apron, and a girl Of twenty-five or
six. Buffum looked at the girl twice,
distinguished her from all the other
women in the crowd that had come
pushing and giggling to see the famous
car.
She was sharply individualized. 1t
was not that she was tall and blazing.
She was slight-and delicate as a
dry point etching. Her chin was pre-
else though soft; she had a Roman
nose, feminized charming version OF
the Roman nose. The thing that made
her distinctive. Buffum reflected, was
her poise. The girl by the gate was as
quietly aloof as the small cold moon
Of winter.
! He plodded across the road. He hesi-
tated before speaking.
81 hope there hasn't been an acci-
dent" she murmured to him.
mo, just small repair
"But why does every one seem so
much concerned?'
"Why, it's-it's-I'm J. T. Buffum." !"
"Mr-uh-Buffum?''
II reckon you never heard Of me-"
"Why, uh-should have?" Her eyes
were serious, regretful at discourtesy.
mo. You shouldn't. just mean
Motor fans usually have. I'm a racer.
I'm driving from San Francisco to New
York.
Really? 1t will take you-ten days?"
-Four or five days.
"In two days you will be in the
east? See the-the ocean, the art gal
leries? OH"
In her voice was. wistfulness.
Her eyes saw far-off things. But
they came back to Apogee. Iowa, and
to the big. dusty man in leather, with
a penitent I'm ashamed, not to have
heard Of you, but I've haven't a
car. I hope they will make your re-
pair quickly. May mother and give
you a glass of milk or something?'
I'D be glad If you'd let me use
"Of course!-Mother, this is Mr..
Buffum, who is driving across the
+, country. oh-my name is Aurilla
Rivers"
Buffum awkwardly tried to bow in
two directions at once. Then he fol-
lowed Aurilla Rivers slender back.
He noticed how smooth were her
shoulder-blades. They were neither
| jagged nor wadded. It seemed to
! him that the blue silk Of her waist
took life from the warm and eager
flesh beneath. In her studied serenity
she had not lost her youth.
A s he drew away from the pryine
L \ crowd and the sound of hasty
hammers and wrenches he was con-
scious Of clinging peace. The brick
Of the walk was worn to a soft rose.
| shaded by gently moving branches
Of lilac bushes. At the end was q
wild-grape arbor, and an ancient
bench. The arbor was shadowy. and
full Of the feeling Of long. and tran
quill years. In this land Of new houses
and new red barns and blazing miles
Of wheat it seemed mysterious with
antiquity.
And on the doorstep was the
bleached vertebra Of a whale. Buff
fun was confused. He Travelled 90
much and % swiftly that he always
Evening star., 1922-01-01

A T two in the morning, on Main
~ street of a Nebraska prairie
~ town that ought to have been
asleep since ten, crowd was
lacked under a lone arc-light. chat
ter1ng, laughing, and every moment
peering down the dim street to
westward.
Out In the road were two new
automobile tires, and cans of gaso-
line. oil. water. The hose of a pres
sure air pump stretched across the
cement sidewalk, and beside it was
an air gauge in a new chamois case.
Across the street a restaurant was
g1aring with unshaded electric lights:
and a fluffy-haired, pert-nosed girl
alternately ran to the window and
returned to look after the food she
was keeping warm. The president
of the local motor club, who was also
owner of the chief garage, kept slut
terinS to young man in brown
union overalls. Now. be all ready
for lands sake. be ready. Remem-
ber, gotta change those castings in
tflTe6 IItiTuleS IHtS were dW
a romantic event-the smashing of
the cross-continent road record by a
Mallard car driven by ]. T. Buffum.
Every one there had seen pictures
Of Buffum in the sporting and auto
mobile pages of the Lincoln and Kan
Sas City papers: every one knew that
face. square, impassive, heavy
checked. kindly. with the unsmoke ed
cigar between firm teeth. and the
almost boyish bang over a fine fore
head. Two Lays ago he had been
in San Francisco. between the smear
ed gold of Chink dens and the
tumult of the Pacific. Two days
from now he would be in distant
New York.
X * ): x
MILES away on the level prairie
road a piercing jab of light grew
swiftly into two lights, while a dis
tant drum-roll turned into the bur-
ring roar of a huge unmuffled engine.
The devouring thing burst into
town, came Illuminating down on
Evening star., 1922-01-01

went, but weaker and more pompous,
tent:ous broad eyeglass-ribbon. and
hair that must have been silvery
over a face that must have been
deep-flushed.
By the sofa was marble topped
stand on which were sweet peas
surely fresh that day.
The central called. and Buffum was
talking to the president of the NAL
lard Motor Company, who for two
days and nights had sat by the
ticker. watching his flashing
progress.
Hello, chief. Buffum speaking.
Held up for about one hour, Apogee.
Iowa. Think I can make it up. But
better move the schedule up through
Illinois and Indiana. Huh? Radiator
leak. By
He inquired the amount of toll.
and rambled out to the garden. He
had to hurry away, Of course. and
get some Sleep but it would be good
for him to see Aurilla Rivers again,
to take with him the memory of her
cool resoluteness She was coming
toward him. He meekly followed
her back through the hall, to the
front steps. There he halted her.
He would see quite enough Of Roy
Bender and the car before he reached
New York.
please sit down here a moment,
and tell me-
>'Yes?"
"Oh, about the country around
here, and uh- Oh! owe you for the
telephone call"
please! It's nothing"
But it's something. It's two
dollars and ninty-five cents
"For a telephone call?'
LIE caught her hand and pressed the
- money into it. She pumped down
on the steps, and he discreetly
lowered his bulk beside her. She
turned on him, blazing:
"You infuriate me! You do the
things I've always wanted to-sweep
across big distances, command men,
have power. suppose it's the old
Yankee shipmasters coming out in
me-"
Miss Rivers, I noticed a portrait in
there. It seemed to me that the pic
ture and the old sofa made kind Of
shrine. And the fresh flowers.
She stared little before she said:
Eyes. 1t is a shrine. But you're
the first one that ever guessed. How
did you"
Il don't know. I suppose it's be-
cause went through some California
missions a few days ago. Tell me
about the people in the pictures"
you wouldn't-oh, some day, per-
haps."
Some day. Now, you see here.
child! Do you realize that In about
forty minutes I'll be kiting out OF
here at seventy miles an hour?
Imagine that I've met you q couple
times in the bank or the post office,
and finally after about six months,
I've called here, and told your mother
like pansies. An right. All that is
over. Now. who are you. Aurilla
Rivers? Who and what and why and
how and whenY
She smiled. She nodded. She told.
She was a school teacher now. but
before her father had died-well, the
enlarged photograph in there was her
father. Bradley Rivers, pioneer law
yer OF Apogee. He had como out
from Cape Cod. as a boy. The side
whiskered man Of the central portrait
was her grandfather. Capt. Zenas
Rivers Of West Harlepool, on the
cape. The house in the picture was
the Rivers mansion. birthplace Of her
father, Of her grandfather and his
father before. They-she peeped hes
itatinsrlsx
Evening star., 1922-01-01

of US is content to plod. Most people
never even think of why they're liv-
ing. They reckon and guess and
s'pose that maybe some day they'll
do better. and then-bing.- They're
dead. But you and II seem-Tve
known you a long time. Will you
remember me-"
'Oh, yes. There aren't so many
seventy -an-hour people in Apogee"
From the gate Roy Bender was bel
Evening star., 1922-01-01
By Sinclair Lewis-Author of "Main Street,

Il do not! Whatever ] may be
on the clipper that he was command
ing, Zenas Rivers
Dear. there wasn't any Zenas Riv-
ers. He was a Portuguese immigrant
named Ribeiro. Fernao Ribeiro. The
picture picture 'hese !" the house is Capt
CHE had slipped from lis embrace
But he went steadily on. trying
with eyes and voice to make he. un-
derstand his tenderness.
"Old Zenas was a squat. dark char
a wrecker, and not very nice. ~
| fist real aristocrat in your family is
you"
Wait, You mean that-that IL
wasn't any of it true? But the Rivers
mansion?"
There isn't any. The house in the
picture has always belonged to the
Hendricks I've just been on Cape
Cod and ] found
you mean you went there and
asked questions
I'D hoped to bring you-well, sort
of news about the old place"
1T isn't true? Not any of it, about
the Rivers
None of it. ] didn't mean to tell
you. If you don't believe me, you can
rit.-''
oh. don't. Wait" She turned.
looked to the right He remembered
that down the street TO the right was
a rise of ground with a stragely vii
lage cemetery She murmured
Poor Dad. loved him. oh 80
much, butt know Dad told-fibs, But
never to harm people. just because he
wanted US to be proud of him. NJ
what is your nance"
"Buffum."
No no, my name
Jim"
.Jim-yes. Come.
He followed her swift steps into
the house, into the room Of the shrined
portraits She looked from "Zenas
Rivers" to the sketch of the Rivers
mansion" She patted the glass over
her fathers photograph She blew the
dust from her fingers. She sighed:
1T smells musty i'll here. so musty
She ran to a mahogany chest OF draw
ers and took out a sheet of parch-
ment. On il, he saw. was coat OF
arms.
She picked up pencil. turned over
the parchment and drew flying mo-
tor car.
She turned and thrust the sketch a;
him, crying: There's the coat OF
arms of the family to come. the crest
of a new aris;ocxacy that knows how
to work
With a solemnity that wasn't SOL
emn at all. he intoned: Miss Rivers.
would you mind marrying me. some
where between here and California"
Yes" he kissed her-'if you can
, make''-she kissed hm-'Mother un-
derstand. She has friends and litS
tie money. She can get along with
out me. But she believes the aris-
tocracy fable
May / lie to her.
why. once might be desirable
I'll tell her my mother was Ken
uTlth OF f1dTltpool. IL NC lei
! ribly top-lofty. but in hurry-espe-
! pially the hurry. Just got thirteen
minutes now
! From the hall sounded Mrs. Rivers
, petulant voice: "Aurilly.
yves. mother.
IF you and that man are going 10
| catch the train. you better be start
| ing
| '.W-w-why." Aurilla gasped. then.
/ her smile shining at Buffum; I'm run
! right up and pack my bag.
Its all tended TO. Aurilly. Minute
/ saw that drafted man coming again,
! i knew he'd be in hurry. But l do
think you might let me know my SON
in-law's name before you go, and l
think he ought to tell me I'm a real
( sport for once. l m sure / don't know
I where you're going, and l knew you
! were in love with him, and you only
| got eleven minutes. You better hurry
-hurry-hurry
copyright. 1921. All rights reserved,
Evening star., 1922-01-01

them, stopped with clashing jerk.
The crowd saw the leather-hooded
man at the mighty wheel
nod to them, grinning, human, COM
panionable-the great Buffum.
"Hurrayi Hurray" came the cries
and the silence changed to weaving
gossip.
Already the garage youngster, with
his bass ana three men from another
garage, was yanking off two worn
castings. filling the gas tank, the oil
well, the radiator. Buffum stiff1y
orawled from the car. stretched his
shoulders. his mighty arms and legs.
in a leonine yawn. Jump out, Roy.
Eats here" he muttered to the man
in the passenger seat. This man
the spectators did not heed. He was
merely Buffum'S mechanic and relay
driver. a poor thing who had never
in his life driven faster than ninety
miles an hour.
The garage owner hustled Buffum
across to the lunchroom. The mo-
ment the car had stormed into town,
the pretty waitress. jumping up and
down with impatience, had snatched
the chicken from the warming oven,
poured out the real coffee, proudly
added real cream. The lunch and
the changing of castings took three
and a quarter minutes.
The clatler of the motor smote the
quiet houses and was gone. The
town became drab and dull. The
crowd yawned and fumbled it's way
home.
Bufrum planned to get in two hours
of sleep after leaving this Nebraska
town. Roy Bender the relay driver,
took the wheel Buffum sat with his
relaxed body swaying to the leaping
motion, while he drowsily commented
through the enveloping roar: Look
out for that hill, Roy. Going to be
slippery"
How can you tell?"
"I don't know. Maybe. I smell it.
But watch out, anyway. Good night,
little playmate. Wake me up at four
hfteen."
ThaC was all OF the conversation
for seventy-two miles.
1t was dawn when Buffum drove
again. He was silent; he was con-
centrated on keeping the speedometer
3ust two miles higher than seemed
safe. But once a mile or so, on
Etraight stretches, he glanced with
weary happiness at the morning
meadows, at shimmering tapestry of
grass and young wheat, and caught
half note of the song of meadow
lark. His mouth, SO grimly tight in
dangerous places, rose at the corners.
Toward noon. as Buffum was ap-
preaching the village of Apogee,
Iowa, the smooth blaring of the mo-
tor was interrupted by a noise as
though the engine was flying to
pieces.
He yanked at the switch; before
the car had quite halted, Roy and he
had tumbled out at opposite sides,
were running. forward to lift the
hood. The fan-guard, a heavy wire
soldered on the radiator. had worked
loose and bent fan-blade, which had
ripped out a handful of honeycomb.
The inside Of the radiator looked as
though it had been hacked with a
dull knife. The water was cascading
out.
Bunum speculated: "Apogee next
Hevu3 Can't get radiator thsre- None