The Bingham County news. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1918-1930, 1923-10-26
A DRAWN GAME
BY II. IRVING KING

"A s concluded hslf Ethel he'll to which Johr
replied: Every WELL" and went on ma
way.
This was the conclusion OF one OF
those little atmospheric disturbances
known as flowers quarrels." They hao
lust drifted into it-as sometimes nap
pens. When they came to think 1t over
afterward neither Of them could tell
inst exactly how it started or just
what they had been quarreling about /;
but each was sure that the other had
been in the wrong.
Why two young people as sincerely
in love with each other as Ethel
Barnes and John Warland should quar-
rel in this absurd manner 1t Is hard
to say.
OF course Ethel and John were very
miserable after they had thus parted
In anger. And Just how obstinate they
were, too, you can imagine-how de-
termined each was that the other
should speak first" That there was
to be no more speaking between them
did not enter the heads Of either party
to the disturbance.
Ethel and John were two obstinate
young people. The fact that they
were much in love with each other
predicated the final yielding OF one OF
them. Among the other desperate
things that Ethel did in the disturb
| ance Of mind caused by her quarrel
with John was to buy small car-or
rather she persuaded her father to
buy one for her-and to learn to drive
it, after a fashion.
At this stage of the game Harry
Benson came into 1t. He and Ethel
were old schoolmates, and she fre-
quently gave him rides In her car.
And such was Harry's admiration for
Ethel that he was willing to risk life
and limb for the privilege Of sitting
beside her while she did weird things
with the steering wheel OF the
machine. It Is just possible that
Ethel figured that seeing Harry en-
sconced In the car by her side would
make John jealous.
AS a matter of fact, It did make
John jealous so Jealous that, fully
recognizing Harry's peril, he did not
in the least care what happened to
him. He hoped, however, that, in
the impending smashup, whenever 1t
should take place, Ethel would not be
hurt. Yes, he told himself, In spite OF
the manner in which she had treated
him. he sincerely hoped she would es-
cape unhurt. If Harry Benson only
knew anything about driving a ma
chine now, he thought, it would be diff
ferent he would not have worried so
much. But Harry did not know, and
Ethel's driving was certainly far from
that of an expert. AS a matter Of
fact, had Harry been the best driver
in the world, John would still have
been disturbed at seeing him in the
car with Ethel. John had machine
Of his own in which, before their
"fareup," he and Ethel had had many
long and pleasant rides together. and
he never took his seat in 1t now with
out signing That machine was filled
with memories which would not be
silent.
Sometimes It seemed to John as II
every noise its engine made kept re-
peating over and over again, "Fthel
Ethel" One day. in an unfrequented
highway, John, rolling along in his Sc
dan. came in sight of Bthels car hove
to in distress. Something had gone
wrong with 1t. and Harry and ifs fair
owner were fussing about vainlv try
ing to set it right. John hesitated,
stopping, got out and, addressing
Harry, said: whats the matter?
Can I help your
Ethel turned her back and gazed
at the distant horizon while Harry
81 don't know, the blamed
thing won't go, somehow" John dis
covered at once what was the mat
ter, did a few things with the
mechanism of the car and had it work
ng in a jiffy. Then lie entered his
own machine and drove off, never once
ooking back at Ethel whom he had
gnored wholly in the proceedings.
Ethel was grievously disappointed
hat John had not attempted to speak
% her. Also she was extremely angry,
and all the way home rated poor
Harry for his ignorance of automo-
lilies and his general inefficiency. She
declared that she would never let
lin ride In her car again. She did
ct him ride with her again. however,
md the very next time she did 80
he long-expected happened. Ethel's
ar took on skittish mood, evinced
disposition to climb telegraph poles
imp fences, and otherwise displayed
m exuberance Of spirits quite inconS
fstent with the safety-f1rst idea. John.
oming down the road In his sedan.
aw the car lying in the roadside ditch,
7hile Harry hung Imply over a neigh
oring fence and Ethel was crawling
a damaged condition from beneath
he wreck
He stepped on his gas; the sedan
airly jumped to the scene Of the dis
Stpr. he atOnDod u-itb n e,d5onua