The Indianapolis times., 1923-10-10

| me to chuck the old motorcycle, and
| buy me a nice little car that 1 could
load up with my stuff
The gleam of venal interest he
had anticipated. frightened the ga
rage-keeper's dull eye, and for the
| first time he unbent to articulate
speech.
Sure looks like good business to
me-" ne agreed. AN 'twouldn't
cost you no more to run a car than
it does your motorcycle"
Except for the first expense"
said Charlie. mo, I don't suppose
| il would. And 1 wouldn't want a
! great, big, high-powered car, you
understand" His eye fell as If by
| chance on the f1ivver. Nov there's
/ a little trick that would suit me first
rate. Doesn't happen to be for sale,
does it?'
Shouldn't wonder" the garage
man led the way toward it, and
threw back the hood for inspection.
You know the party that owns
il, then?" Charlie could hardly keep
| the thrill of eagerness out of his
voice.
"Oh. yes; best of friends. What
ever say. he'll stand for"
Wonder If I'm acquainted with
him? know quite a number of peo-
pie around here"
''Well, you might call it bein'
'quainted," with heavy jocularity;
''seein' that you're ta1kin' to him
right now. I'm the owner Of this bus,
Captain"
Course she amt her prettiest," ;"
apologetically. She's just in off the
road; and. with this lie all over every
thing, she's kind of spattered up.
Coupla strangers come in her with
big tourin' car that they said wasn't
hittin' right, and asked me If could
let 'em have a machine to go over
White Plains way, while their'n was
bein' fixed. So rented 'em the little
boat. But, shucks, they might as well
have used their own; there wasn't
nothin' wrong with it that could see,
'cept a loose bolt or two"
Charlie recognized with a sense of
utter Illustration that it was useless
to probe further. All he could get
was description of the two men so
vague that it would fit a million
others, and a lack of any Identifying
details for the car.
wait now, the garage keeper was
saying, till l turn over the engine
for you, and then you can see for
yourself that 1 amt misstated nothin'
to you. Come here, Sam, and crank
her up for me-"
But as Sam shambied around to
the front Of the fivver, and Charlie
and the proprietor leaned over to
watch the test, they were interrupted
by hail from the doorway. A party
of people in a touring car had lust
driven up. and were making signals
of distress. The garage man relapsed
into his professional phlegm.
Hold on a minute" he said. "I
gotta see what these pests want. Then
I'll be back
Charlie leaned back against tbe
wheel of the fivver. and while he
waited rolled cigarette. He gave a
little gesture of impatience, and scat.
tered the tobacco he was rolling tn
the floor.
With a muttered imprecation at
his awkwardness, he reached for biz
sack, and as he did so, saw the gar.
age man complete his examination of
the car at the door, and shake his
head at the owner.
This here is Job that's going to
take a couple Of hours" <he an.
nounced; "and you can't go on in the
shape you're in, gears all pulled
loose. You folks IL just have a nile
out and stick around, till I get it
! fixed up"
| There were protests, exclamations.
remonstrances; but the garage man
was firm, and in the end the party
! four women and two men besides the
/ driver, with American good hurnor
under trying circumstances. got ont
OF the car and the proprietor and Sam
rolled 1t into the shop.
| Regarding this as a good oppor.
tun-ty to get away, Charlie called to
the garage keeper that he would be
back presently and started for the
! door. Without looking at the grouu of
stranded motorists, he pushed bis mo-
tor-cycle past them, when he was
stopped by high-pitched, family IA
miliar voice calling:
"Oh. how d'y' dol"
He looked UP to see a pretty girl
in Enthusiastically vivid sport things
moving toward him.
For moment he was puzzled, and
then he remembered her as the
strayed Princess of the smart little
millinery shop where he and Ranger
had bought the hat
Juliet he exclaimed, sweeping
off his hat. ITO think that YOU re-
membered me after all tLese yearsr
How could 1 forget the man who
| ordered that-that lidt' Laughter
struggled with statuesque repose and
won. "Oh, you menl You've a
scream when it comes to millinery.
Too bad" her charming mouth drawn
down, her eyes full of mocking COM
miseration, that your lady friend
didn't like the hat"
At her words, a splinter of light
ming went through Charlie and shiv-
cred along his spine. In the black,
boggy depths of his slough of de-
spond there flashed a ray of hope.
CHAPTER XVI
In the twinkling of an eye the
humble canvasser of "put-it-together-
yourself furniture became without
change of costume or stage proper
ties the sophisticated, wor1d-worn man