New Britain herald., 1924-08-21
NOW 60 os WITH THE STORY

he actually had his hands on tn
 bandit car.
 Get q lantern" he said. "I.eti
 go down and have a look at it."
 Chester fetched a lantern from in,
 kitchen. and they went down 10 th'
 tool shed, Jerome Underwood ey
 amined the mysterious fhver will
 more attention than he had eyei
 given to his own imported GET. H'
 studied the license plate with q
 searching eye, trying 10 make himself
 believe that II awakened recollection
 He could not be sure but the more
 he looked at it the more familiar Ii
 seemed to be. Uneonsclously. he was
 creating a memory Of II, which might
 after all. serve just as well.
 The missing wheel baffled him. He
 could not invent a reason for 1t. Had
 there been smash-up which
 crnmrled a wheel. there would al-
 most certainly bo other marks on the
 car. But all it showed were a few
 ordinary dents and a myriad of
 scratches. common to hundreds of
 thousands of other flivvers all over
 the world. Standing there on it's three wheels with soap-boy serving as a crutch in place of the fourth, the dusty thing possessed an uncanny faculty of annoying him. He was aware of feeling of resentment toward il. He had hated fivvers al- ways; the people who drove them, as he saw them never had any road manners. It was useless to pass them in the highway and leave them sput- terng in your wake. because there was always another one ahead. Now it seemed that his diffused hatred came to focus on one solitary speci- men out of all the millions.
 He led the way back to the house swinging the lantern and trying to make something out of Chester's dis covery. When they entered the Iiv- ing room he did the obvious thing.
 Co get McSheen," he said. And | let me do the talking"
 Chester found the foreman in the | bunk house, getting ready to pull off | his boots Charley was a believer in going early to bed when there was nothing else to do. He went up to the ranch house, wondering what the boss wanted.
 MT. Underwood always tried to make it a practice of getting imme- liately to the point particularly with 
 "Who owns the car that stands in he tool shed?" he asked.
 What car?" asked Charley.
 Then and there he passed a Rubi- ,on, and realized it. Probably he lad passed it foolishly, too. But the question had taken him by surprise, md his own question in return had mapped itself out automatically. That was the worst of speaking with ut due reflection. Why hadn't he aid that the car belonged to MT. and Irs. Henry Williams and let the truth lave it's way? i
 There's car down there, three- ! wheeled flivver," said Underwood. I Who does it belong to?"
 "A three- wheeled flivver?" repeated + Charley. T reckon that's new [ lind. It ain't any wonder they keep \ akin chunks off the price,"
 MT. Underwood stared at his fore t nan.
 Mean to say you didn't know here was flivver in the tool shed ?" e demanded.
 First I ever heard of it." said S 'harley promptly. s Having inadvertently set a course J or himself he proposed to sail it. le had a superstition about turning c ack. And what was all the fuss bout anyhow? n Well, we found one there. My t' on and I have been taking a look at Q . Do you know what we think?"
 "U'm! No, cant say as I do, MT. " nderwood."
 Charley was becoming cautious and g lrious. He scratched his chin and Il esolved to be deliberate.
 We think it's the same car that as used by the gang that held us u D."
 Well, I'll he dog -goned! And U andin' down there in the tool shed? ? p Thy, I'll just be damned, that's all" to And you mean to say you don't now anything about it?" b' But I'm a-goin' to-" said Charley. ei m agoin' to have look" ce Ilt stlGtu IIlb ldllIPrn ana naSfene6 1t Of the room before Mir. Under TO pod could utter another question. IT own near the shed he paused for th ought. There was no need to go i'd look at the Wreck's f1ivver: he ao lew all about it. What he wanted IS little time. 10 Twice within the space of min he had been surprised, and he re opposed to get himself in order be- re they did it again. It had never vi cured to him that any member of e Underwood family would take the wt 'uble to discover the f1ivver. That ASl IS the first surprise. It was en- sle ely unnecessary. too, he reflected: tn might as well have left the thing I'll the open. Nobody could use it yhow. But the other surprise sh ? suspicion that this was the fiivveri wa he sons of gunsi" he muttered. he sons of guns! Stickin' up } boss and then buttin' into his own 1ch and askin' for breakfast I