Nogales international., 1931-08-26
THIRD INSTALMENT


Rackruff Motors hire Rowena to accom-
pany Peter on a nationwide tour in their
roadster as an advertising stunt. At the
last minute Little Bobby is engaged to act
as chaperon
A few miles out Bobby becomes fearful
at being parted from her sweetheart and
Rowena insists on taking her place in the
rumble so that she can ride with Peter and
have him to talk to about Carter. Rowena
gets Peter to consent to divide the expense
money each week as soon as it arrives,
and astonshes Peter by eating too econ
omicaly.
To his intense amazement Rowena
flushed hotly and bit her lip in some
confusion, and most surprising of all,
said nothing. Already Peter found
it amazing when Rowena had moth
ing to say.
Certainly she had plenty to say at
Niagara Fails when Peter prepared
to do his picture of the Rackruf
roadster, with her at TIE wheel, both
showing family under a fine mist of
falling water. When it came to do
ing pictures, Peter was unbearable.
Carter himself could not have been
more hatefully dictatorial. He told
her what to wear, how to sit how to
rouge her lips. He told her how to
hold the wheel, which way to turn
her head, just where to fluff her hair
and where to draw it back.
"Oh, Peter" protested Rowena
family. "Please don't do my profile.
I'm terrible that way. My face is
too thin for a side view"
ooh, I'll fill it in for you," said
Peter comfortably. 1T shows up
better in the carr
"Oh, the car. the car" muttered
Rowena Grossly. "It's all you think
Of"
"It's all I'm paid to advertise" said
Peter cheerfully.
When he had finished the picture
Rowena wrote a brief adjectivorous
story to go with it, and both were
dispatched to Rackruff headquarters
for immediate release. In addition to
the motor story she wrote a short
skit every day for use in the news
papers of different cities as they
passed through.
At Rackruff headquarters in Chi
cago they received their first mail
from home. There was one fat let
ter for Rowena, addressed in a big
boyish scrawling hand And there
was one for Peter from the company
with instructions for the tour and a
check for the following weeks ex-
penseS.
Bobby was thrilled with huge
package Of kilograms, twenty in all,
and every one from Carter. 1t
seemed that every one of Carter's
finer feelings was highly outraged
for each of the twenty telegrams
ended with stern command afor her
to come home at once
Even ir his widest nightmares, he
said in the kilograms, he had never
conceived of a horror equal 70 that
of seeing her much-loved features on
public posters and monstrous bill
boards on every conspicuous corner
in town, advertising a cheap new
roadster
Bobby's first intention was to ig-
more each and every one of these
telegraphic outbursts, but by mid
afternoon she had relented SO far as
to send him fve-cent postcard pic
ture of Lake Michigan. At supper
time she sent telegram saying they
had arrived safely and were leaving
early the next morning; and then
kept Rowena awake until three o'clock
in the morning with the scratch of
her pen as she wrote him detailed
account of everything that had hap
pened SO far.
After Rowena had read her single
fat letter and smiled over it, and
frowned over it, she went to her
pocketbook and counted her money,
down even to nickels and dimes.
Then she called Peters room on the
telephone and asked if he would
please give her her share of next
weeks expense money right away.
"Of course" replied Peter. IF
you need more I can let you have it.
Don't ever run short Of money,
Rowena, we can always squeeze out
little extra some way"
Thanks a lot, Peter" said Row.
ena gratefully. 81 think can man
age aIteT CHlS. DuL yOu AC oWSNI W
make the offer"
Even Rowena was amazed at the
number of things about which Peter
had his own ideas, all bad ones. The
roads provided an unfailing source
Of dissension. Their route was clear
and definite. From Chicago they
were to go south to St. Louis, from
St. Louis to Kansas City, from Kan
sas City to Denver. Nothing could
be palmer. Between these cities
stretched a broad highway, heavily
travelled, expensively paved. The car
was supplied with the best of motor
maps, and the roads were clearly
marked at every turning. Rowena
sitting in the snug shade of the
stout umbrella she had bought, was
comfortably satisfied to travel swift
ly, steadily along the main highways
from one objective point to another.
But Peter was all for shortcuts
across country, and for all his decep-
tive air of extreme amiability, was
strongly entrenched in his personal
preferences. At every town-al-
though not, as Rowena disagreeably
claimed, at every telegraph pole-he
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