Carolina watchman., 1936-04-17

WeSk previously dt tiilS PlSSASe
point. Tonight he did what he had
done on that other occasion; he
stopped, got out, and went around
to the front of the car to investi-
gate. Gerald did not pretend to
have much knowledge of auromo-
biles, but this coincidence, it SEEM
ed to him, proved precisely what he
had told the dealer; to wit, there
was loose electric connection
somewhere and certain sort of jar
destroyed the contact, dislocated
something or other. The dealer
had promised to have it fixed but
well, this was sample of his
work. Fine way to turn out a
brand-new car, even a cheap one!
Gerald shook the lamp gently,
but it appeared to be rigidly at
tached to its support and the bulb
did not relight. He was afraid to
shake it too hard, for fear of pull
ing it off-this was no rugged,
handmade, foreign car. Then he
fingered aimlessly at the wire be-
meath the lamp, but that, too, was
disappointingly secure. He reason
ed that the wire must run under
the hood of the machine and some
where attach itself to a battery or
a dynamo or a generator or some
thing, 50 he stepped back, lifted the
bonnet, and peered inside. He
could make out very little indeed,
even with the aid of match, and
recognized nothing that could by
any possibility be considered dy-
namo or an electric lighting plant.
The vital organs of an automobile,
it seemed to him, were unnecessari-
ly complicated; he would have con-
sidered many of them utterly use
less except for the fact that here
and there things" were revolving.
He quickly discovered several
wires, any one of which might be
the cause of his trouble, so, striking
second, then third match, he
gingerly tested them. He had not
gone far when he uttered a grunt
and jerked his hand away, incident
ally Dumping his elbow against
something sharp and hard. Auto
; mobiles are full Of painful corners.
He dropped the match and swore,
whereupon he heard subdued laugh
ter and through the gloom discov-
cred a couple of figures near by.
''Do you fellows know anything
about automobiles" he inquired.
There came an answer in Italian,
so he confessed, ruefully: "Nell,
neither do I. I can drive 'em, but
l can't fix 'em.''
''He closed the bonnet, passed back
through the glare of his good head
light, and, stepping into the car,
drove on. 1t was relief to note
that the car ran as we'll with one
light as with two. Some car! This
little buggy hight have her faults,
but he loved her, just the same. 1t
was the first automobile he had ever
possessed and his pride of owner
ship was inordinate, for it repre-
sented a terrible egtravagance. 1t
was a lovely shade of blue, too, the
particular shade he adored, and he
would have immensely enjoyed
showing it to his mother. That,
however, was impossible. He could
never make her understand. Invol-
! unfairly, he fetched deep sigh and
shook his head.
Instead of proceeding on past the
poultry farm and parking his ma
chine in the grove near the entrance
to the Ethridge lane, as he had done
a week previously, he turned in
through a break in the fence before
reaching the farm, and killed his
motor under a wide-spreading tree.
1t was barely possible that the po-
lice might be watching the scene of
the tragedy, and in any event it was
not nice place to be on dark
night. Gerald hated dark colors,
dark nights, dark deeds, and the
thought Of what had occurred a
week ago tonight in that lane, half
mile ahead, gave him sick feel
ing. He felt jumpy as he set out
across the open pasture land to-
wards the lights of his mothers
cottage, and more than once he cast
apprehensive glances back of him
or stopped to listen.
Soon the familiar outlines of
chicken houses and runs appeared,
then a dog barked. 1t was Jack,
the old Airdale. The dog recog-
nized Gerald's voice and greeted
him with extravagant affection