The Coolidge examiner., 1937-06-03

meadOW-graSS and goldenrod, Jim
tried to remember whether or not
there was a ditch at the left side Of
the road. He had ridden along it
frequently on horseback but, now.
he could not remember. Half way
across the fields it occurred to him
that he should have driven around
in the car. Whoever it was, if they'd
gone off the road, might need tow
line. Well, it wasn't far to go back.
Might as well keep on now.
Looking ahead through the fringe
of trees, the body of the car was
nothing more than lightish blurr
in the shadows. 1t was long car,
he observed, a roadster with the top
folded back. One of the neighbor-
hood debutantes out on lark. II
wasn't late. Half-past twelve. A
gentle slope upward. He hadn't re-
n-embered that the road was a lit
tie higher than the meadows
through which it ran.
Jim came out on the road and
was gripped for an instant in throt-
tling fear. The car at the side Of
the road was Cecily's roadster.
He ran to the car, his heart thud-
ding, his breath coming in painful
gasps. There Wa5 a figure slumped
down in the seat, a girls figure,
terrifyingly limp and still one arm
hanging over the door of the car.
Jim knew the instant he touched
the figure, his hands under the armS
to lift it into a less cramped posi-.
ton, that the girl was not Cecily
and relief flooded through him. The
interval Of suspended fear was fol-
lowed, almost at once, by increduli-
ty and alarm, for when he had
lifted the inert figure higher in the
seat, and turned on the search-light
alta ched to the windshield, he saw
th-t the girl was Dolly.
She was alive, thank God for thatl
but she was unconscious. Blood
oozed from cut above her temple
where lock of hair lay in a wet
curl against her forehead. Jirn
wiped away the blood, laid her
lengthwise on the seat of the car,
rubbed her wrists, took off his
coat and folded it under her head.
If only he had some water.
Dolly made no response to his
efforts to bring her to consciousness.
She lay as he had placed her, her
eyes closed, her hands with the
bright red nails crossed Imply over
her breast.
Incredulity and alarm receded be-
fore the necessity for thought and
action. Who had brought Dolly here
in Cecily's car? Tommy, of course.
Jim thought. Who else but Tommy
would have taken Cecily's car? But
where was Tommy? He had lone
for help, for a doctor, perhaps. Was
it Tommy who had knocked at the
door? He would return with assist.
ance soon. There was nothing to do
but wait.
Or perhaps the roadster was not
seriously damaged. Jim examined
the position of the car. The left
front wheel, sliding into the depres-
sion at the side of the road, had
crashed against a low line of stone
work, the remains of an old wall,
Jim judged, noting with the aid of
the revolving search-light the moss
which covered the stones. Tommy
must have been driving at terrific
speed to have struck so heavily.
The tire was torn off the rim and
three or four Of the wooden wheel
spokes were splintered. Jim real
lied that it would be impossible to
drive the car in that condition even
if he could get it back into the road.
Waiting for Tommy to return, he
attempted to reconstruct the acci-
dent. When the car had hit the
stonewcrk, it had sideswiped
tree. The force of the impact had
flung Dolly down and to the side.
Her head had struck the upper edge
Of the door or the tree, perhaps.
There was no more than a fraction
Of an inch of space between the car
and the tree. Jim saw in flash
Of imagination, the car sliding.
crashing into the stonework, Dolly
flung against the tree.
Tommy, he assumed, had escaped
without being hurt. The left side
of the car was on the road. There
were no signs of an injury to the
driver, no bloodstains, no broken
glass. He was probably terrified.
though, Jim thought grimly. Where
was he? Why hadn't he come in
Wien he thumped at the office door?
Frightened out of his wits. Off to
get a doctor. Perhaps a car had
passed and given him a lift. Why
didn't he come back?
A car approached along the road.
Jim, fuming with helpless inactivi-
ty, waited impatiently for It to
reach the roadster. If this was
Tommy
It was not Tommy. Both the oc-
cupants of the coupe, boy and
girl, were strangers to Jim.
"Hello!" The boy called, thrust
ing his head through the opened
window. Have you had an acci-
dent?" The girl gave a little