The evening world. Newspaper, December 31, 1921, Page 13

— Vs “ eae Peer Xe . rT, EO rm eee ee sat S. TWO SECTION ee on A Record T 2 in the morning, on Main Street of a Nebraska prairie town that ought to have been asleep since 10, a crowd was packed under a lone arc-light, chat- tering, laughing, and every moment pecring down the dim street to west- ward, Out in the road were two new au’) mobile tires, and cans of gasoline, oil, water. The hose of a pressure air- pump stretched across the cement side- walk, and beside it was an air-gauge chamois case. in a new Across the street a restaurant was glaring with unshaded clectric lights, and a fluffy- haired, pert-nosed girl alternately ran to the window, and returned to look after the food she was keeping warm. The President of the local motor club, who was also owner of the chief garage, kept brown union stuttering to a young man in “Now, be all Re- member, gotta change those casings in They a romantic event—the smashing of thi Mal- overalls, ready—for land's sake, be ready. three minutes.” were awaiting cross-continent road record by a lard car, driven by J. T. Buffum, Every one there had seen pictures of Buffum in the sporting and automo- bile pages of the Lincoln and Kansas City papers; every one knew that face, square, impassive, heavy cheeked, kindly, tween tirm teeth and the almost boyish Two days with the unsmoked cigar be bang over a fine forehead ago he had been in San Francisco, be- tween the smeared gold of Chink dens Pacific. Two in distant and the tumult of the days from now le would bk New York. Miles away ©) the level prairie road a piercing j: » of light grew swiftly into two lights, while a distant drum roll turned into the ‘burring roar of a huge unmufficd engine. The devouring thing burst into town, came fulminat ing down on with a jerk. them, The stopped clashing crowd saw the leather-hooded man at the mighty steering wheel nod to them, grinning, human, «ompanionable—the great Buf fum. “Hurray! Hurray!"’ came the cries and the silence changed to weaving go sip. Already the garage youngster, wit! his boss and three men from another garage, was yanking off tw) worn cas- ings, filling the gas tank, the oil well, the radiator. LBuffum stiffly crawled from the car, stretched his shoulders, his mighty arms and legs, in a leonin: yawn. “Jump out, Roy. Eats here,” he muttered to the man in the passen ger seat. This man—the spectators did mot heed, He was merely Buf fum’s mechanic and relay driver, a poor — + -= ~= ——————==— = ———————— eo — ——_ —=—s— — Fe SATURDAY, DECEMBER 81, 1921. TION TWO. a a a By SINCLAIR LEWIS Illustrated by WILL B. JOHNSTONE a ee es a Smasher in a Racing Car and a Fast Worker in a Love Affair— Swift Action, by the Author of ‘Main Street’’ thing who had never in his life driven eream. The lunch and the changing town, Roy Bender, the relay driver, took ; faster than ninety miles an hour. of casings took three and a quarter the wheel. Buffum sat with his relaxed minutes. The clatter quiet houses and was gone. became drab and dull. The crowd the yawned and fumbled its way home. The garage owner hustled Buffum across to the lunch room. The moment the car had pretty waitress, jumping up and down with chicken from the warming oven, poured of the motor smote ihe while he drowsily commented stormed into town the rhe town enveloping that hill, Roy. “How can you tell?" Maybe 1 roar: impatience, had snatched the- Buffum planned to get in two hours out the real coffee, proudly added real of sleep after leaving this Nebraska I don't know smell wae THE SMOOTH PURRING OF THE MOTOR WAS INTERRUPTED BY A NOISE AS THOUGH THE EN GINE WAS FLYING TO PIECES <> body swaying to the leaping motion, in a hoarse, slow shout that pushed through “Look out for Going to be slippery.” it