The Ralston Independent (Ralston, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 5, Ed. 1 Friday, June 6, 1913 Page: 2 of 4
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/SlANTQN
ELEANOR
Mirtrdnvi
M.
CHAPTER |.
The Man Who Dared.
The official starter let his ralaed
arm fall and leaned forward, peering
acroea the blended glare and darkness
"What?" he ahouted, above the pul-
aatlng roar of the eleven racing ma-
chine! lined up before the Judgea'
itand. "What?"
There was a flurry around the cen-
tral car, whose driver leaned from hla
aeat to atare down at the man who
had allpped from beside him to the
ground. The great crowd congesting
the grand stand pressed closer to the
barrier, stP-rlng also, commenting and
conjecturing.
"The mechanician of the Mercury la
off hla carl"
"Fainted—"
"Fell—"
"The automobiles hadn't atarted; he
must be alck."
The referee waa already puahlng hla
*sy back, bringing the report from
the haatlly summoned surgeon.
Heart disease," he announced right
and left "Stanton's mechanician Juat
dropped off hla aeat, dead
But 8tanton himself had already
awung out of hla car, with the ener-
getic decision that marked hla every
movement
"My man la out," h« teraely Btated
to the starter. "I've got to run over
to my camp and get another. Will
you bold the start for me?"
The question was rather a demand
than a request. There was scarcely
one among the vast audience who
would not have felt the sparkle gono
from this strong black wine of sport
they had come to sip, If Ralph Stanton
had lioen withdrawn from the twenty-
four lour contest. He had not only
fame .is a skilful and scientlflo racer;
he hud the reputation of being the
most spectacularly reckless driver in
America, whose death could be but a
question of time and whose record of
accident! and vlctorlea verged on the
appalling He knew hla value as an
attraction, and the starter knew It,
although preserving Impassivity.
Five minutes," the official con-
«< ded, and drew out hla watch.
Already a stream of men were run-
ning toward the Mercury camp with
the news. Stanton sprang Into bis
machine, deftly sent It forward'out of
the line, and shot around Into the en
trance to the huge oval Held edged by
the Beach track; a mile of white rib
bon bordering a green medallion.
The row of electric lighted tents,
each numbered and named for Its own
racing car, was In a turmoil of excite-
ment. But most agitated was the
group before the tent marked "9,
Mercury."
"Durand's down and out—give me
another man," called Stanton, halting
hla noisy, flaming car. "Quick, you—"
But no one stepped forward from
the cluster of factory men and me-
chanics. Only the assistant manager
of the Mercury company responded
to the demand:
"Yes, go; one of you boys. I'll make
It right with you. You, Jones."
"I'm married, sir," refused Jones
succinctly.
"Well, you then. Walters. Good
heavens, man! what do you mean?"
For the burly Walters backed away
actually pale.
"Ill dig potatoes, first, air."
"Why, you used to race?"
Not with Stanton, air."
There wsb a low murmur of appro-
val among his mates, and a drawing
together for support. Stanton Btepped
down from his car, anatchlng off hla
mask to aliow a dark. Btrong face
grim with anger and contempt.
"You wretched, backbonelesa cow
ardBl" he hurled at them, hla blue-
black eyea flashing over the group
"Do you know what I and the com
pany itand to lose If I'm dlsquallfled
for lack of one of you Jellyfish to Bit
beside me and pump oil? isn't there
a man In the camp? I'll give fifty dol
Its myself to the one who Ko«8 a
hundred If 1 win."
"I'll promise twice that," eagerly
supplemented Green, the aaslstant
manager. He had private beta on
Stanton.
Not one of the cluatered workmen
moved.
"Damn you!" pronounced the driver,
bitterly and comprehensively. "I'll re-'
peat that offer to the man who will
go for the first three hours only, and
meanwhile we'll send to New York
md find a red blooded male "
The men looked at one another, but
shook their heada.
"No? You won't? You work your
■alterable bodies three mouths to earn
of t Gdjuo ojkI the (&m$q
IJq Merctay etc.
% FREDERIC TORNWJRGH
what I offer for three houm. What's
the matter with you, don't 1 rlak my
neck?" He turned, sending his pow-
erful voice ringing down the line.
"Here, hunt the paddock, all of you—
two hundred dollars for a man to ride
the next three hours with me!"
"You can't take a man from another
camp. 8tanton," protested the frantic
Mr. Green. "He might trick you, hurt
the car."
His appeal went down the wind un-
heeded, except for one glance from the
racer'B gleaming eyes.
"He won't trick me." said 8tanton.
The crowded stands were a bulk of
swaying, seething Impatience. The
paddock was In an uproar, the Mer
cury camp the center of Interest But
no volunteers answered the call The
panting machine, Its hood wrapped In
JetB of violet flame, headlights and
tall lights shedding vivid Illumination
around the figure of its baffled master,
quivered with Impotent Ufa and
strength. Raging, 8tanton stood,
watch in hand, his face a set study in
scorn.
Suddenly the harsh rssp of the offi-
cial klaxon soared above the hubbub,
warning, summoning.
"Four minutes," panted the despair
lng assistant manager. "Stanton—"
Some one was running toward them,
some one for whom a lane was opened
by the spectators from other camps
who had congregated.
'Get aboard," called ahead a fresh
young voice. "Get aboard; I'll go."
'Thank Heaven for a man!" snarled
Stanton, as the runner dashed up.
"Why, It's a boy!"
"Floyd," Mr. Green hailed hysterical-
ly. "You'll go?*
"I'll go," assyred Floyd, and faced
the drlve^. k #\\m, youthful figure In
a mechar,^, blue overalls, his sleeves
clothes?" he demanded savagely.
"Are rou going to race like that?
Jump, you useless cowards there—
can't you pass him bis things? Tele-
phone the stand that I'm coming, some
one."
There waa a wild Bcurry of prepara-
tion, the telephone bell Jingled madly
"Jea Floyd Is one of our new factory
men," hurried Mr. Green, In breathless
explanation, as Stanton took his seat
"He's a gas-engine wonder—he knows
them like a clock—he tuned up this
car you've got, this morning—"
The klaxon brayed again. A trim ap-
parition in racing coatume darted
from the tent to Bwing Into the nar
row aeat bealde the driver, and Stan-
ton's car leaped for the paddock exit
with a roar answered by the deafen-
ing roar of welcome from the specta-
tors.
"Seven minutes," snapped the atart
er, aa the Mercury wheeled in line.
Stanton ahrugged his shoulders with
supreme Indifference, perfectly aware
of his security, since the start had
not been made. Rut his mechanician
leaned forward with a little gurgle of
Irresistible, sunshot laughter.
"Don't worry," he besought "Really,
we'll get in seven minutes ahead."
His mocking young voice carried
above the terrific din of the eleven
huge machines, and Stanton turned
upon him, amazed and Irritated at the
audacity. The starter also atared,
Juat aa a flashlight flared up and
showed fully the young gray eyes
dancing behind the goggles, the red
young mouth smiling below the mask,
the shining young curls which the
cap failed to cover. He stared, then
alowly relaxed Into a Bmlle, and went
forward.
"The talking dono while I'm up. 1b
done by me," stated Stanton forcibly.
'Remember."
"Don't you ever need a rest?"
queried Floyd.
Stanton opened his lips, and closed
them again without speaking. His
trained glance went to sweep his op-
ponents, gaging their relative posi-
tions, their probable order on the first
turn, and his own best move The
successive flashlights on either side
were blinding, the atmosphere was
suffocating with the exhaust gasolene
and acetylene fumes. It was as fa-
miliar to him as the odor of sawdust
to the circus dweller, as the strong
salt wind to a habitant of the coast;
the unusual element lay In the boy
beBlde him. Man, he refused to
acknowledge him.
The sharp crack of a pistol, the fall
of a flag, and the whole struggling,
J
I
rfS_
then, and how to taEe care of &)b
driver, be noted. Nevertheless, be '
meant to take that fence aide.
And be did. As the other drivers j
shut off power to take the dangerous I
bend more slowly, Stanton shot for I
ward at unchanged speed, cut In ahead !
and swept first around the turn, tak- ;
lng the inside curve. The spectators
rose with a universal cry of consterna- j
tlon; the Mercury swerved, almost i
facing the Infield fence, skidding ap-
pallingly and lurching drunkenly on
two wheels, then righted itself under
the steering-wheel In the master's
hands, and rushed on, leading by a
hundred feet.
The people cheered frantically, the
band crashed into raucous music.
Stanton's mechanician got up to lean
over the back of the flying car and
feel the rear casings.
"You're tryin' to tires," he imparted,
his accents close to the driver's ear.
That was the first time that Stanton
notioed that Floyd lisped and blurred
his final "g" In momenta of excite-
ment It might have sounded effemi-
nate, if the voloe had not been with-
out a tremor. As it was—
At the end of the first hour, the
bulletin boards showed the Mercury
five laps ahead of Its nearest rival.
And then Floyd spoke again to his
driver.
"What?" Stanton questioned, above
the noise of the motor.
"We've got to run In; I'm afraid of
the rear inBlde shoe. It won't stand
another skid like the last"
Stanton's mouth shut In a hard
line. '
"I will not," he stated. "Get back
in your place. You can't telL"
"I can."
Stanton deigned no reply, sliding
past one of the slower cars on the
back stretch. 10 go In meant to lose
the whole time gained. Aa they took
the back turn, Floyd again leaned
over.
(TO BB CONTINUED.)
Pimples-Boils
we danarer icn l.-heed the warning in
time. When the bluod U Impoveriahed
the gateway ii open for the germ ui
diaeiM to enter and caun tickneea.
Dr. Pierce*
Golden Medical Discovery
eradicate* the polsona from the blood by
rounliyf the liver lut > vIgorougaction- purl-
fylnir und uurU-blug tho blood, and thereby
Invigorating the whole nvntetu. Skin and
'scrofulous" dineaww readily dlui>iw4ratior
uslutf tklS old-tluui remedy.
H«« been Hold by druggists for over
40 years—and alwuyct aatiufactorily
Why Scratch?
"Hunt'8Cure"is guar-
anteed to stop and
permanently cure that
terrible itching. It is
compounded for that
purpose and your money
will be promptly refunded
WITHOUT QUESTION
if Hunt's Cure fails to cure
I Itch, Eczema, Tetter, Ring
Worm or any other Skin
Disease. 50c at your druggist's, or by mail
direct if he hasn't it. Manufactured only by
A. B. RICHARDS MEDICINE CO., Sherman, Texas
DESERVED TO MAKE A SALE
Book Agent at Least Showed That He
Had the Valuable Quality of
Perseverance.
The book agent who walked Into
Peter Steffen's office looked like an
Ingenious fellow, but Steffens, glano-
Ing up In a hurry, spied his trade
In a minute and muttered to him
self:
'Confound that boy. Now, how did
that fellow get In?"
Aloud, be said: "You're wasting
your time here. I won't buy anything
today."
"If you'll only let me show you—*
"No," shouted Steffena
"It won't take a minute—"
"But, really, my dear air, this Is
something out of the common—"
"No uBe. I can't read," said Stef-
fens.
"But your family, air, would you de-
prive them—"
"I would," said Steffena, "If I had
any. I'm an orphan."
"Well, you might want something to
throw at the cat," suggested the book
agent
"Do you think," demanded Steffens,
"that I would demean my cat by
throwing your miserable publication at
herT"
The book agent was only daahed a
second.
"What about me," he asked, lnslnu-
atlngly. "Don't you want something
to throw at me the next time I coma?"
Lament Religious Apathy.
In Japan all kinds of Christians are
lamenting the religious stagnation that
seems to have settled on the country,
says a writer In America, a Roman
Catholic paper. Of the 65,000 Catho-
lics, 40,000 are descendant* of the con-
verts of the seventeenth century, and
the Greek Catholics have only 20,000
followers. "After 40 years of evange-
llzatlou there are only somewhere be
tween 80.000 and 100.000 Protestants
of all sects." says the writer, who adds
that the Japanese are not Irreligious,
but "like other peoples they are suf-
fering from the religious apathy and
unconcern of the times. JuBt as in
Europe and America, the modern Jap-
anese adore the golden calf and. as
elsewhere, are struggling for money
and place, the natural result of the
adoption of a materlallsUo clvllli*
tlon."
Compliments are the small coin of
conversation; very convenient and
mostly counterfeit.
invnioiialino to tub l'ai.e and
sickly.
TIh> Old Hlandard ki m ral NtrcriKtlmnlnu tnriio.
UUoVK STanTKI.HjM chill TONIC, drives out Ma-
laria, enriches tho hluod and builds up the systt in.
A tiurr Appetlxcr. Kurudulls und children. U) ti*
Egotism.
The Man (sourly)--The home team
always loses when I go to a game.
I'm the hoodoo, all right.
The Woman- How can you be so
conceited, John?
or
Such Is Life.
"He used to come back two
three times for a kiss."
"And now in the mornings?"
"Never unless h^forgets his over-
shoes or umbrella."—Kansas City
Journal.
Correct.
"Hey!" yelled the guest. "You ad-
vertise hot and cold water in this
dump, and all I have in my room
is a pitcher and a wash basin."
"That's right," replied the landlord.
"If you stay here long enough you'll
find the water is hot In summer and
cold In winter."'
Fresh Layers.
Customer—I see you have fresh
eggs at 35 cents and extra fresh eggs
at 40 cents. Is there much differ-
ence?
Crocer—Well, ma'am, the extra
fresh ones were laid In the early
Morning when the hens themselves
were fresh.
Room for the Cat.
The doors of a certain new housa
had shrunk horribly, as is the way
of the modern door made of unsea-
soned wood and left to shrink In
use. The builder would not send the
joiner to replace them. So the
householder tried the Ironclad meth-
od and wrote:
"Dear Sir: The mice can run un-
der most of our doors, but our cat
cannot follow them. Will you please
send a man-at once to make room un-
der the doors for the cat, and much
oblige?"
Next day the Joiners came—Man-
chester Guardian.
8tanton 8tood, Watch In Hand, His Facs a Set Study In 8corn.
rolled to the elbows and leaving bare
his slender arms; his head, covered
like a girl's with soft closely cropped
curling brown balr, tilted back as bis
steady gray eyes looked up at Stan-
ton.
"You? You couldn't crank a taxi-
cab," flung the racer, brutal with die
appointment and wrath. "You'd go?
A boy?"
"Im as old as the driver of the
SlnRer car, and scant five years young-
er than you—I'm twenty one," flashed
the retort. "And I kuow all there Is
about gasoline cars. I guess you're
big enough to crank your own motor
aren't you, If I can't? You've got
thirty seconds left; do you want me?"
Met on his own tone, Stanton
gasped, then caught bis mask from
the man who held It.
"Why don't you get on your
flaming flock sprang forward toward
the first turn, wheel to wheel In
death-edged contest. And Stanton for
got hla mechanician.
The Mercury led the first circuit, as
usual It was very fast, and Its pilot
took the chances more prudent drivers
avoided. Still, the lend was less than
the car's own length, two of Its closest
rivals hanging at Its flanks, when they
passed the tumultuous grandstand
Just ahead lay again the "death
curve." There whb a swift movement
betide Stanton, the pendent ( linen
streamers floating from his cap were
deftly seiied and the dust swept from
his goggles with a practiced rapidity.
'Car on each side an' one trying to
pass,'' the clear voice pierced the
hearing "No room next the fence."
Stanton grunted The boy knew
how to rise in a speeding machine,
Boat Driven by 8oap.
A writer in Science tells of an In-
genious little skiff, about two Inches
long, which he constructed and pro-
vided with a piece of soap for the mo-
tor. The boat was of wood paraffined
to repel the water. The soap formed
the stern board of the skiff. The boat
was placed on still water In a bathtub,
and began to move as soon as (he wa-
ter came In contact with the soap
After gathering headway it reached
a velocity of two Inches per second
The power was derived from the p>
tentlal energy of the surface water
film set free by the diminution of sur-
face tension, this reduction being du«
to solution of the soap.
Hopeless.
"Do you believe our republic can
endure?" "No, sir—most emphatical-
ly I do not. The fools in this town
voted me out of office last falL"
Breakfast
A Pleasure
when you have
Post
Toasties
with cream.
A food with snap and
zest that wakes up the
appetite.
Sprinkle crisp Post
Toasties over a saucer of
fresh strawberries, add
some cream and a little
sugar—
Appetizing
Nourishing
Convenient
"The Memory Lintfers"
Sold by Grocers.
Ponturn Orr Hi Co. Ltd
Battle Creek, Mich. ''
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Bryant, T. E. The Ralston Independent (Ralston, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 5, Ed. 1 Friday, June 6, 1913, newspaper, June 6, 1913; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc162947/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.