A CLOSE SHAVE
Mrs. Layton uttered a scream, and the others looked at each other a
second with blank faces. Then they jumped out and surrounded the
unfortunate driver, who was gazing at his injured arm in a dazed
fashion. Mr. Layton made a quick examination, and pronounced that the
wrist was badly sprained. Fortunately, they had a complete medical
outfit in one of the cars, including splints, and Mr. Layton contrived
to bind up the injured wrist after a fashion, and then suspended the
arm in a sling.
"But who's going to drive the car?" asked the uninjured chauffeur,
after this operation had been completed. "If none of you people knows
how to drive, we're in a pretty bad fix."
"I'll drive," volunteered Bob. "You lead the way, and I guess I'll
manage to keep near you."
"Are you sure you can do it, Bob?" questioned his father, anxiously.
He had great faith in his son's ability, and liked to have the lad
take a certain amount of responsibility.
"Sure, Dad. Watch and see," was the quick answer.
"I don't know about this," said the chauffeur, with the professional's
distrust of the amateur. "We could all pack in one car in a pinch, you
know, and leave the other here."
"But that would so overload one car that we'd have very little chance
of getting there without a breakdown," argued Bob. "Don't worry about
my driving. I'll manage somehow."
"I'll bet you will," said Joe. "You'll have to move lively to keep
from being run over," he told the driver.
"Quit your kiddin'," said the chauffeur, unbelievingly. "We'll have to
hit the high spots from now on, and it ain't goin' to be an easy job
holdin' those boilers on the road."
Somewhat against his mother's will, Bob cranked the motor of the car
he was to drive, but took care to see that the spark was fully
retarded, in consequence of which he started the engine without any
trouble. The injured driver occupied the other half of the driver's
seat, so as to give Bob pointers in handling the car if they were
needed.
But he soon found that Bob required very little of his advice. It was
some time since he had driven a car, and at first he was a little slow
at gear shifting, but soon got the "feel" of that particular car and
from then on shifted with the ease and deft certainty of an expert. As
a matter of fact, Bob possessed the knack of handling machinery,
without which no one can really claim to be a good driver.
The injured driver was not long in recognizing this. Shortly after
they had reached the main road and were once more headed for their
destination, they encountered a steep grade, something over a mile in
length. Both cars were going at a fair speed when they felt the first
tug of gravity, but so sharp was the grade that they lost way rapidly,
and it became necessary to shift into a lower speed. Bob did not wait
until they had slowed down too much. With a quick shove he disengaged
the clutch, shifted into neutral, and then dropped the clutch into the
engagement, at the same time accelerating the engine momentarily. This
causes the idle gears on the jack-shaft to revolve, after which it is
comparatively easy to mesh the intermediate gear combination. Bob had
no difficulty in doing this, and with his gears properly engaged, he
let in the clutch again and stepped on the accelerator. The car surged
forward, ploughing through the snow and skidding from side to side as
it fought its way up the steep gradient.
In a few moments they caught up with the leading car, which was in
difficulties. Its driver had waited too long before attempting to
shift, and the car had slowed down so much by the time he got into
intermediate that it would not pick up even in that speed, and he was
forced to shift into low.
"I'll bet that young feller that's driving Jim's car is stalled
somewhere at the bottom of this hill," he thought. "Hope I don't have
to wait too long for him after I reach the top. This road is no place
for an amateur to drive, anyway. I----"
Honk! Honk! The raucous note of Bob's horn broke in upon his thoughts,
and he glanced, startled, through the rear windows, to see the other
car looming through the drifting storm.
Too late he tried frantically to speed up and avoid the humiliation of
being passed by one whom he condescendingly termed an amateur.
Resistless as fate the pursuing car drew abreast, and then went on
past in a cloud of fine snow kicked up by the spinning rear wheels. He
muttered morosely to himself as he caught a glimpse of grinning faces
through the dim windows of the storm curtains, but was conscious of a
feeling of admiration, too, for the daring young driver.
"Say, son, I've got to hand it to you!" exclaimed Jim, the injured
chauffeur. "You know how to handle a car with the best of 'em."
"Oh, I didn't care so much about passing him, but I didn't want to
slow down," explained Bob, never for an instant taking his eyes from
the road. "It's against my principles to put on brakes when I'm going
up a hill."
"I figure the same way myself," admitted the other. "Now that we're
ahead, we might as well stay ahead. I'll tell you which way to turn,
an' I guess between us we'll get through all right."
But many miles still lay between them and their destination, and the
storm showed no sign of abating. Softly, silently, but implacably the
white flakes continued to pile up that clinging carpet over the road
until driving became more a matter of guesswork and instinct than
anything else. For a time the injured chauffeur gave Bob directions
and advice, but at length he came to the conclusion that this boy
behind the wheel was very capable of doing the right thing in the
right place, and he sat silent, gripping the seat and pressing on
imaginary pedals when they got in tight places.
They were making good progress, considering the adverse conditions,
and were within perhaps ten miles of their destination when suddenly,
through the whirling snow, Bob glimpsed another car swinging into the
main road not fifteen feet from him. Both cars were going at a fast
speed, but the drivers caught sight of each other at almost the same
instant, and both jammed on their brakes. The cars swayed and skidded,
and the occupants of both started from their seats, believing a
collision inevitable. Nothing could have averted this had not Bob,
quick as lightning, wrenched his wheel around, bringing his car into a
course almost parallel with the other. For a few brief seconds the
outcome lay in the hand of fate. When the two cars finally came to a
jarring halt, they were side by side, with not six inches between
their running boards.
The door of the other car, which was a sedan, burst open, and a small,
red-faced and white-haired man leaped out and shook a belligerent fist
at Bob.
"What do you mean by driving that car at such a rate of speed?" he
shrilled. "You were breaking every speed law there is, young man, and
I'll make you sorry for it, or my name isn't Gilbert Salper."
"But your car was going faster than ours, and there isn't any damage
done, anyway," Bob pointed out, as he wriggled from behind the wheel
and descended to the road.
"No damage done?" echoed the other, waving his hands excitedly. "You
almost scared my wife and daughters into fits, and yet you have the
nerve to stand there and tell me there is no damage done. What do you
mean by it?"
Before Bob could make an indignant reply, a lady wrapped in costly
furs stepped from the sedan and laid a soothing hand on the irate old
gentleman's shoulder.
"I'm sure it wasn't the young man's fault, Gilbert," she said, in a
pleasant voice. "Indeed, I think it was his quick action that
prevented a collision. Jules was at fault in coming on to the main
road without slowing down or blowing his horn."
"They were both going too fast, I say!" insisted her husband. "But I
suppose we ought to be thankful that we are still alive, after
undertaking such a fool trip. Next time we'll do what I want and stay
at home."
The gentleman fumed and fussed a little longer, but at length his wife
and daughters succeeded in enticing him back into his car. The latter
were both unusually pretty girls, and as they coaxed their father back
into good humor, Joe, who was in the car driven by Bob, whispered that
he hoped they were also bound for the Mountain Rest Hotel.
Mr. Salper was a wealthy Wall Street broker, whose pocketbook was much
longer than his temper. Although irascible and prone to "fly off the
handle" at the slightest provocation, he was at bottom a kindly man,
and one who would do anything for those he cared for. Like many
others, his health had suffered in the process of money making, and
his physician had ordered him to give up business for a month or two
and rest.
The broker owned a house not far from the big hotel at Mountain Pass,
and the family frequently came to the place, both in the winter and
the summer. They were well known at the hotel itself for they often
ran over to take meals there and to visit with some of the patrons.
By the time his daughters had succeeded in calming the broker's
excitement, the second car of the Layton party came up, and it was
decided that the three cars should keep close together for the rest of
the journey, in order to render mutual aid if it should be needed. The
snow had attained a depth of six or eight inches by this time, and it
was only with the greatest difficulty that they even managed to start
again. But finally they got straightened out and resumed their bucking
of the hills and snow.