Bert Wilson's Twin Cylinder Racer

tucky

oon in the saddle, bowling along at a good clip through the "Blue Grass" State. He found widely varied road conditions confronting him. At times he would s

ide in one of the ruts worn by the wheels of carriages and buggies. These were usually very deep, so deep, in fact, that with both wheels in them the f

rect by moving the front wheel to one side or the other, thus maintaining the proper center of gravity. Riding in a rut, however, thi

tumble going at that speed he was much more apt to be badly hurt, but he had no time to think of that. If he didn't go

driver had ample time to get out of the way,-well, there was no stopping then. The driver, seeing a blue streak approaching him at close to a mile a minute clip would hastily draw to one side of the roa

hicles of any kind-would resume his journey, muttering curses on them "pesky gasoline critters." But ta

little ahead of his schedule, and he had reached the town a

" he thought. "I might as well push forward and take a c

the directions proved to be wrong, and the village failed to materialize. To add to his troubles as darkness came on, he

he open for me, and that won't be much fun. I want to ge

e a light spring up, some distance away. "That's good," he thought, "I'll

peed. He made no attempt to mount, however, but contented himself

he approached the cabin from which the light emanated, he could see the whole fam

e of the others, and as Bert and the "Blue S

o you-all reckon to have thar?" he drawled, g

the motor befo

wrong road a way back, I guess, and I was just going to camp out over night, when I saw the

big mountaineer, "come right in an'

sed Bert. "I'll leave my ma

at could make off with the blamed machine ef he had a mind to. Hosses is considerable more common in these

ime." He disappeared in the direction indicated, and soon re

over there to the right of paw," she said, indicating Bert's place at the table, "an' mak

acon, and rich milk with which to wash it down. After his strenuous day in the open he ate ravenously. Th

the unexpected guest, and seemed, if one were to judge fro

ipe, and, filling it from a shabby leather pouch, lit it. "Do you smoke,

, declining the hospita

. "Wall, ye'd ought to. There's a heap

or another that I've never had a chance to form the habit. Everybody that smokes se

light out and take a squint at that machine of yourn? I ain't never got a good look at

rld, that's certain," laughed Bert, "but come a

the children, who gazed wide-eyed at the strange machine. Bert explained the

r ride quietlike behind a good bit o' hoss flesh. You can't make me believe that t

. Instead he guided the conversation around to the conditions and pursuits of the surrounding country, and here the Kentuckian was o

to the feuds a few years back that had aroused such widespread criticism. "Although I h

dyin' out, an' a good thing it is fer the country, too. They never

n' the folks thet wasn't in the fracas was afraid to go huntin' even, fer fear o' bein' picked off by mistake. They wasn't none too particular about makin' sure o' their man, nei

rt. "It must have been a pretty big thing to have set pe

e Seth Judson an' Adam Berkeley got mixed up in the fust place over cuttin' down a tree thet was smack on the line 'atween their farms. Ole Set

r said a word, good or bad, but turned around and went back to his house an' got his gun. He tracks over to Seth Judson's house an' calls him by name. Seth, he walks out large as life, an' Adam pumps

back to life, an' Adam tromps off home, le

e all heard thet Seth's son, Jed, had up an' ki

he village, an' shot him 'atween the eyes as neat as could be. Then the younger sons, thet were still not much more than boys, as you might say, they took to lyin' in wait fer each other in th

hard thing for me to set by an' see my neighbors killin' each other off like a passel o' mad dog

o soon, nuther. Another year, an' I reckon there wouldn't a

aking, and gazed refle

inquired Bert, who had listened to

love with each other. O' course, their families were dead sot agin' it, but nothin' would do the critters short o' gettin' hitched up, an' at last they talked their families into a peace meetin', as you mi

off quiet an' easy like, an' Buck an' his gal was hitched up all proper. The hard feelin' gradually calmed down, an' now the two familie

d to them. Ole Sam Judson, as how always had a streak o' yaller in him at the best o' times, got so at last thet he wouldn't stir out o' the house without he toted his little gran'darter, Mary, along with him. O' course, he figured thet with the baby

last, after a thoughtful silence, "but couldn't the a

t o' the country, an' even then I reckon there wouldn't 'a been anywhere near enough. They must 'a re

" commented Bert. "A needless waste o

meditatively at his pipe. At last he knoc

ut after a day on that there fire spoutin' motorbike o' yourn. The ole lady's got

acknowledged Bert, "and I do

n, as his host was named, "come

tered the cabin,

room, reached by a ladder. After bidding his host and hostess good ni

descended the ladder to the living room, where the entire family was already assembled. After exchan

ghtest payment for the hospitality they had extended him. Bert thanked them again and again, and then shook han

ted the motor. The whole family had followed him out, and were grouped in an interested

, waving his hand, "a

cried in chorus, and Bert mo

he road steadily improved, however, and in a short time a sudden turn brought him out on

more, and his motor took up its familiar deep-toned road song. Mile after mile raced back from the spinning wheels. The indicator on the speedometer reached the

made life seem a very fine thing indeed, and Bert sang snatches of wild, meaningless songs as he flew along. For three hours he never slackened speed, and then only pulled up in a fair-sized town t

is return the "Blue Streak" was turned over to him, shining and polished, and he once more took the road. Several motorcyclists accompanied him to the outskirts of the city. He experienced varying road co