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“But you are an aristocrat. You do things that other people don’t dare to. While you were telephoning, I saw our school principal, and he said you were a Vi-king and all kinds of—”

“Here! Now! You! Quit! Stop! Wait! A lot of people, especially on newspapers, give me a lot of taffy just because I can drive fast. What I need is someone like you to make me rea
lize what a roughneck I am. ”

She looked at him clear-eyed, and pondered: “I’m afraid most of the Apogee boys think I’m rather prim. ”

“They would! That’s why they’re stuck in Apogee. ” Buffum searched her eyes and speculated: “I wonder if we aren’t alike in this way: Neither of us content to plod. Most people never think of why they’re living. They reckon and guess and s’pose that maybe some day they’ll do better, and then—bing!—they’re dead. But you and I—I seem—I’ve known you a long time. Will you remember me?”

“Oh, yes. There aren’t so many seventy-an-hour people in Apogee!”

From the gate Roy Bender was bellowing: “Ready in two minutes, boss!”

Buffum was on his feet, drawing on his gauntlets and leather coat. She looked at him gravely, while he urged:

“Going on. Day from now, the strain will begin to kind of get me. Will you think about me then? Will you wireless me some good thoughts?”

“Yes!”—very quietly. He yanked off his big gauntlet. He felt her hand fragile in his. Then he was gone, marching down the walk, climbing into the car, demanding of Roy: “Look over oil and battery and ev’thing?”

“You bet. We did everything,” said the garage man, “Get a little rest?”

“Yes. Had a chance to sit in the shade and loaf. ”

“Saw you talking to Aurilla Rivers—”

Roy interrupted: “All right, all right, boss. Shoot!”

Buffum heard the garage man out:

“Fine girl, Aurilla is. Smart’s a whip. She’s a real swell. Born and brought up here, too. ”

“Who’s this that Miss Rivers is engaged to?” Buffum risked.

“Well, I guess probably she’ll marry Reverend Dawson. He’s a dried-up old stick but he comes from the East. Some day she’ll get tired of school teaching, and he’ll grab her. Marry in haste and repent at Reno, like the fellow says. ”

“That’s right. Fix up the bill, Roy? G’by. ”

Buffum was off. Five minutes later he was six and three-quarters miles away. In his mind was but one thought—to make up the lost time; in his eyes was no vision save speedometer and the road that rushed toward him.

A little after dark he rumbled at Roy: “Here. Take her. Going to get some sleep. ” He did sleep, for an hour, then struggling into full wakefulness he dug his knuckles into his eyes like a sleepy boy, glanced at the speedometer, laid a hand on the steering wheel and snapped at Roy: “All right. Move over. ”

At dawn nothing existed in the world save the compulsion to keep her at top speed. The earth was shut off from him by a wall of roar and speed. He did not rouse to human feeling even when he boomed into Columbus Circle, the breaker of the record.

He went instantly to bed: slept twenty-six and one-quarter hours, then attended a dinner given to himself, and made a speech that was unusually incoherent, because all through he remembered that he was due in San Francisco in eight days. He was to sail for Japan, and a road race round the shore of Hondo. Before he returned, Aurilla Rivers would undoubtedly have married the Reverend Mr. Dawson, have gone to Cape Cod on her wedding trip. She would think only with disgust of large men with grease on their faces.