Mr. Hawkins' Humorous Adventures

rt inventor a

iocy; but in his case it also allows free rein

in the Berkshires, I paid for the ground before di

western Oregon; but at that time my knowledge of Hawkins extended no farther than the facts that he

anism of our little steam runabout, my wife v

rs are expensive, and when she had been gone

apparently in good health, and I had already turned back w

s, just in time!" he

me for

rst tri

eparing to flee, for I knew too well

-brake!", he finis

of that maple tree and dropped you on my devoted head. I also have some recollection of your gasolene milker, the one that exploded and burned every h

uld have withered a row of hardy sunflo

g led toward us fr

work horse, facetiously christened Maud S. The superstructur

rners of the animal. They seemed to be connected in so

it, but beyond noting that it bore striking resemblance to

dle and regarding his handiwork with an enraptured sm

ook at that thing, I feel so

s, complacently. "Now, just see the simplicity of the thing, Gr

ontrol. In another minute, unless he can stop the beast, he will be dashed to the ground an

rds, and the rods dropped suddenly. In their descent

f above and a cuff below the knee. Hawkins was quite right-so far as I could see; Maud w

d the inventor, replacing the rods. "Just keep your eyes

e road, "don't go to all that trouble on my account. I can s

own personal satisfaction, not yours. To tell the truth, I had no

eet up the road; then he turned Maud's

ded urging her into something more rapid than the walk she had used for so many y

ribs a few times with his heels, and her kindly old face seemed to w

d Hawkins, coming a

d the lever, and gave it a tug. T

awkins' face, and as he cantered by

somethin

ards of the machine. I heard a sort of frantic shriek from Maud S. I saw a sudden cloud of pebbles an

king for the county town with none of the grace

seconds I

went into the auto with a flying leap, sent it about in its own length, almost jumped the hedge, and thu

e pretty speedy machinery stored away in it, but the engin

one of Hawkins' experiments-had roused a latent devil within Maud S. Her heels were viciously t

yet when I reached the level ground again and breathed a little prayer of thanks that an al

the wake of fear-maddened chickens and barking dogs that

er back to t

to the other. It bounded over great stones and tried to veer in

nd rattled and skidded;

lf mile-in fact, I am not aware that I had any. But after a time I drew ne

and down, risking his neck at every bounce, but one han

eamed. "Throw

ression the early Christians must hav

ump-"it's all right. It'll

Jump, for Heave

rticularly hard bump appeared to knock the breath out of hi

te brought us nearer to the town, wh

in another five minutes a collision woul

and broken backs, and I thanked goodness that there would be only one auto to compl

ed. Others had joined the pursuit, and I

tter, with Jackson in his little road-cart. Behind him, three bicycli

erton there. He set my hired man's leg

n enough to realize that if Hawkins' brake did work, and Hawkins' mare stopped suddenly, there was going to be a

r pace, and I did

s, took place in the brake machinery, a jagged piece of brass had been forced into her side,

f pulling loose the goad and persuading

lf a minute before we came in sight of the square and the court house. We were creating quite

nto the road to stop Maud, think

in the slightest, for she happened to be all in the air while passing over that p

I think Maud must have transfixed him with her fiery eye, for befo

rying them out of danger, and when we whirled by t

wn pays Burkett a percentage on the amount of work he

e shouted, as we

y sto

d lot of ye fer fast drivin'!" roared

ce behind Enos Jackson and crowded t

aud it didn't take us long to reach the far side and swe

er and gasolene would carry us to the Hub, and, if so,

n, you know, is t

tions we started down the

d. On the left, a rather steep grassy embankmen

roadside, just on the edge of the embankment; and as we thundered down I smiled grimly to think of the attractive li

d the cans, kept fairly in the

twinkling the steel rods dropped into position beside her legs, t

d limbs, squealing in terror, and then crashe

was vaguely conscious that he collided head-on with the row of milk-cans, but my main

all in abou

can, and that I grabbed wildly at several others. Then the cans and I toppled headlong over th

op that hoss! Bang! Rattle! Ratt

g milk-can landed on my hea

wo minutes later. The crash was over and peace

fs, belonging, no doubt, to some of the horse

, chiefly the latter. No one seemed to be wholly

sion in his vain endeavour to extricate his cranium from a m

Dr. Brotherton, with his frock-coat split to the collar, wa

the embankment in various conditions, but, as I have said,

d as I struggled to my feet thi

pped them into the stream. Underneath, stretched on the cold, unsympathetic ground, his feet dabbling idly

on Brotherton, Hawk

n had been its own terrible punishment. So I helped him to his

the-the ratchet on the big wheel-stuck. I'll put a new

ugh, Hawkin

e ho

s battered skull as I helped him back to the road, "if I

t here until I see what'

rge of Maud S., Hawkins and I were making our homeward

kins wrapped the soiled fragments of his raiment about him in

onstrating the fallacy of the whole horse-brake theory; in fact, from the expres

nd of mine in the patent office, whom I asked about the matter some time ago, tells, me that the Hawkins Horse-brake has never been