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Invisible Friend

Invisible Friend image
Parent Issue
Day
29
Month
April
Year
1898
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The menibers around the clubbouse Ere were talkiug of the prospects of the epring road races, and froni that the conversation turned to road racing in general, and every mernber had some Bxperience to teil. Only the whcelinan who had traveled was sileut, as was his wont until stirred to teil Borne tale of wild adventure by the qnestions of his sompanions, who seemed not more than to half believe his stories and yet to !eel that they were really true, such indisputable proofs did the traveled one always present. On this occasion it was the clnb's road race champion, a member who wore a string of ceutury bars three yards long, who said sarcastically, "I snppose spu've been the greatest road racer of all of us, haven 't you?" "I won't say tbat exactly, " replied tbe wheelrnan who had traveled, "but there was a time when I would have backed myself against the best man in the business. That time has passed and will never return, bnt il I shonld teil you the story you wouldn't believe it, so what's the use?" "Come on, teil it, " broke in the bugler. "Don't mind him. He thinks he's the only tune the orchestra can play just because he's got a few bars." The wheelman who had traveled put his hand in his pocket and drew out a plain leather pipe oase. Without a word he opened it and passed it to the club captain, who examined it curiously, for he traveled one's manner presaged a story. "I don't see anythingabout road racng in that," remarked the captain. "What's in it?" asked the champion iar. "Nothingapparently, " responded the captain, and, in fact, the case appeared ;o be empty. "Feelof the inside, " suggested the wheelman who had traveled. The cap;ain obeyed the suggestion and started as though he had been struck. "Why, there's a pipe there, but I can't see it, " he exclaimed. The other members feit of tbe inside of the case, and, sure enough, plain to he touch, but at the same time absolutey invisible, was a pipe. The wheelman vho had traveled took the case, lifted omething out of it apparently and held t up. His hand appeared to be empty. " What is it - a fine piece of glass?" asked the member with the pink golf ocks. "Not a bit of it, " answered the posessor of the wonderful pipe. "That pipe is a relie of the most faithful friend I ever had and one who saved my life on more than one occasion. I never hear road racing spoken of without thinking of him. Give me some tobáceo, Borne one, and I'll teil you why I prize this pipe so highly. " The other members watched him curiously as he rammed the tobáceo down into the empty air apparently, and they shrank away from him as though he were eomething uncanny as they saw the smoke risefrom a distance of several inches from tbe smoker's mouth, bnt the member who had traveled settled back in his chair and began: "It was in the winter following my disastrons experience at ostrich farming in África that I decided a change of air wonld be necessary, and I consequently went to Australia, where it was then Hummer, of course. I had an idea that there might be some good touring in that country, and I took niy whesl along as a matter of course. I landed at Melbourne and found the town very dull. I wheeled along near the coast to Sydney and found it uo livelier there, so I made up my mind to strike for the interior of New South Wales. I was warned that it would be dangerous to venture far into the bush alone, but I had plenty of nerve in those days and started out feeling better than I had ever feit in my life. "The trip was wild enough to suit the liveliest imagination, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I iissed through the heart of tbe kangaroo district and often stopped to watch the amusing antics of those clever animáis, which can leap 40 feet at a jump and are as strong as a horse. "One day I was standing by my wheel watching a herd of them when all of a sudden they seemed to become alarmed at something and went off toward the horizon in great leaps until every one of them had vanished. I was wondering what had scared them when I feit a bot breath on the back of my head. I looked around with a start, but saw uothing. I heard, however, what Bounded like an animal pauting for breath direetly in front of me, and I will confesa that I was thorougbly fríghtened. I attempted to show uo signs of fear, however, although my hair rose so that it threw my cap off, and I stood there perfectly motionless, boping that vrhatever it was would go away aud leave me aJoue. All sorts of thoughts went tbrough myhead iu that brief instant. I recollected all the stories I had ever heard of men and animals tbatcould make themselves invisible, and while I bad nover believed any of them I remenibered tbat some scientific men had held that it was possible for organic matter to become as transpareut as inorganic under certain conditious and present neither of the pheDomena of refraction and reflection of ligbt. I was convinced in a moment that some beast possessing such qualities was confrouting me, and my belief grew to certainty when I feit a hairy paw caressing my haud. Instead of being frightened at this nnexpected demonstration I was reassured, for there was something in the touch that assnred me that my life was in no danger, but that on the contrary the thiug, whatever it was, was trying to make friends with me. I grasped the paw in my hand and was reassured by what Bounded like a grunt of whose existence I had no longer the slightest doubt. "Resolved to asoertain what kind of a thing this was, I drew it closer to me aud begau to feelof it. The thiug stood perfeotly quiet, and it was not long before I recognized the fact that it was a kangaroo of enoruious size, but absolutely invisible. "Well, to cut a long story short, the kangaroo developed the strongest attaohmeut for me and followed me wherever I went. I trained it to tow me up hills and sometimes aoross the level plains, its easy method of progression by great jumps carrying me along far more swiftly than I could have pedaled. If the kangaroo strayed away, all I had to do was to whistle, and it would come to me, bounding across the open with great leaps, the progress of which I could trace by the depression in the grass where it alighted, although I could not see the beast itself. "One day we struck a gold mining camp, and I decided to stay there for a few days. On thefirst night of my stay, however, I got into an altercation with one of the miuers, who was intoxicated, and he drew his revolver and fired at me. My faithful kangaroo, nnseen, stepped between us and received the bullet himself, as I afterward learned, although it was a mystery to me as well as to the bystanders that I did not fall with a bullet in my brain. At the same instant the kangaroo struck out with his powerful bind leg and oaught the minerfull in tbe solar plexus, knocking him out completely. The whole affair was so sudden that none realized what had occurred, and some were inclined to believe tbat tbe rufñan had had a stroke of apoplexy. I went to ïny hotel, and they took the miner to nis ehanty. "Along toward morning I was awakened by my host, a decent sort of escaped convict, and informed that the miner had died and that eome of his friends were going to carry out the design which he had formed before his death of killing me. 'I don't dare lend yon a norse, ' said the man, 'bnt yon get on your wheel and ride away as fast as you can, or tney'll catuh you sure. ' "I started out promptly, for I did not want to be the object of a vigilance committee's deliberations, and was soon wheeling over the plains. I had my faitbful kangaroo at my side, and I noticed that he cougbed and appeared, from the sound, to be spitting blood. This puzzled me at first, but I quickly realized tbat he must have been ghot in the lung, and 1 feit more sorrow than I can express at the thought. "I was setting a pretty good pace, but it was not long before I heard tbe sound of hoofs far behind me, and looking back I saw f our bodemen follow ing me at full gallop. I realized that they were tbe dead miner's friends, and also that there was no ohance of escaping them, for my wheel was in bad oondition, sadly in need of oiling, and it was impossible toride it over the rough surface of the trail as fast as the swift bush horses could gallop. There was only one thing to do. I oalled the kangaroo toward me and attached my stout rawhide lariat to his enorrnous tail, tying the other end to tbe head of my bicycle. I chirruped, and the faithful beast started off with leaps and bounds that nearly unseated me, but I managed to stick on, and soon saw that I was distanciug my pursuers. I was not satisned with that, however, but resolved that I must not slacken speed until safely beyond their radius of action. I urged my invisible motive power on to greater efforts, and before sundown we were more than 200 miles away from the mining camp. "It was just as the sun was sinking over the trees that the kangaroo stopped short, and as I rode forward the wheel struck his prostrate body. I dismounted and knelt beside him. As I did so I feit tbe warm lifeblood pouring from a great wound in his side, heard a faint moan, and then the poor beast lioked my hand, gasped convulsively and died. He had given his life to save mo. " The wheelman who had traveled pansed, knocked the ashes from the invisible pipe, replaced it in its case and wiped away a tear. "But what of the pipe?" asked one of the members. "Oh, yes - tbe pipe. Well, I rode on toward civilization, not daring to stay in those parts much longer, and the following spring I went over the same ground again with a large party. We found at tbe spot where I had left the dead kangaroo the skeleton bodies of four horses and their riders. I realized at once what bad bappened. My pursuers had followed me, their horses had ïtumbled over the invisible body of the dead kangaroo, and they had all been killed. The fact that the neck of each corpse was broken proved my theory. I groped arnong the bones for those of my faithful friend and soon found them. I placed several of them in my traveling case, and when I returned to Buffalo T bad this pipe made from two of tbem. The rest I mislaid aud have neverfouud them. I may stumble across tbem some

Article

Subjects
Ann Arbor Argus
Old News