1937-09-03 — Page 11

THE CHINA MAIL FRIDAY SUPPLEMENT, SEPTEMBER 198

The Whistles Bring Things Back

(Continued from Page 1)

"Have you ever been across ?***

"No. Have you?”

About two years ago. I don't know the road.”

"There's only one. All we got to do is follow it."

"You better stick to the high- way," I said.

It's forty miles straight across the salt beds from where you turn off the highway to the place you road. come into the Wendover The beds are as white as a bed sheet and as smooth as a dance floor. Even at night you can turn to out your car lights and see drive. Then the tracks look dark. It's like riding on air. You can see the mountains dim and sha- dowy all around you, and they look close enough at times to reach out and touch. But they're far away. You're flying toward them on that smooth road. The white earth is like empty space beneath you. marked only by the wheel tracks running or ahead.

"No wonder they came out here to race." Cary said.

"That Englishman said it was the best course in the world."

"He ought to know. We should cross the course pretty soon. And we think we're going fast at sixty"

"Forty-four does ninety on the Elko grade,” I said...

"And Campbell did 301"

He switched out the lights and I put my head back and looked at the stars, and it seemed there wasn't a sky, only the solid glit- tering roof of stars North of us. toward Little Mountain, an air light winked. Presently I picked up another southwest. "We're on the air line," I said.

"It seems to me we ought to be getting out of this salt. How far do you think we've come?":

"Only about half-way across.” But we had been driving a ̈ long time across the salt beds. I thought about it." If we were off the road and going north. we'd hit the railroad in about thirty miles, the Eucin, cut-off: across Salt Lake. We were going north then, but in a short time the road swung gradually to the west.

"We couldn't be lost." I said. "There's the road. There wouldn't be that many tracks on anything but the road across."

said:

That's the road," he "But we've been driving over an hour since we left the highway.” I watched the tracks ahead. I thought they had turned south- west, but I wasn't sure. I kept watching them, and soon they turned directly south. I thought:: 7-must be crazy. But not after I had looked at the air beacon. It had been on my left. Now it was my right. I remembered then I had thought the same thing had happened before, perhaps half an hour before;

OD

"We're lost." I said

“How could we be lost?” said Cary: That couldn't

thing but the road.”"

"We've been driving

circle."

any

He laughed. “Your head's go-

ing around

"On the race course, I said.

pped-

the

circular,

ling and let

God, it is why

acks on it.” in but

I said, "and that would put us about the middle of the salt beds."

He sat looking at the tracks At last he shrugged his shoulders. "We'll have to go back to where we lost the road where we struck the course." He swore like hell I never heard him talk that way.

breath and moved a little. Then I heard a sound. It was a plane. I found its lights, and they dis- appeared toward the beacon. It was still again until the car creaked under the hood. I stretched out on the running- board, and after that I didn't hear anything

The sun burning my face woke "Don't talk like that," I said.me up. Cary was still asleep. I "Driving around and around a damn race course," he said. “It must be fifteen miles around it.”

"That's what it is," I said.

I tried to pick up our tracks when we had got back to the east side of the course. I saw some, but they were truck tracks. When we came to some others, he turn- ed on the spotlight and got out to look at them.

"This is them," he said. "They're my tires.”

"I don't suppose anybody else would have the same kind.”

"They're fresh," he said, and followed them.

I found the air lights again and for a while they had me puzzled, but when I had get them "straightened out, I told him we were going south again. “It's just about seventy miles out of this south," I said. "Any other direction would be better."

He only swore and turned the car around. It wasn't long until we had come to the course again and were going further along it when the engine coughed and stopped.-

I kept listening for a sound, but there wasn't onë. There wasn't even the sound of the wind, because there wasn't a sprig of anything on the salt for it to blow through. There was only the white earth under the stars, and the two air lights a long way off, and the dim: shapes of the mountains all around in a high shadowy ring.

"Well?" I said. “Well what?” he said.

What are we going to do ?** He didn't answer. He got out of the car and walked out on the salt. When I got out. I could see the crystals glistening like snow ́around my shoes. I wanted to think about things, but I couldn't understand his actions. I only thought: Forty miles back to Grantsville and thirty miles to Wendover. You can't walk that far in pumps across salt and without any water.

He went back to the car and took a drink and I was angry” with him.

"Are you going to stay here and get drunk?” I said.

"If I've got to walk out of here, I'm going to get a little sleep first” he said.

"It's best walking when it's cooler.”

might

He slid down in the seat and closed his eyes. A couple hours sleep won't hurt."

I looked, at the gas gauge and then I went around the back and tapped the tank. It had a hollow sound. But the gas gauge regis- tered one gallon.

"It's empty" he said gauge is off

He began to breathe heavily.

1. sat down on the running and cried a little, but suddenly 1 thought of

key, and I

took it out

thought:

shook him. He got out of the car and stood looking around as if he didn't see anything. The cord was tight across his cheeks. I told him that Wendover was straight beyond the blue moun-

tain.

"Only thirty miles," he said. "Nothing at all”

"It's about the same north to the railroad, and you might not get any water there."

"Are you going with me??* "I can't walk that far in these.” "That's a break for you,” he said.

I didnt look at him, because I was afraid I would get mad. He took out the bottle. It was more than half full. He made a face at it, but he took a little drink and then shook his head and stamped his foot.

That's hard to take," he said. "You better save it till you need it." I said. He sat down on the runningboard and put his head in his hands.

"What's the matter?” I said. "I'm sick as hell," he said, Whiskey makes me thirsty."

"It will help pull you through.” "Not that far he said. "Thirty miles **

“I wish I had on some heavy shoes." I said.

"If I wasn't so damn sick.” I picked up the bottle, and he

looked up at me.

"What are you going to do 2** "I'm going to town,” I said. “You're crazy. You can't walk that far."

"I'd rather die walking than sitting still,” I said.

He got up and took my arm "If you think you can make it we'll go together," he said. “T don't like t

to go off and leave you**

"Nobody'd do anything but help me.

It was foolish of me to start out that way. We hadn't gone two miles before the sole of my left shoe was cut through by the crystals and my foot was rubbed raw. I sat down on the salt.

"You'll never make it," he said. A plane went east. He took off his coat and waved it over his head. When the plane had gone, I started back to the ear. The salt burned in my foot and I limped. He took my arm, but I pushed him away.

"Keep away from me." I said. "I'm not going to leave you here alone.”

He took my arm again and I didn't say anything, because I was afraid I would cry.

"It wouldn't be right to leave You," he said "Somebody will. pick us up to-day.”

I got in the ear and I felt more exhausted than I had during the night. I heard him strike a match, and I guess it was that that made me think of a fire, but I must have slept again, because it was several hours later that I built it.

He was stretched out in the shade of the car when I got out found some matches in the door

(Continued on Page 8).

Equal to

fine liqueur?

"I can tell

White Horse

blindfold! And to think that at one

time I used simply to ask for whisky-and-soda! White Horse is just like a fine liqueur

Wher

"It's thirty miles from Wend-