| Show adventurers CLUB 4 bridge gante came by FLOYD GIBBONS famous headline hunter ITS TS hank smith of south orange N J who gets himself raised to the rank of distinguished adventurer and what a yarn hank sends us I 1 mean the next time hank goes out with a motor truck I 1 bet hell consult an astrologer to see if the omens are right or maybe pay fifty cents to swami rajah tile the guy with the educated crystal ball to be darned good and sure he has an even chance of getting back alive because you know hank flank once hit one ot of those days when the stars were lined up against him and what those stars do to hank was not worth the doing now hanks bad day was wai a dark rainy one in the fall of 1923 he was working in south carolina then driving a truck for an oil all cam pany his job was to deliver gasoline to garages and filling stations about the pou country and he did pretty well at it until those stars ganged banged up on him that was at the bridge across tiger river near the town of union the roads wore were muddy and the going was bad hank had a hundred gallons of gas on ills his truck that lie was taking to a customer on the other side ot of the river when be got to the river be saw that it was swollen and over the banks the bridge look any too safe to him so he stopped to look it over nank hank might have decided not to tempt rate fate by crossing that bridge only just at that moment a farmer came along in an old flivver and chugged right on across that settled matters it if the farmer who knew the bridge would take a chance on it certainly flank ought not to be afraid of it truck motor dies half way across flood swept bridge hank started across the bridge and the minute lie he did he was sorry the flood had buffeted it and strained it until it was weak on its pins and it cre id and swayed at every turn of the big trucks wheels hank was halfway half balf way across and praying the old span would hold out for just another three minutes when suddenly his engine coughed and stopped dead it be right to say that hank was scared to death then that part of it came later at the moment he was only half scared to death for he knew that the bridge was liable to go out any minute taking him and the truck along with it ile he climbed out of the truck and began tinkering with the engine the water rose higher and higher the old bridge swayed farther and farther with each swirl of the swelling tide it took him ten minutes to find out that ills his trouble was a clogged gas line responsibility wins an argument over discretion by this time ahrie the water had risen to within two inches of the bridge floating boards and tree branches were piling up against it and adding to the strain GASOLINE IF A giant log bore down on the tottering bridge its old timbers were already under nank hank wondered it if hed better leave the truck and run tor for the other end discretion said yes but responsibility said no and in the end Ile responsibility won the argument hank dived under the hoogand hoo dand began working feverishly at that disabled motor hoping against hope that the old bridge would hold until lie got it started minute by minute the water rose more floating debris came down dawn the river to add itself to the pile that was already pushing against the creaking timbers at last hank had the clogged gas line clear he climbed into the drivers seat and stepped on the starter the motor hummed the truck began to move forward then to his consternation ster nation hank saw nemesis floating down the stream in his direction nemesis in the form of pine log threatens rickety bridge it was a big pine tree torn up by the roots and floating siftley sIft swiftly ly toward the bridge bank knew what would happen when that thing lilt hit knew it would slam slain into the bridge with it a crash that would tear the rickety old structure loose from its moorings ills heart was in his mouth as he stepped on tile the gas and sent tits his truck rumbling ahead its as fast ag asias its engine would carry it the pine tree was only ten feet away when hank spotted it and it was coming along on the swift current with what seemed like express train speed it take it five seconds to hit the bridge and then things happened just as hank expected they would the tree struck with a crash that shook the bridge from one end to the other the flimsy old timbers cracked the bridge swayed and buckled under tile the impact and the weight of the heavy truck it supported it was a race between time and the river planks split under the lie rear wheels but still the he truck went on and flank smith sat up front in tile the drivers seat teeth clenched and hair practically standing on end doing what ile he could which was nothing more than keeping his foot on the gas pedal and praying that tits his luck would hold bold twenty yards to the end of the bridge ten yards the big truck rolled the last few feet its front wheels hit solid ground and then with a squeak and a scream of rending timbers the bridge went ou out just as the rear wheels hit dirt and safety I 1 dont know whether you boys and girls like anti climaxes to your yarns but this story storys got one A few feet belond the bridge hanks motor stalled again suppose that had happened lust just it a couple of minutes earlier lie wants to know elicie would I 1 have been then it looks like the stars being so hard on hank after afler all 0 service |
