| Show adventurers CLUB ott on jacobs ladder by FLOYD GIBBONS famous headline hunter awell i W ELL sir heres one of those automobile stories ive been looking I 1 for by golly I 1 knew they were there waiting T for me why doggone it there must be a million good auto adventures in hiding ithe the field even scratched yet I 1 half our adventuring today is done in automobiles and ill bet joost most every one of you has a good gas buggy yarn in in mind that you I 1 just gotten around to sending me yet this automobile yarn Is a lulu too it comps from george 11 smith and the ithe trouble george got into well gosh hang it its almost enough to make a ainan nan sell his car and put the dough into life insurance of course george smith cant very well sell that bus of his in the first place he own it and in the second he makes his living driving the doggone thing george has been a truck driver since 1921 and he fie must be a pretty good OM e too for be drove that old petrol wagon for 12 years without getting into any t greally j ay serious trouble I 1 I 1 here begins the story of georges woes boes i one day back in 1933 though george lid did get into trouble but im not ithe the man to tell you about that let george do it I 1 1 I was driving a big freight van says george from boston to albany I 1 was getting along fine until just before I 1 got to pittsfield then coming down a steep hill called jacobs ladder the car seemed to get away from me 1 I had to grab the hand brake to prevent a smash and what a racket that lblake I 1 brake made I 1 got her to the bottom of the hill all right though and there I 1 ifould found id broken the brake shoe on the drive shaft that left me nothing but the foot brakes maybe I 1 should have stopped right there and had it fixed it if id had bad any idea of what was going to happen li appen iso 1 I 1 darned sure would have but lots of drivers got along with a hand band brake BO I 1 stepped on the gas and took a chance only one more big hump to get over georges truck rolled on through pittsfield ritts field and took the steep grade down lebanon mountain without any trouble lie ile had left all the steep spots in his W a I 1 aloy SMASH 1 the side of the van hit a tree route behind him now all except one and he be was coming to that a small mountain that drops down into the town of nassau new york george rolled over the top of that mountain and had just started down the other side fide when suddenly his foot brake slipped and the van leaped forward george grubbed grabbed for the shift lever ever tried to throw her back into first it was no use um lie he tried the brake again but this time the foot brake work at all and all the time the truck was gathering speed as it raced down the steep incline toward the bottom its not the hill its below it was only four miles to the bottom of that hill but as george sayi says a lot can happen on a four mile till hill especially when theres a town at the bottom the truck by this time was going faster than any truck was ever built to go swaying from side to side and all but leaping from the lie road george made a right turn and negotiated a left prayed that he meet any traffic now houses began to flash by warning him that the town at the bottom of the hill was not far away all I 1 had says george was a horn and a I 1 dropped down a grade steeper than tile the rest with a sharp curve at the bottom and at the speed I 1 was making I 1 knew id never make that turn crash of truck saves drivers life well he exactly the van hit the curve and started to dip george clutched the wheel and held his breath as both his left wheels raised off the ground tie lie braced himself for a fall and then SMASH the side of the van kit hit a tree tearing half the body from the wheels but that crash had saved georges life the force of the impact knocked the big truck back on oil all four wheels again and it caromed chromed off down the last steep grade toward the town ahead of him red traffic lights turned green as he roared through the village of nassau his horn screeching a frantic warping warning george steered the big van to the side of the road rubbed ills his tires against the curb in a vain effort to slow it down then he hit a short upgrade up grade and came to a stop on the outskirts of the village ily aly knees george says were like rays rags and 1 I bad to sit down a while I 1 looked back down the street and there was freight scattered along the curbing ing as far as I 1 could see I 1 looked under the truck and found that the pinion gear was gone out of the rear end A town officer drove up and I 1 was arrested reckless driving was the le charge harge but when the kindly old judge heard my story he let me off with a 10 fine C |
