to, not to mention spring mud to the
hubs."

"The car seems powerful," said the old man, smiling behind his upturned
fur collar. "I suppose a young fellow like you wouldn't be content with
anything that couldn't pull at least ten times as heavy a load as it
needed to."

"I suppose not," laughed Richard. "Though it's not so much a question of
a heavy load as of plenty of power when you want it, and of speed--all
the time. Suppose we were being chased by wild Indians right now,
grandfather. Wouldn't it be a satisfaction to walk away from them
like--this?"

The car shot ahead with a long, lithe spring, as if she had been using
only a fraction of her power, and had reserves greater than could be
reckoned. Her gait increased as she flew down the long straightaway
ahead until her speedometer on the dash recorded a pace with which the
fastest locomotive on the track which ran parallel with the road would
have had to race with wide-open throttle to keep neck to neck. Richard
had not meant to treat his grandfather to an exhibition of this sort,
being well aware of the older man's distaste for modern high speed, but
the sight of the place where he was in the habit of racing with any
passing train was too much for his young blood and love of swift flight,
and he had covered the full two-mile stretch before he could bring
himself to slow down to a more moderate gait.

Then he turned to look at as much of his grandfather's face as he could
discern between cap-brim and collar. The eagle eyes beneath their heavy
brows were gazing straight ahead, the firmly moulded lips were
close-set, the whole profile, with its large but well-cut nose,
suggested grim endurance. Matthew Kendrick had made no remonstrance,
nor did he now complain, but Richard understood.

"You didn't like that, did you, grandfather? I had no business to do it,
when I said I wouldn't. Did I chill you, sir? I'm sorry," was his quick
apology.

"You didn't chill my body, Dick," was the response. "You did make me
realize the difference between--youth and age."

"That's not what I ever want to do," declared the young man, with swift
compunction. "Not when your age is worth a million times my youth, in
knowledge and power. And of course I'm showing up a particularly
unfortunate trait of youth--to lose its head! Somehow all the boy in me
comes to the top when I see that track over there, even when there's no
competing train. Did you ever know a boy who didn't want to b