A NIGHT OUT.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 417, 28 January 1909, Page 7

A NIGHT OUT.

, ; on^t^ ;, mmutak:as.

,;'; Motor-cycling, is 'an. exhilarating recrea-tiotf-splong as the -machine 7, keeps going, but there are occasions when circumstances "over;oom'e mere '.-mechanism.''' Air. Harold; Brown ,(of Laery and Co.) set out frpmlfeatherston soohafljer; luncheon oh Monday ion a.mbtor-., .'cycle,' which! he had purchased from /Mr. 7 Anthony Wilding, the"champion tennis player. Theweath'er was not altogether weather.is.naught to the.ardent.motor-K!yclist of a few days'.standing. 'Mr. Brown;plugged along the, road until he met a stream from iriiich" the bridge had been washed by the elemepts. The'-bike. weighed'3cwt., and' thebed of the stream';was rough with huge boulders', .unsafe, as footing,, but :'after,-.a';severe trial: of strength he got his flyer across and'started to olimb the hill. .All went; well for a time) 'but'■;presently -.'the raih-'descended and-.,tho wind 'blew' 7 a" baby „ hurricane. ~He .puffed slowly up the'hinj:and.then-struck a;.wasliT, away, 'a,deep ditch excavated across the "road ■ by, a mountain torrent..; Just .managing- to jump'off in'time, the.'.machine went on, dashed-into -the opposite, side of the ditch,' and. rebounded.' Mr. Brown lumbered the cycle,'across,''and attempted to start it going again;; 7. It refused duty, absolutely,, and' in rain'and wind night smote the situation; The' belated .cyclist -had : an.- ideaj ;gained from' |.a roadside that the road to the top ; was:only three'.niiles ; long, ea' he decided-' to/push.'the; 3cwt..; of machinery; to the top.. Soakon and sodden, ho laboured,on,-but the. throe''miles. lengthened.- wearily. 7 :into ; nidny! more, aiid;thero .was.,always, another sweep of asceriding'Tond ahead. The biting rain now developed its best attack,'and the wind (Mr' Wragge's'"Ward"), understudied a tropical cyclone. With nothing so inspiring as '"Excel-' sior'!, left fwithiri, hini-he.'pushed, the foundry along,/until his "strength was almost.spent. Then leaving' the' machine to its.fate'by the roadside he resolved to;piish f*i up,and over the" hill'to Kaitoke; but he had not gone far when ; he becamo quite too exhausted: to drag ono'foot after .the other, and ho laid against the! bank .with, .water pouring'over Tiim— done! -~-■■ . ,'•'.".•'■' : ' ■' '.; •,'.- .'''-■ . '•" ■

; After: a- spell .he' bethought' him '• of' the "Cob-eel" ~To his. delight his 'first'. shoutbrought .an answer from the gloomy heights up in'the raiii. clouds,' but■ the effort of;his first shoutyprevented''him; from answering ."the. : . answer,. .'and;'ho .lay prone against the .streaming clay.'; AVliitkv later', however, 1 he'caught the sound of feet slopping down the road.; It was the "coo-ee". party,-, a .'gang, of telegraph linesmen,' who had heard..the shout, and,[concluding that 'help; was wanted, had hurried, down ; the road. On their arrival Mr. Brown was top weak to tell 'them what had happened before he'fainted dead away. The linesmen carried him up to their camp at the ton .of, the.hill, ,and' not knowing that-there might bo others concerned, went back again, until they' found the faithless motbr-oycic against the "bank. This caused them to . conclude that; Mr. Brown must be travelling a,nd'-,tho'dißtressed wayfarer was treated | "with' the" kindest hospitality throughout the night, : and on Tuesday. >moniirig ho was too weak and "shaky", to ride, so they'drove him to tho Kaitoko station, and put him and the cycle safely: on' the, Wellington-bound train. Taken altogether, the trip Was an ugly experience.' _'■...: