The Argosy, Vol. 84 No. 1 — page 151: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE MOTIVE. “ All right.” Finch got in and took the wheel, while Preston cranked the ma- chine. In another minute they were roll- ing out onto the street. “T don’t quite get all this,” said Pres- ton. ‘‘ What do we want of a motor-car, when by staying on the train we would have been in Larchmont by this time.”’ Still thick!” grimaced Finch. “ Don’t you realize that if we were to appear to have hurried to his home by train he would suspect that something was fishy with the deal, whereas if we just happen to drop in while we are motoring—wait a moment.” He stopped the car abruptly in front of a house which set well back from the winding roadway. The lawn was covered with trees, the residence being but par- tially visible through the foliage. By the roadside stood a small motor- car, the property evidently of a trades- man of some sort. Finch ran his car close alongside, and then after a glance up and down the lonely road, proceeded to remove from the smaller car its: two license-tags. -“ Now, what in thunder are you do- ing?” asked Preston. “ Don’t you know that’s stealing?” “We are going to do some record- breaking riding before we get through,” Finch explained. ‘‘ Swandorf is probably motoring this fine afternoon, and we may have to overtake him. I am simply go- ing to exchange the license-plates. Again, there is a great deal of property in this region that I’ve been wanting to look over, and to make any time we'll have to move fast. If we have another man’s number, he, and not we, will be sum- moned to. court. See?” “Hal, are you crazy?” Preston regard- ed his companion curiously. ‘“ You have been talking about seeing Swandorf in a hurry, and now you gibber about running around the country to look at property. What’s the idea? I’m curious.” “Oh, I mean we'll look over property after we’ve seen Swandorf,” replied Finch. 141 ‘“ Well, youll go alone if you change those license-plates,” declared Preston. ‘Tm going to ride straight or not at all.” ‘Oh, all right, if you feel that way.” Finch, who had partially unfastened the rear tag, readjusted it, then seizing a chisel which he had taken out of his tool kit he bent down over his own rear tag. “Since the 1916 numbers have been peeling off so,” he said, ‘‘ we might as well assist nature.” One or two sharp blows of the chisel utterly defaced the plate so that the number was not recog- nizable. Preston got out to see what he was do- ing just as Finch completed his work upon the front tag. He objected stren- uously, but the harm was already done, and Finch was very eloquent in his ex- planation. “The numbers, as you know, have been chipping off—thousands have been turned in to the Secretary of State. The tags on this car have begun to show wear, and what harm will it do to complete the work? All that the cops can do is to order us to get new tags. Don’t you re- member that taxicab we were in the other day?” Preston returned to his seat, shaking his head. He thought that Finch’s ex- planation of his action was extremely in- adequate, but at the same time he re- membered Finch’s love of fast riding, and the fines he had paid in the past be- cause of this tendency. So he said noth- ing more. As for Finch, he was not quite certain as to the precise object he had in mind in rendering the car, as it were, anony- mous. Thoughts of various sorts had been filling his mind, and there was the impression that it would be just as well to have the license-plate illegible. They were just outside of Larchmont when the engine went balky. Finch got under the car and consumed a great deal of time before Preston lifted up the radi- ator hood and located a parted wire con- nection. “Why didn’t you look there first?” he COMMICLOOOKS (E@)