Eveline Mandeville
CHAPTER I. "Why do you persist in refusing to receive the addresses of Willard Duffel, when you know my preference for him?" "Because I do not like him." "'Do not like him,' forsooth! And pray, are you going to reject the best offer in the county because of a simple whim? the mere fancy of a vain-headed, foolish and inexperienced girl? I did not before suppose that a daughter of mine would manifest such a want of common sense." "Whether my opinions of men are made up of that rare article so inappropriately called 'common sense' or not, is a question I shall not attempt to decide; it is sufficient for me to know that I have my 'likes and my dislikes,' as well as other folks, and that it is my _right_ to have them." "Oh, yes! _you_ have rights, but a _parent_ has not, I suppose!"
He had but one thing in mind; he knew that these big machines, in spite
of their tremendous power, were as nicely adjusted as watches. They
had their vital spots, their hearts. If only he could find this
vulnerable place! At his feet he saw a small wooden box fastened to
the dash-board. He did not know what it was, but on a blind chance he
kicked it again and again until it splintered beneath his heels. The
machine swerved across the road and he fought with the crazed man for
the possession of the wheel. He was strong and he had this much at
heart, but the other had the super-human strength of the crazed. Even
as they struggled the machine began to slow down and within a few
hundred yards came to a standstill. In destroying the coil box he had
reached the heart.
The driver turned upon him, but Donaldson managed to secure a good grip
and dragged the fellow to the ground. The latter was up in a minute
and faced him with that gleam of devilish hatred that marks the foiled
maniac. The girl started to separate the two men, but it was
unnecessary; she saw the murder fade from her companion's face before
the calm untroubled gaze of the other. She saw his strained body
relax, she saw his fists unclench, and she saw him shrink back to her
side trembling in fright. The demon in him had been quelled by the
unflinching eyes of the sane man.
There was, luckily, no gathering of a crowd, for no one had witnessed
the struggle in the machine. A few steps beyond, the blue and red
lights of a drugstore stained the sidewalk. The girl seized the man's
CHAPTER I. "Why do you persist in refusing to receive the addresses of Willard Duffel, when you know my preference for him?" "Because I do not like him." "'Do not like him,' forsooth! And pray, are you going to reject the best offer in the county because of a simple whim? the mere fancy of a vain-headed, foolish and inexperienced girl? I did not before suppose that a daughter of mine would manifest such a want of common sense." "Whether my opinions of men are made up of that rare article so inappropriately called 'common sense' or not, is a question I shall not attempt to decide; it is sufficient for me to know that I have my 'likes and my dislikes,' as well as other folks, and that it is my _right_ to have them." "Oh, yes! _you_ have rights, but a _parent_ has not, I suppose!"