The Phantom Motor | Page 2

these thoughts running through his head and with genuine
solicitude for Bowman, Baker at last walked on along the road of The
Trap toward the other end. The feeble rays of the lantern showed the
unbroken line of the cold, stone walls on each side. There was no
shrubbery of any sort, only a narrow strip of grass close to the wall.
The more Baker considered the matter the more anxious he became and
he increased his pace a little. As he turned a gentle curve he saw a
lantern in the distance coming slowly toward him. It was evidently
being carried by someone who was looking carefully along each side of
the road.
'Hello!' called Baker, when the lantern came within distance. 'That you,
Bowman?'
'Yes,' came the hallooed response.
The lanterns moved on and met. Baker's solicitude for the other
constable was quickly changed to curiosity.
'What're you looking for?' he asked.
'That auto,' replied Bowman. 'It didn't come through my end and I
thought perhaps there had been an accident so I walked along looking
for it. Haven't seen anything.'
'Didn't come through your end?' repeated Baker in amazement. 'Why it
must have. It didn't come back my way and I haven't passed it so it

must have gone through.'
`Well, it didn't,' declared Bowman conclusively. 'I was on the lookout
for it, too, standing beside the road. There hasn't been a car through my
end in an hour.'
Special Constable Baker raised his lantern until the rays fell full upon
the face of Special Constable Bowman and for an instant they stared
each at the other. Suspicion glowed from the keen, avaricious eyes of
Baker.
'How much did they give you to let em' by?' he asked.
'Give me?' exclaimed Bowman, in righteous indignation. 'Give me
nothing. I haven't seen a car.'
A slight sneer curled the lips of Special Constable Baker.
'Of course that's all right to report at headquarters,' he said, 'but I
happen to know that the auto came in here, that it didn't go back my
way, that it couldn't get out except at the ends, therefore it went your
way.' He was silent for a moment. 'And whatever you got, Jim, seems
to me I ought to get half.'
Then the worm - i.e., Bowman - turned. A polite curl appeared about
his lips and was permitted to show through the grizzled mustache.
I guess,' he said deliberately, 'you think because you do that, everybody
else does. I haven't seen any autos.'
'Don't I always give you half, Jim?' Baker demanded, almost
pleadingly.
'Well I haven't seen any car and that's all there is to it. If it didn't go
back your way there wasn't any car.' There was a pause; Bowman was
framing up something particularly unpleasant. 'You're seeing things,
that's what's the matter.'
So was sown discord between two officers of the County of

Yarborough. After awhile they separated with mutual sneers and open
derision and went back to their respective posts. Each was thoughtful in
his own way. At five minutes of midnight when they went offduty
Baker called Bowman on the phone again.
'I've been thinking this thing over, Jim, and I guess it would be just as
well if we didn't report it or say anything about it when we go in,' said
Baker slowly. 'It seems foolish and if we did say anything about it it
would give the boys the laugh on us.'
'Just as you say,' responded Bowman.
Relations between Special Constable Baker and Special Constable
Bowman were strained on the morrow. But they walked along side by
side to their respective posts. Baker stopped at his end of The Trap;
Bowman didn't even look around.
'You'd better keep your eyes open tonight, Jim,' Baker called as a last
word.
'I had 'em open last night,' was the disgusted retort.
Seven, eight, nine o'clock passed. Two or three cars had gone through
The Trap at moderate speed and one had been warned by Baker. At a
few minutes past nine he was staring down the road which led into The
Trap when he saw something that brought him quickly to his feet. It
was a pair of dazzling white eyes, far away. He recognized them - the
mysterious car of the night before.
'I'll get it this time,' he muttered grimly, between closed teeth.
Then when the onrushing car was a full two hundred yards away Baker
planted himself in the middle of the road and began to swing the
lantern. The auto seemed, if anything, to be traveling even faster than
on the previous night. At a hundred yards Baker began to shout. Still
the car didn't lessen speed, merely rushed on. Again at the
psychological instant Baker jumped. The auto whisked by as