Part 18 (1/2)

And again no one moved Then, about two seconds later, I stood up and said, ”Let's all rise and go to our classes,” and every student obeyed

They just needed a leader, and I was there at the right tiht not have followedfor was one of their own to lead them, so they would not have to yield to authority

CHAPTER 13

MY TRAVELS TO THE GULF, MCCAMEY AND DENVER

As I look back I can easily see that all the ventures our fah the years added up to a lot of worry for parents with a bunch of kids to feed, shelter and educate But tostones to a better future Partly because of those experiences, I was building a confidence inunafraid to tackle -either with or without money, perhaps foolhardy at times, but nevertheless, still unafraid

By this ti around, but most all of it was close to ho s I wanted to see too, but at age nineteen I suddenly had this overwhel desire to see an ocean,-not just any ocean, but rather one particular ocean, the Gulf of Mexico Now, I knew the Gulf was not a real ocean, but I reasoned that it was big enough to please me It must look a lot like an ocean And since I happened to know that there was a good-looking little girl spending her vacation swiht away that the Gulf was indeed the ocean I wanted to see

I had this Model T-whoa, let's stop right here long enough to let the younger generations know that the Ford Model T was never called Model T until the Model A ca in 1928 Up until that time they were just plain Fords, all practically alike except in 1924 they began coardless of brand na on withcar and I wanted to see the ocean It was only 350 as for each 100 allon-add two quarts of oil at 10 cents a quart-total one way only 150 My goodness, I could drive down there and back and eat a week on five dollars No problem, I had 11 in my pocket With that kind of money I could rent a cabin and have money left over for a few movie tickets at 15 cents each

So, a day-and-a-half later I was standing there on the beach looking at that big body of water with that little body of a girl swi in it We had a wonderful time for a week, and et back to Hamlin, I only needed 1 irl's little brother I hadn't figured there would be three of us so much of the time But I soon learned that the third party could add up to an extra dollar in just a few days, as well as taking away a lot of the pleasure I had planned

And so, that was another tiirl or her father would have been glad to lend me a dollar But I wasn't about to let the boy, an independent man, out on my own At least that's the way I wanted it to look to theether different

I had 120 in my pocket when I headed out for Hamlin But I wasn't afraid; there was no anxiety I had been in tight spots before There was not even any hurry I stopped along the road to pick up hitch-hikers One fellow I picked up was heading for a ranch so way His hohway in wild country, and it was a hot day I told hiht of having to walk sixa suitcase I offered to drive hiht up to his house, he paid ht on into Hamlin without any trouble

I think a lot ofthe Bible and one other little book After we ave me a set of little leather-backed books They were so small four of them would fit in my shi+rt pocket, maybe even five or six One was titled ”As A Man Thinketh” It wasafter the others had disappeared one by one It was rich food for thought and it strengthened s helped h spot Wherever I hatever I was doing, whatever the circu unafraid, I would tackle

For instance, there was a kid in Haet to run For soht be able to ht it to et theBut I should have looked it over better before I tried to ride it It proved to be quite a wreck and it had certain parts which were ready to come apart froether

After I started the machine, I took it out onpretty good when I discovered the throttle wire had broken and the throttle insisted on reasoline at the carburetor, but it was too hot to handle By this time I was a lot closer to town than Ia lot faster than I wanted to be I couldn't switch the thing off because it had no switch It usually died when I closed the throttle, but this time I couldn't close the throttle

What should I do? I could juood chance the e I was certain I would suffer, and I didn't like the idea of looking athere and there all over o, gasoline and spark The gasoline was beyondwires, but I can get to the neto on Did I dare try to steer the thing with one hand at the speed I was going, while I leaned over and tried to take theapart withto fall anyway And I just ht succeed It wasapart and it stopped And that's the way this motorcycle story ended, just one city block short of don Haood used motorcycle It was an Indian Scout and it proved to be the best littlebut cook We kids had a lot of fun riding it all over Hamlin On the paved street I had as many as six of us on it at once, one on the handle bars, two on the gas tank, me on the seat and two on behind Sure I was in the driver's seat; it was ot on the little elo and on out to McCa business was slow at that tian to rain as I rode west out of San Angelo And as I went farther west I ran onto a lot of new road construction The road becay beyond description, and the rain kept falling Of course you know you can't ride a motorcycle on slick, muddy roads, nor in water onbeside it and hold it up and guide it while the ets too deep, like where it flows across the road in ce until I came to one such place and I knew the water was far too deep to try to cross It was a real river of water I doubt that an army tank could have made it across Anyway, cars and trucks couldn't have crossed it Come to think of it, there were no cars nor trucks on the road I hadn't seen one during the last two or three hours In fact, I think there was only one person on that sloppy road between San Angelo and McCamey-and he was a crazy kid on a ht wonder why the boy didn't turn around and go back But I knew the kid personally, and I kneasn't in the habit of starting soht that he should go back He was headed west, and turning back wouldn't get hihway If I could get my cycle up on the railroad, I could cross the creek on the railroad bridge But there was a ditch full of rushi+ng water between me and the railroad The banks of the ditch were steep, especially on the side next to the railroad The water in the ditch was at least waist deep and the ditch ice that deep So nohat do I do? There was just one thing to do, build a bridge across the ditch

I started walking along the railroad and finally found one loose crosstie I put it on my shoulder, carried it and placed it across the ditch It was just long enough But I knew I couldn't very well balance a motorcycle on one slick crosstie without another tie for ain I looked all up and down the railroad but there wasn't another tie nor a piece of luht tonothing Let's try it” We did That is, we tried it We didn't ot half way across before I slipped and fell

Even before I hit the water, I glanced back and saw the ht to myself, ”Boy, you better hit that water on the run or that thing is going to be right down on top of you” So I dived down strea water helped carry led to ry current, blew muddy water out of my mouth, brushed it out of my eyes and witnessed the worst setback I had suffered in e was okay, but the idea that I could balance me and a motorcycle on one narrow crosstie was a coe and the cycle didn't stay up there on it But I knehereI could see one handle bar sticking up out of the water

There was probably no other person within forty miles, but as I stood there in that ht Boy, don't just stand there! Get busy and get that thing out of there before it gets full ofover the cycle on ot two hands full of motorcycle and tried to stand it up on its wheels, but it wasn't easy And even when I got it up, it was still mostly under water