“You say,” continued the judge, pulling a gold timepiece from his vest, “that you can make my car ready for the road in thirty seconds. Go ahead and make good. I’ll time you.”
Clancy smiled as he stepped forward.
“All right,” said he.
He bent down and manipulated a couple of wires leading from the magneto to the spark plug. Then he straightened up.
“That’s all,” he remarked.
“You’ve got fifteen seconds more,” said the judge. “Go on.”
“It’s all over, judge. The wires were crossed, that’s all. Easy enough to see and easy enough to fix.”
Rockwell and Hibbard exchanged a quick glance. It was a significant glance and did not escape either Clancy or Fortune, although it was entirely lost upon the judge.
“You mean to say the trouble is remedied?” inquired Judge Pembroke incredulously.
“I think so,” Clancy answered, “providing the rest of the car is in condition. The crossing of wires from magneto to spark plugs will disable any car.”