“Everything! Everybody!” was the doubly illuminating reply. “She’ll be killed! Do you hear me?”
“We’d have to be deaf as nails not to hear you,” said Jud as he spat a mouthful of tobacco juice against the front wheel of the wagon. “All the ’phoning in creation won’t stop her. If she ain’t of a mind to pull that thing up to a halt from the inside, it ain’t likely that a fellow could do it by getting in its path and yelling whoa, even if he’d holler as loud as you’ve been doing at us. Why didn’t you try it when you see her coming?”
“But they’ve got to stop it! The constables–––”
“How?”
“How’d you suppose I know? Get out of my way and let me get at the ’phone!”
“You ain’t going to do nothing of the kind,” replied Jud as he stepped in front of 310 the belligerent Hank. “There’s some reason for driving like that. I don’t know what’s up, but the first feller to interfere with her joy ride is going to get hurt. I was in the cellar of her dad’s place doing an odd job of plumbing for him when she come to me, and said: ‘Jud, I’m going for a drive.’ I ’lowed that was real nice, wondering why she’d be telling me that. ‘I may have to drive pretty fast, and I want you to telephone ahead as far as you can to have the road clear. Tell the policemen my name, and ask that they don’t stop me.’”
“But her dad–––”
“Her dad ain’t home. He went over Riverhead way more than an hour ago.”
“But, Jud–––”
“Dry up that butting, Hank, or we’ll lead you out in the alley behind your store and feed you tin cans.”