got to call a doctor or emergency room or something, Tony. Maybe they can blow something up there.”
Suppressing my laughter, I managed to stammer out, “All
right, all right. In the meantime, find some talcum powder
and sprinkle it down the cast. Maybe that’ll help.”
He nodded emphatically. “That might work. You know,
that might just work,” he muttered between clenched teeth as
he hurried from the room.
A couple of minutes later, the phone rang. I answered. It was Doc Raines. He wanted to talk to Jack or one of the kids.
“Jack’ll be right back. The others aren’t here. Can I help?”
“I just wanted to let them know I have a couple guys interested in some of JW’s cars.”
“I’ll pass that along, Doc. By the way, when we first
talked, you said Stewart ordered the naphtha”
“That’s right.”
“How do you know it was him?”
Doc chuckled. “That high-pitched voice? No way it
wasn’t. I could pick him out of a thousand voices.”
“I see. Changing the subject, I’ve been thinking about that
Model T Runabout. I’d have to find somewhere to store it,
but I might be real interested in it. You think fifteen thousand
is a fair price?”
“Fair enough. Like I said, there’s gas tank problems.
You’d have to repair it or put a new one in. And when I got
to thinking about it after you left, JW also had a problem
with the wiper arm”
At that moment, Jack came back into the room. I blinked.
His face and chest were covered with talcum powder. He
looked like a circus clown in white face, his cast at half-mast.
He mouthed “Who?”
Pointing to the receiver, I mouthed “Doc.”
Jack grinned and nodded at the receiver. “The Doc?”
I nodded. “All right, Doc,” I said. “I have a pencil and
paper. Tell me how to go about taking care of it.”
Jack grinned and pointed to his cast. “About the cast?”
Too preoccupied with the details of the gas tank, I nodded
and waved him off, having not the slightest idea that at that
moment he believed I was talking about him.
“You’re not thinking about doing it yourself, are you?”
Skepticism laced Doc’s question.
I forgot about Jack for the moment. “Sure, Doc. I can do
it myself. Shouldn’t be a problem. The arm too. Now, shoot.”
Jack nodded, pointing to himself and then to me. A grimace screwed up his face, and he beat on his cast. “Hurry up,” he gasped. “This is killing me. This talcum powder
doesn’t work. I had to lay on my back and pour it down the
cast. That’s how I got it all over me”
Quickly I jotted down the steps in replacing the gas tank
and wiper arm. “I got it, Doc. And thanks” I winked at Jack.
“I’m sure Jack appreciates your help. What’s that? Oh, the
arm. Yeah, I understand. We’ll see” I replaced the receiver.
Jack nodded to the slip of paper in my hand. “What did
the Doc say? What did he say?”
For a moment, I wondered why Jack was so interested in
replacing a gas tank on the Runabout, but I dismissed the
thought.
“Doc said the problem was caused by trash inside. It
needs to come out. He said by now the trash probably looks
like a bunch of rotted leaves.”
“Rotted leaves?” Jack curled his lips in distaste and gave
his cast a puzzled look. He rubbed at the cast. “That’s what’s
causing the problem?”
“Well, part of it.”
“So, what’s the rest?”
I frowned at him, baffled over his preoccupation with the
gas tank. With a shrug, I read from the notes in my hand to
humor him. “There are two or three options. First, we can go
down to his place and get some stuff to slush around inside.
That might stop it”
Jack shot a horrified look at his cast. “Slush around
inside? But, won’t it melt?”
“Melt? Of course not”
He frowned at his cast. “I don’t like the idea of pouring
something inside and slushing it around. You said he had a
couple options. What’s the other?”
“Well, it’s drastic, but I could cut it
Suppressing my laughter, I managed to stammer out, “All
right, all right. In the meantime, find some talcum powder
and sprinkle it down the cast. Maybe that’ll help.”
He nodded emphatically. “That might work. You know,
that might just work,” he muttered between clenched teeth as
he hurried from the room.
A couple of minutes later, the phone rang. I answered. It was Doc Raines. He wanted to talk to Jack or one of the kids.
“Jack’ll be right back. The others aren’t here. Can I help?”
“I just wanted to let them know I have a couple guys interested in some of JW’s cars.”
“I’ll pass that along, Doc. By the way, when we first
talked, you said Stewart ordered the naphtha”
“That’s right.”
“How do you know it was him?”
Doc chuckled. “That high-pitched voice? No way it
wasn’t. I could pick him out of a thousand voices.”
“I see. Changing the subject, I’ve been thinking about that
Model T Runabout. I’d have to find somewhere to store it,
but I might be real interested in it. You think fifteen thousand
is a fair price?”
“Fair enough. Like I said, there’s gas tank problems.
You’d have to repair it or put a new one in. And when I got
to thinking about it after you left, JW also had a problem
with the wiper arm”
At that moment, Jack came back into the room. I blinked.
His face and chest were covered with talcum powder. He
looked like a circus clown in white face, his cast at half-mast.
He mouthed “Who?”
Pointing to the receiver, I mouthed “Doc.”
Jack grinned and nodded at the receiver. “The Doc?”
I nodded. “All right, Doc,” I said. “I have a pencil and
paper. Tell me how to go about taking care of it.”
Jack grinned and pointed to his cast. “About the cast?”
Too preoccupied with the details of the gas tank, I nodded
and waved him off, having not the slightest idea that at that
moment he believed I was talking about him.
“You’re not thinking about doing it yourself, are you?”
Skepticism laced Doc’s question.
I forgot about Jack for the moment. “Sure, Doc. I can do
it myself. Shouldn’t be a problem. The arm too. Now, shoot.”
Jack nodded, pointing to himself and then to me. A grimace screwed up his face, and he beat on his cast. “Hurry up,” he gasped. “This is killing me. This talcum powder
doesn’t work. I had to lay on my back and pour it down the
cast. That’s how I got it all over me”
Quickly I jotted down the steps in replacing the gas tank
and wiper arm. “I got it, Doc. And thanks” I winked at Jack.
“I’m sure Jack appreciates your help. What’s that? Oh, the
arm. Yeah, I understand. We’ll see” I replaced the receiver.
Jack nodded to the slip of paper in my hand. “What did
the Doc say? What did he say?”
For a moment, I wondered why Jack was so interested in
replacing a gas tank on the Runabout, but I dismissed the
thought.
“Doc said the problem was caused by trash inside. It
needs to come out. He said by now the trash probably looks
like a bunch of rotted leaves.”
“Rotted leaves?” Jack curled his lips in distaste and gave
his cast a puzzled look. He rubbed at the cast. “That’s what’s
causing the problem?”
“Well, part of it.”
“So, what’s the rest?”
I frowned at him, baffled over his preoccupation with the
gas tank. With a shrug, I read from the notes in my hand to
humor him. “There are two or three options. First, we can go
down to his place and get some stuff to slush around inside.
That might stop it”
Jack shot a horrified look at his cast. “Slush around
inside? But, won’t it melt?”
“Melt? Of course not”
He frowned at his cast. “I don’t like the idea of pouring
something inside and slushing it around. You said he had a
couple options. What’s the other?”
“Well, it’s drastic, but I could cut it
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