"Well," said the doctor, "he's a lucky man. It's lucky for instance
that he has an artificial foot. That was crushed. Had it been his real
foot, the bone would have been splintered so badly we might have had
to amputate at the knee. As it is, he has a leg fracture, a dislocated
shoulder, and bad burns on the torso and thighs. He's a remarkable man.
He should be suffering from shock and in need of sedatives. But his
main concern is his car. Otherwise he's quite calm, and his mind is
clear."
"Gee," said Woody. "I'm sure glad to hear it isn't too serious."
The doctor laughed. "If it happened to me, I'd call it very serious
and give up racing for the rest of my life. Here's the address. He's
anxious to see his daughter so she doesn't get any false reports on his
condition."
Woody took the slip of paper, which had the address of an apartment
house on Front Street in San Diego. Without asking Worm, he got into
the Dodge and drove over there. On the way over, he kept thinking about
the best way to break the news. When he arrived, he still had not
reached a formula. He pressed the bell and when the door opened it is
probable that even if Woody had memorized what to say, he would have
forgotten it.
The girl who opened the door was about his age. She had red hair that
looked like burnished copper. It was cut in a page boy and came down
to her shoulders. She wore a black turtle-neck sweater and a skirt of
a dark green material that spread out like a ballerina's from a tiny
waist. Her skin was milk white, and her eyes had a trace of a teasing
look in them.
"Yes," she said politely when she opened the door.
"Are you Miss Randolph?" Woody asked.
"Yes."
"I'm Woody Hartford. I was working in the pit with your father at the
races today."
"Oh," she said. Now Woody was stuck. He could find no appropriate words
that would not alarm her. He decided to plunge on.
"He's not badly hurt, but he's been in an accident," Woody said. "The
Black Tiger turned over and he's at the hospital and--"
"Wait until I get my coat," the girl interrupted. She dashed into the
apartment and was back in a second, struggling into a white lamb's-wool
half coat. She pushed past him and down the stairs with Woody in
pursuit.
"There's my car," he said pointing to the Dodge.
The girl gave it a brief glance. "We'll take mine," she said and ran to
a red MG parked by the curb. Woody had just time to get in before she
had started it and was speeding down the streets. Woody was surprised
at the MG's acceleration and cornering ability. On the way to the
hospital he told the girl all he knew of Randy's injuries. Sitting
next to her, he realized that she was even prettier than he had thought
at first glance. And she drove like a wizard, snaking surely through
the traffic without a second's indecision.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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