Woody forgot about the sign board in his excitement. He leaned as far
as he could over the snow fence to see the Black Tiger come around
turn number five. There was a tense silence in the crowd, above which
he could hear the roar of the engines. He heard the squeal of wheels
and the coughing spit of Kingston's Ferrari as he changed down for the
bend. Then Kingston was around and after him. Turning the corner in the
same instant was Kreuger's Jag and the Black Tiger, wheel to wheel. As
they flashed by Woody caught a glimpse of Randy, sitting quite relaxed
behind the wheel. There was a slight smile on his face, and then he was
gone, headed for the right-angle bend half a mile down the track.
"It's Dave Kingston against Jimmy Randolph in the Black Tiger now," the
loud-speaker blared. "Randolph cut in from the far side of the track
on bend six to take over the second place from Kreuger. He's battling
Kingston now for the lead position. As they pass the start-finish line
on the sixth lap it's Kingston, Randolph, Kreuger, and Wisdom.
"Randolph had an overlap on Kingston's Ferrari twice. This is a great
race--perhaps the greatest we shall see this year. Here they are going
into the hairpin. Kingston is skillfully blocking all Randolph's
attempts to pass. He's holding that inside position and has just a
little more speed than the Black Tiger on the straightaway. Now they're
entering bend number five. It looks as though Randolph is going to take
it wide, relying on the cornering ability of the Tiger to take him
around--"
Woody didn't have to listen to the rest. He saw it. Kingston's Ferrari
hurtled around the bend on the inside with the Black Tiger on its tail.
The big Ferrari skidded for a fraction of a second, picked up traction,
and hurtled down the straightaway.
But something went wrong with the Black Tiger. The car took the corner
wide, and Woody could see Randy fighting to get control. It looked as
though he was going to hit the telephone pole, but he managed to miss
it by inches. The car came roaring and fishtailing toward the crowd.
People scattered like dust before a heavy gust of wind. Woody caught
a glimpse of the Tiger hitting the shoulder of the road not a hundred
yards from him. Then it leaped into the air, turned slowly on its side,
and hit the ground upside down. It slithered bumping and screaming,
sparks flying from it, and the wheels spinning, for fifty yards before
it came to a standstill.
Woody was over the snow fence before anybody could stop him. Flagmen
appeared is if by magic, waving the red accident flags. Woody was
conscious that several cars flashed by, slowing down near him, but he
had no eyes for them. He ran to the Black Tiger, which lay beside the
track, its wheels still spinning in the air.
"Randy," he shouted, "Randy."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account