A RABBIT CHASE OX A BICYCLE. 



FRANKLIN I.. PAYNE. 



SETTING THE PACE FOR THE SCORCHER. 



Fox chasing delights Englishmen, and in 

 some parts of America it is popular; but in 

 other parts, especially in the West, it is con- 

 sidered slow. Everything must " go " to 

 suit a Western man, and in this respect the 

 jack rabbit fills the bill. Chasing jack rab- 

 bits with greyhounds is a favorite sport 

 among ranchmen, and good dogs are a ne- 

 cessity if one would secure any game. 

 There is no slow torture, as in the long, re- 

 lentless chase by a pack of fox-hounds. It is 

 always a quick, snappy race, where speed 

 alone counts. 



One evening while taking a leisurely spin 

 over a country road. I encountered one of 

 these jacks in a running mood, and we had 

 lively sport for a short time. My wheel has 

 an 87^/2 gear, and I think my machine the 

 best there is, of course. It was made to 

 order, by a standard bicycle company, and 

 consequently just suits me. I had on one 

 of the new acetylene lamps, which gave a 

 powerful light, and this was the cause of the 

 sport. I was taking it easy when Air. Jack 

 made his appearance in the road ahead. He 

 stopped and stared at the light in wonder. 

 Apparently he could not understand it. The 

 absence of noise must have caused him to 

 think it some new variety of lightning bug. 



He waited until I was within 4 or 5 yards 

 of him before he moved. Then he only 

 scampered up the road a short distance, 

 stopped and gazed in wonder at the light. 

 The natural impulse was to push him up a 

 little, so I put on more steam. He did 

 likewise. He stopped about a dozen times, 

 going a little farther and faster each time. 

 It began to be great sport, out there in the 

 country, with no one about, and no noise 

 save the pur-r-r-r of the tires on the road, 

 and the click of the cyclometer, neither loud 

 enough to attract attention. The jack was 

 ambling up the road, looking over his 

 shoulder with one eye. still stopping occa- 

 sionally, but not for long. I don't think I 

 yelled, but there was a strong impulse to 

 do so. I could feel a broad smile spread- 

 ing across my face, and the wind began 

 humming " A Hot Time " in my ears, al- 

 legretto and crescendo. The jack was no 

 longer stopping often, but those wondering 

 ears, straight up, and that bright eye in 

 sight just over his whiskers were so funny. 

 I could hardly keep from laughing aloud. 

 I knew that would scare him away. 



The road was as smooth as asphalt, 

 and was lined with a thick growth of sun- 

 flowers on either side. A recent shower 

 had settled the dust and made an excellent 

 path for a race. The jack was about 30 

 yards away, had quit his teeter-board gait. 



