BOOTLACES AND A BICYCLF.

Otago Witness, 5 December 1900, Page 49

BOOTLACES AND A BICYCLF.

By Tafp.

I wanted to go and have a look at Johnny, and as Johnny lives 35 miles away, some little exertion was required to realise my wish. My front tyre was down — had gone down with a rim a week previously, and had stayed down ever- since. It was certain that T could not see Johnny's battered felt hat that afternoon without first mending my tyre. I never did get control over that front tyre of mine ; it always gave me 10 minutes gasping work to get it off. I was not such an expert on tyres then as lam now ; but I set to work and at last levered the wire over the edge of the rim. Now, taking that tyre off generally made deponent warm, putting it on again sometimes made ' him swear. It had no desire to go where the good tyres go ; it resisted the moral persuasion of ftngers and the firmness or thumbs. At last the brute force of two toothbrush handles raised it to the level of the rim, a gentle push, and it will be over — there was a dull snap, the wire had parted !

Deponent got up and calmly surveyed the scenery; the distant rattle of dishes came from the kitchen, and two sparrows were having a friendly quarrel in a laurel busb. Then he considered the philosophy of bike tyres. Deponent, though lie Fays it himself, is a man of resource ; moreover, having; a desire to ride, he was not to be put off by a lowbred, ill-conditioned bike tyre. He put the broken-backed tyre in its place — it made no resistance now, then went to the toolshed and got some binding wire, for a farmer is never at a loss where there is wood and wire and scrap iron. The tyre was bound firmly to the rim by the simple process partly blowing it up, then wrapping wire round it, especially at the broken part. At last a start was made. • I noticed that the wire binding could not be seen when .the wheel was going at a moderate speed. A few hundred yards, and strand after strand the wire gave way, cut by the road, and the neatly lapped wire was soon a tangled bunch, whose frayed edges caught in the forlis every time the wheel went round. T cast aside some loose fragments, and bound it again with the remnants, looked in the fence for strongerwire, and could rind nothing but thick fencing wire. As more wire gave way, I used the fragments of string in ni5 r pockets. Then I found some galvanised wire, something like the stuff used lor clothes- line?,- -and unrove a strand of it

A.s I was •twisting this on to the tyre there came behind a" kind of four-wheeled cab, calling itself a coach, which inns regularly between two of the' nearest towns. There are some situations hi which a person is quite sufficient company for himself, and the eye of an observer is uhcleSirable ; so I hastily jumped on and raced 'awa"y, leaving the "wretched coach behind.

The wires began to give way again. I stopped and tied a piece of bootlace in 'the place of the broken part. Then there was another spurt from the approaching coach ; and another wire gone ; and another' bit of bootlace sacrificed ; and another spurt from the persistent enemy; and another wire gone; and another bit of bootlace; and another.till the aforementioned town was reached; and then tliere'was no" wire left on the tyre, and no laces in.thebobts.

Here let^me.sjing the praises of bootlaces — good honest, leather, you stood the rough halfmacadamised or.whplly shingly roads for about 60 miles, an.d not one of you wore through.

But the town was passed, there was no gliding enemy, .behind,. gr.een willows and silver poplars shaded- the -road, and deponent began to meditate on a poem in praise of the bicycle. The poem was still in the first line stage when the trees werelef t, and the road followed along'

a river bed — one of those wide, rough, long gorsy and shingly Canterbury riverbeds — aad - led in among the • hills. But evening is coming on, and Iwe is til' township consisting of one hotel," one -store, j • and one blacksmith's shop, and deponent goes into the hotel and the population turn out' and inspect the bicycle. I find that I caul have some cold beef, and I sit eating in solitary state and drinking from a cup, the thickness whereof shows that it was intended to be bomb-proof. Enters an individual in moleskins; saidi moleskins, partly white and partly not white;, he is about five foot five, and has a merry eye.' ■ He salutes deponent, " Hallo, here's a jolly lark; did you see* the old girl that runs the show? She was going to bring out drinks, we've been working outside — fooling round — fixing up things — just' having a lark— l believe she's carried 'em all' off and is having a spree. By the smokey, ' , she'll have a mixture — whisky, and beer, and ' shandy, and ginger ale — I say, isn't it a jollylark? Nothing like- having a jolly good lark, is there? "

He looked searchingly at deponent, who assured the" old philosopher that he was nofc violently opposed to the doctrine. " Ah, I knew you liked fun. I can tell all about what a chap is, just by looking at him, one good -look is enough. You are musical now. Do you sing? " "No."

" Well, you've got the ability, anyhow. You're clever, too, and you know languages ;, . do you teach languages? " I assured him tliat'iny abilities in the language trade covered nothing but English. "Well, you've- got the ability, anyhow. I can talk Maori, and French, and Chinese. I could speak Chinese when I was so high (indicating one foot nine) '; but I must find where that old girl has gone to, the fellows i«v wait- , ing for their drinks. . Isn't it a /oily old lark? "

I pass on, get deeper into the, hills ; there are tussock sidelands where the plough can never go, and there are sheer faces of limestone rock, and waterworn hollows where the sea has been.

The tussock is stunted and thin from constant burning, the lougher snow-grass does better ; white clover, trefoil, and other grasses work their way among the brown natives; surly Spaniards with fixed bayonets hold the facings !

The level sun shines along a low wEaleback ridge, and shows that what seemed smooth really undulates like a wheat crop in a breeze. The long flank of the hill is a succession of little rounded swells, each of which shows one V>-'-rht pide, till the sun sinks behind the hills.

. nave to walk up a three-mile hill in the dark before I shake hands with Johnny.

Johnny know? all about a bicycle; ue has never ridden one. but then, you see, he has worked grair J" l's and stsch things. "He says I ought to fiil the bearing 3up with oil, he woulu if he hud a bike, also that I ought to carry half a dozen spare parts abotvt with me in case of accidents. He has a theory that • a decent tyre should require blowing up only once, and that is when it is manufactured. It is a beautifully simple theory. The tyre is to -be blown up tight, then hermetically scaled, and there is no bother at all aboutfaulty valves. He insists that if there are no holes no air can get out. , . A day with Johnny round the farm, "mining the satisfactory state ol the turnips : and the fat sheep, then the return journey begins. I decide that I must make a, wide - circaiit and call in at Timaru to refit tyres. It is a hot day. and I have run. out of oil, and ' the chain begins to run heavily. I reach a ■ little valley with limestone rocks on one side and a shingly road under the tyre. Just here ; the front tyre gives a heave, and nine inches ; of it lift. The faithful bootlaces have . .stretched, a narrow strip of tubing is exposed, and it swells out into bulbs as thin as soap bubbles. Jut in time I unscrew the valve and release the air, then pant at the thought - of the horrible catastrophe that nearly occurred. Again the booth are unlaced to preserve the tyre. A sympathetic farmer comes along in his trap. There is no escape. He pulls up, inquires if there is a breakdown, then condoles and remarks that the. oldfashioned solid tyres never played one such a trick as that ; advises that I should go back to honest solid rubber ; thinks that everybody will have to do so before long. All the- while 1 wish the old chap were in paradise. L That- afternoon a dusty, unshaved, blackhanded and disreputable individual, without the sign of a lace in his boots, arrived at Timaru and steered for a bike shop, then went tc a boot shop, then a barber's ; then after solid refreshment within, and liquid refreshment without and within, mounted a regenerated bicycle, and made for home.