Worm's forecast that Woody would be asked to drive the Black Tiger was not long in coming true. A week after her telephone call, Rocky dropped in to see him. She drove into the garage in her MG, and although Worm was delighted to see the daughter of his old friend, it was plain that he was worried too.
"Mind what I told ye," he said privately to Woody. "Dinna' let her talk ye into driving yon Black Tiger. It's nae worth the risk."
Woody and Rocky went to dinner and then for a drive and a talk. For a while nothing was said about the Black Tiger, though Woody knew very well that that was the object of the visit. Rocky was apparently waiting for Woody to bring up the subject, and he was determined that he wouldn't.
Eventually she brought it up herself.
"The Black Tiger is being completely overhauled and repaired," she said. "It will be ready to race again soon. The factory sent a man over to supervise the work. They installed a completely new brake system. The factory man said the car had been dropped on the way over, and that was why the steering knuckle broke and also why the brakes went out. There was just the tiniest rupture in the master cylinder, but with the constant braking during two races the rupture widened and the fluid drained out."
"Gee, I'm glad to hear they found the trouble and the car is being fixed," Woody said.
"We haven't been able to get a driver," Rocky continued. "I'd drive it myself, but it wouldn't be the same thing. They have special races for women, as you know, and to prove its worth the Black Tiger has to be driven in a man's race."
Woody made no reply to this other than to grunt.
"It's the old trouble," Rocky went on. "The car has got the reputation of being a killer. Nobody wants to risk driving it because it's so new. But it isn't a killer at all. I believe what Randy used to say. No cars are killers. New ones may have bugs in them that have to be found out. But that's been true of every car ever designed. Racing finds out the troubles and provides better and safer cars for people to drive.
"Lots of safety features on automobiles today were developed out of experience gained in road racing," she continued. "Four-wheel brakes are one of them. So are rear-vision mirrors and better tires. More people are driving with safety belts on long trips, and that's saving a lot of lives. In the early days of racing, Daddy told me, fly-wheels used to explode and kill drivers. But who ever heard of a flywheel exploding these days? Racing drivers showed how to make better ones. Every time there's an accident on a track, people say that road racing should be banned or that a particular car is a killer. But the automobile industry would not be where it is today if it wasn't for road racing."
Still Woody said nothing. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach because he knew what was coming. The palms of his hands felt moist, and he could feel his heart beating faster. He tried to temporize.
"Why was Randy so interested in the Black Tiger?" he asked.
"Because he said it was way ahead of any other racing car yet designed," Rocky replied. "The factory is planning to put out a small family car based on the Black Tiger engine. It would give about fifty miles to a gallon of gas, could be driven in any climate because the engine is air-cooled. That means no radiator to overheat in summer or freeze in winter. And it would sell for less than a thousand dollars. But all that depends on the Black Tiger being shown to be an efficient engine and chassis design.
"Daddy never said anything to me about it. But I found out through his will that he had put all his savings into the project. He believed in the Black Tiger that much. He used to say he'd spent all his life looking for a perfect automobile and had found it in the Black Tiger. Now his life's work will be wrecked unless we can find someone to drive the Tiger." She looked across at Woody, hesitated, and then said.
"Daddy was very fond of you. He told me that you'd make a great racing driver someday. He said you had a natural flair for it, and the sort of courage that it takes. Woody, I hate to ask you, knowing the reputation the Black Tiger has. I'm only asking because so much of Randy's hopes were tied up in the car. Will you race it—not for me but for him? For all he did for automobile racing and design?"
Woody had his answer ready, but he couldn't get it out. It seemed to him that Randy was nearby and hanging on his answer. He wanted to say no. He wanted to say that he, too, believed the Black Tiger was a man-killer. He wanted to break down and confess that he was scared to death every time he raced a car and that fear, heavy as a shroud, clung to him through every moment of a race. But he could not get the words out of his mouth.
"I'll have to think about it, Rocky," he said feebly.
Rocky brightened immediately. "Woody," she exclaimed, "you're wonderful." And she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"I haven't said yes," Woody said hurriedly.
"I didn't expect you to answer right away," replied Rocky. "I know you have to talk to your mother and father. But if you explain everything to them, I know they will agree."
"Worm warned me not to race the Tiger," Woody said. Rocky frowned.
"Did he tell you about himself yet?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Daddy always felt bad about Worm," Rocky went on, slowly. "He believed up to the last that all Worm had to do was turn around and face his fear and he would be happy again. He's not happy now, you know. That's why Daddy got him in his pit crew and brought the Black Tiger to his garage for tuning. It wasn't really that he couldn't get the tuning done anywhere else. He thought if he could get Worm back into racing, he would get over his fears. Daddy was always doing things like that for people without their knowing it. He used to say that fear was just a continuing sense of shock. It could be cured, he thought, if faced."
Rocky didn't know how deeply these words affected Woody. He felt that Randy was talking to him; that Randy knew the struggle in his mind and was trying to sort it out for him. He could almost hear the bright, gallant voice, not blaming him but understanding and trying to help him get over his own fears.
"When do you think you'll know whether you can drive the Tiger?" Rocky asked.
"Oh, in about a week," Woody replied.
"Whatever your answer," Rocky said, "I'll always be grateful to you. The others just said no. You at least are willing."
That evening Woody bitterly regretted that he also had not given a flat no to Rocky's request. If he had done so, it would be settled and he would have been saved a lot of mental and emotional turmoil. When he got home he found his father was out of town on business and would not be back for two or three days. Woody would have liked to talk to his father about driving the Black Tiger in the hope that he would be forbidden to race. That would solve the matter by putting the blame for the decision on someone else. Woody didn't feel exactly comfortable at that thought but was looking for a way to escape making the decision himself.
It was no good talking to Worm. Worm would only insist that he refuse to drive the Black Tiger. And Worm was really in the same position in regard to racing as himself. If Tom Wisdom or any of the other drivers he'd met had been around, he would have consulted them for their views. But Woody didn't know where they lived and had no way of finding out.
In the end, desperate for someone to talk his problem over with, Woody took it to Mary Jane. He didn't really think she could help him with it. He already knew her views on road racing. But at least she was someone to talk to. He was too ashamed to unburden himself to Steve.
To his surprise, Mary Jane's reaction was quite different from what he had expected. He told her everything, not sparing his own feelings in any way. Though he blushed while doing so, he confessed that he was scared of racing and had many times missed chances on the track through sheer fear. He said he had been afraid even to talk of his fear and now was in the predicament of being asked to drive the Black Tiger. He confessed that he was mortally afraid of doing it and also afraid of refusing, both because of his reputation and what it might do to his morale.
Mary Jane didn't interrupt once while he was talking. When he had finished, she said:
"Woody Hartford, you're the most mixed-up person I ever met. There's nothing for you to do but drive the Black Tiger. I'm surprised you can't see that yourself."
"What?" cried Woody, amazed.
"Look," Mary Jane continued. "You know how I hated the way you were always spending time and money on Cindy Lou. I still don't see that it's important for one driver to prove he can go faster than another. And I don't see that it's important for people to keep building faster cars. If you were going to drive the Black Tiger just to show that it would go faster than those Ferraris or what-nots, I'd tell you not to be so silly.
"But that's no longer the reason. The reason now is to show that you've got the courage to drive the car even though you're afraid of it. That's a very important reason. It's much more important than all that stuff about developing safer cars and so on.
"You've just got to drive the Black Tiger. That's all there is to it. Otherwise you won't be Woody Hartford any more. And the person I'm interested in is Woody Hartford."
Woody was stunned.
"You really mean you think I should drive it?" he asked.
"Certainly. I wouldn't want to have anything more to do with you if you didn't. If I was afraid of it, I'd drive it. You don't have to win. All you've got to do is try to win and show that you're prepared to take the same chances that other drivers in the race accept.
"I used to say that all your interest in racing and racing cars was juvenile. So it was. All you were interested in then was the speed and the roar of the engines and the glamour. But now it isn't juvenile at all. You're growing up. If you race the Black Tiger, it will show that you've grown up enough to be called a man.
"And," Mary Jane concluded, "when I get married, I want it to be to a man, even if he does have to spend the rest of his life in greasy overalls.”