Page:Popular Mechanics 1928 11.pdf/25

 to see them. It is highly important that they be straight ahead when he comes down or the car will plunge off to one side of the track. He therefore made a compass out of his steering wheel by bending and twisting it in such a manner that he could tell by the irregularities, when the wheels were properly turned for the descent. He has never had an accident in the ring. The car is locked so that it cannot be thrown into high speed.



The loud back fires are made in various ways. One is to fire off blank cartridges in a big spring affair like a large rat or mousetrap. Holes are punched in the top of the radiator so that water can be forced through to simulate a violent boiling over, while the "shimmying" effect is attained by cams on the rear wheels. One of the most baffling stunts the car performs is to chase the driver, apparently obey his whistle or a wave of the hand while he stands several feet away, and back up without any evident shift of gears. Again, persons have said that this is done by a hidden pilot, but that is not the fact. Baker has worked out an ingenious method of remote gear control whereby he can operate the car at a distance of fifty feet or more, about as well as if he were in the seat. Concealed wires, a reel hidden in his sleeve, and one or two other items, are required to operate the distant-control system, which is being kept secret in order that circus-goers may not be robbed of the pleasure of seeing the mysterious performance.



Long after other memories of the circus have faded, children and adults, too, recall the tiny fire engines, almost perfect replicas of the full-size apparatus. These were also designed by Baker, who supervised the construction of special parts and adapted odd pieces to the cars to make them realistic imitations of the larger engines. When he had nearly finished one, he discovered that there was no room