"I love trains," Mr. Green says. "I love all great machines, with their wheels and rods and gears! I love the stink of them and the noise of them!" People claim that Ned Green is odd. Eccentric. Peculiar. Rumor has it that he always carries a handful of diamonds in his pocket. And once, he even flew skyward in a balloon. But people are very interested in everything Mr. Green does, because he also is the biggest man in Dallas—meaning the richest.
On October 5, 1899, Mr. Green makes history by driving Texas' first motor car from Terrell to Dallas.
A farmer's wife says, "It's a creature of the devil!"
A blacksmith says, "This is the dangedest mess of metal I ever saw."
By the end of the day, though, Mr. Green and his companions have traveled thirty miles in only five hours, ten minutes. And Texas will never be the same.
