Read the excerpt from "a century ride.” "great scott! ” he stammered, "what’s the matter? surely ’tisn’t mrs. dunlop? ” and he gaped at the dusty little lady, who sat on the door-step, and the wheel which lay on the roadway. "i’m choking with thirst,” said maude. "get me a drink of water, and i’ll tell you,” and the doctor bounced in for a dipper, and out to the pump for the required beverage. "don’t take much,” he stammered incoherently. "i’ve put a drop of whiskey in it. now tell me, in the name of heaven, what sent you riding across the country in this fashion? ” the doctor’s reaction suggests that in the late 1800s in his area, it was uncommon to find women who were athletic. drank alcohol. were untidy. visited doctors.