A “jiffy” might mean almost anything, but with that slow car it stood for more than five minutes. Then Allan heard Giraffe, who had abnormal vision, give an ejaculation that had a smack of satisfaction about it.
“It’s a ferry, I guess, Thad!” said the tall scout, who had that neck of his stretched to an enormous extent that gave him a great advantage over his comrades.
“What makes you say so?” asked Bumpus, who could see absolutely nothing as yet.
“I notice a rope stretched across the river,“ Giraffe told him, “and yes, there’s some sort of a barge or float up at the landing on this side.”
Allan just then announced that he, too, could see what Giraffe was trying to describe, and there could be no doubt about its being a ferry.
“Here’s luck!” cried Bumpus, puffing out with new expectations.
“Let’s hope they haven’t gone and stuck a soldier alongside the ferryman so as to keep him straight!” grunted Giraffe; “and, Thad, I suppose I’ll have to do the interpreter act again, if the chap doesn’t talk United States?”
“We depend on you for that, Giraffe,” he was told.
The road led directly down to the edge of the water. There was some sort of landing there at which the ferryboat put up. It allowed the traveler who had a vehicle of any sort to pass directly from the shore on to the deck of the monitor which was used for a ferryboat.
No one was in sight when they first arrived.