CHAPTER XV.
AT THE END OF A TOW LINE.
This state of uncertainty was of short duration. Then Thad chuckled softly.
“I certainly heard Giraffe’s laugh then,” he told Allan; “and you can tell now it’s only a single horse that’s thumping along. After all Giraffe had to give up on the petrol business, and come down to getting us towed in.”
Soon they could see moving figures on the road, and catch the creak of heavy wheels much in need of axle grease. It proved to be a cart, and seated in the same was Giraffe, together with a couple of half-grown Belgian lads.
“Thought I was never coming, didn’t you?” the tall scout remarked, as he jumped to the road; “well, I kept trying to get some gas all through the village, but it was no use. When I contracted to buy a supply I must have bitten off a bigger wad than I could chew. And I had a number of things happen, too; tell you about the same later on. Now, we’ll get busy hitching our chariot to a star. This was really the best I could do, Thad.”
He was of course assured that no one dreamed of blaming him; and that they would be very well satisfied to get somewhere or other, no matter what the means of locomotion turned out to be.
The two stout Belgian boys soon managed with the help of Giraffe to fasten the stalled car to the rear of their queer-looking cart. Ropes had been brought along for that very purpose, Giraffe foreseeing the need of such things.
When the start was made the car gave a jerk. That served to arouse Bumpus, who had continued to sleep calmly on despite all the talking.
“Oh! so we’re going on again, are we? Did Giraffe fetch the stuff, and—my stars! whatever is that ahead of us; and a towing rope in the bargain? Oh! I see now; we’re being carted into town, for a fact!”
Giraffe was full of his recent hunt for liquid fuel.