Frank had kept on going without looking ahead. The momentary distraction had its result.
Too late he turned the handle bars of the bicycle and set the brake.
Bump! the machine struck a jagged tree stump, and Frank Newton took a header.
[CHAPTER V]
THE BALLOONIST’S RESCUE
There was a sharp bang as the bicycle struck the tree stump. Frank righted himself readily and ran to the machine where it had fallen.
“Pshaw!” he exclaimed, “tire punctured and the wheel a pretty bad wreck generally.”
This was true. A jagged sliver had ripped a hole in both the outer and inner tubes of the front wheel. The hard bang against the tree stump had twisted several spokes out of place and set a rim wobbling.
Frank had started in such a hurry from Riverton that morning that he had not thought of taking his mending kit along. He debated what he should do without further loss of time.