The others needed no second invitation, and the sandwiches, together with a number of other home-cooked dainties, disappeared with wonderful rapidity. When they had finished, the boys stretched out luxuriously on the sweet-scented pine needles with which the ground was strewn, and all felt as though life could offer them little more. Jimmy took prompt advantage of the springy couch, and was soon dreaming of a happy land where all the mountains were made of pies and doughnuts. The others soon succumbed to the drowsy effects of their hearty meal, and the shadows were gathering heavily before they finally resumed their journey.
“We shouldn’t have stayed here so long,” said the driver, as they started on again. “We’ve still a good bit to go, and it will be dark in a few hours. This good road won’t last much longer, either.”
“Well, step on the accelerator while we still have the light, and we may not be so late, after all,” suggested Bob. “If you get tired driving, just say so, and I’ll take the wheel for a time and give you a rest.”
But the driver would not hear of this. As he had foretold, the road rapidly grew rougher, and at last it got so bad that they were forced to proceed at an exasperatingly slow pace for anyone at all anxious to get anywhere. The boys were thrown about here and there, and had to cling to the sides of the car to keep from being thrown out. Twilight changed to darkness, and, though on Spruce Mountain, they were still many miles from their destination. Suddenly the driver jammed on his brakes and the big car came to a shuddering halt not two feet from a big tree that had fallen across the road. The woods grew dense on either side of the road, so that there was no possible chance of getting around the obstruction.
“Looks as though we were here for the night,” observed the driver, scratching his head in perplexity. “This boiler can’t fly, and I don’t see any other way of getting on the other side of that tree.”
“I do!” exclaimed Bob, decisively. “We’ve got axes in the car, so why can’t we cut away a section of the trunk and go through sailing? How about it, fellows?”
For answer the boys made a dive for the tonneau, and in a few minutes the forest was ringing to the sound of their axes. The tree was of fair size, but in less than an hour they had chopped away a section of the trunk and rolled it to one side. This left an opening wide enough for the automobile to pass through, and they were soon bumping and jolting over the uneven road once more.
“I hope we haven’t got much further to go,” groaned Jimmy, after one particularly hard jolt. “Seems to me I’ll have to spend most of our time at Spruce Mountain in recovering from this trip. It would be more fun to walk.”
“Oh, quit your grumbling. We can’t have very much further to go,” said Joe. “I’ll have to admit I’ve ridden on better roads, though.”
But as Joe had said, their ride was almost at an end. A little further, and the driver turned up a side road, jolted along for a few hundred feet, and then, in the glare of the powerful headlights, they could see the outlines of a low, rambling building that they knew must be Dr. Dale’s bungalow. And sure enough, the key that had been intrusted to Bob’s care fitted the big padlock that secured the door, and the boys found themselves in the dim interior. They spent little time in examining the place, leaving that until the following day, but busied themselves in transferring their belongings from the car to the house. This done, they ate a hearty supper, tumbled into their bunks, and were soon sleeping the sleep that comes from an exciting day in the open. But the next morning they were up bright and early, for the man who had brought them up wanted to get an early start back. After this the lads examined the place curiously and spent the next day or two in getting settled and getting acquainted with their surroundings.