"It certainly is not," replied the lieutenant.
"And, if we wait here long enough to fix it it won't do us any good either, will it?"
"Certainly not."
"Then my idea is this: Head the machine straight down the road, lash the wheel fast and start her off. If I am not mistaken, it will run along the road at least to the next curve. Even from here you can see the steep embankment at the curve. When the machine hits that curve it will go over.
"Now, if that embankment is as steep as it looks, the car, when it hits the bottom, will be out of sight. In the meantime, we hide here until our pursuers pass. The chances are they will continue past the curve, never seeing the wreckage at the bottom of the embankment, believing we are still ahead of them. Then we can continue our journey afoot. What do you think of that idea?"
"I think it is first-rate," declared Hal, and the others agreed with him.
"But won't they discover, when they reach the next town, that we haven't passed through?" asked Chester.
"They probably will," was the reply; "but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Besides, there is little doubt in my mind that the authorities in the next town know of our coming. We couldn't be so fortunate a second time."
Accordingly the plan suggested was carried out. Hal elected to get in the car and start it, and, as it took a flying leap forward, he hurled himself from the machine to the soft grass beside the road. He was considerably shaken up, but not badly hurt.
Then the five stood and watched the car in its mad flight down the road.