“You bet!” agreed Bob heartily. “I never tasted such fine water.”
“Very good!” said the professor.
“I guess we can stop long enough to lay in a supply now,” remarked Jerry. “We can start off again in five minutes, and in that time they can not catch up to us.”
So the radiator was filled to the top, and the auxiliary tank likewise, while the boys indulged freely in the liquid, thinking, perhaps, they might have some of the characteristics of the camel, and could drink enough at one time to last a week or more.
Then they started forward again, and the auto soon carried them beyond the possibility of capture that night. They camped out in the open, and, in spite of their rather exciting adventures they slept soundly, awaking as the sun rose.
Ned was given a chance to run the machine, and he took the front seat with Tommy, who was delighted to be there for the first time. They had not been going long before they found the land was rising.
“We’re coming into the mountains now,” said Jerry.
Up a long hill, with a gradual assent, puffed the auto. On either side were broad fields where tall Pampas grass was growing, amid which thousands of grasshoppers, or some similar insect, were singing.
“Better be sure your brake is in good working order,” suggested Jerry, as they came to the steep descent on the other side. “We don’t want any more accidents.”
Ned tried the ordinary brake. There was a clicking sound, followed by a snapping one.