[CHAPTER XIII]
THE PROFESSOR’S LUNCH
“Well, what are we going to do?” asked Ned, after a long and rather gloomy pause.
“I don’t know,” answered Jerry.
“Might as well go on in the auto,” suggested Bob. “We’ll get to Denver to-morrow or next day, won’t we?”
“Oh, yes,” agreed the tall lad, “but Noddy will be a good deal ahead of us, even if he is on a slow local. Hang it! Why didn’t I think to wind my watch. I meant to, but we had so many things to think about that it slipped my mind.”
“Well, there’s no use crying over spilled milk,” consoled Ned. “The thing now is to decide what’s best to do. We might have looked at our watches.”
The station agent had gone outside to attend to some of his duties, leaving the boys and the professor alone in the depot. The scientist seemed to have shaken all cares from his shoulders, as he walked about, peering through his powerful spectacles for any stray specimens he might be able to capture.
“Well, the only thing I see,” spoke Jerry, “is to take the Limited to-morrow. We can stay here in town to-night. I guess we’ll go to a hotel, for I want to stretch out in bed. Then I can arrange with some garage man myself, about looking after the auto, instead of leaving it for the station agent to do. But I certainly am sorry we missed that train. We’d be ahead of Noddy by this time.”
“It wasn’t your fault any more than it was ours,” spoke Ned. “We ought to have looked at our watches, too.”
Bob said nothing. He had strolled over to the far side of the depot where there was a lunch counter. But the place was closed by glass partitions, through which the food could be seen.