Making sure that the car would not slip, Bob and Jerry started down the road, intending to hire a team from the nearest farmer. Ned was left on guard.
The appearance of Bob and Jerry, from having camped out in the rain all night, was not very prepossessing, and the farmer’s wife, to whom they applied for horses, looked at them askance. But the sight of some bills in Jerry’s hand changed her rather glum face to a smiling one, and the farmer, returning from his early milking, readily agreed to take his team and haul the auto back to the road.
“And while we’re here, hadn’t we better eat?” suggested Bob, in a whisper to Jerry. “We can take Ned back some grub, too.”
Fortified by a substantial meal, the boys could look on their adventure with better spirits now. Ned was grateful for his portion, and with the help of the farmer and his horses the car was soon back on the highway. No damage had been done to it, and, after paying the man for his services, the boys were soon under way again.
A little later they entered the driveway of the home of Professor Snodgrass, having stopped at a hotel on the way for a wash and change of clothes, which garments they carried with them.
“The professor? No, he isn’t here,” replied the housekeeper, after she had greeted the boys, whom she knew well. “He hasn’t been here since he went to Cresville.”
“But where is he?” asked Jerry, quickly.
“He’s somewhere in the Maine mountains,” was the answer. “He’s after a two-tailed lizard, and he doesn’t know when he’ll be back.”