How the wind sang in his ears! The motor fairly hummed beneath him, and the big tires threw up a shower of mud. On and on rushed the boy! Nearer and nearer he came to the broken bridge. He heard a shout behind him but he dared not turn to see who it was.
He was twenty feet from the spot where the road ended and the bridge began. He wanted to shut his eyes, but he knew he must guide the motor with a firm and steady hand. He gripped the steering bars with all his might. There was a whizz as the rubber tires struck the wooden planking of the bridge. Jerry felt himself going down as he reached the sagging middle of the broken structure.
Then, like a stone fired from some ancient catapult, [he felt his machine rise under him], shoot up into the air, and sail across the gap.
[HE FELT HIS MACHINE RISE UNDER HIM.]
For one instant Jerry looked down at the black swirling waters below him. Then with a terrific thud he felt himself land on the road across the missing span.
He had made the leap for life and succeeded!
So swiftly was the machine going that even the shock of the landing in the road beyond the broken bridge did not check it. On and on it rushed until Jerry, whose breath had been almost shaken from him by the concussion, turned off the power.
“But I must not stop!” cried the boy. “I’m safely across, and I’ve got to get the doctor!”