“Say, according to that we’re going backward,” commented Ned.
“Don’t mind,” advised Jerry. “Keep right on, and when we arrive we’ll be there.”
“Wise man,” asserted Bob with a laugh.
The threatened storm gathered more quickly as the afternoon waned, and they had not gone many more miles before the rumbling of thunder increased, and the intermittent flashes of lightning became almost continuous.
“We’re going to be in for it,” warned Bob, as the first few splashes of rain came.
“Yes, we’d better stop, put up the top, and the side curtains,” advised Ned. “I want the wind shield up, too, for I don’t like the rain in my face.”
They were soon better prepared to stand the downpour which quickly came, and with the heavy curtains and the top up, they were fairly snug and comfortable in the auto, as it chugged off through the darkness.
“Ugh!” suddenly grunted Ned, as he felt the wheels leave the hard macadam road, and slip into the soft mud of a dirt highway. “Now we’re in for it.”
The auto labored on, losing time as the rain turned the highway into a veritable slough. The downpour got heavier, and a wind springing up, seemed to force the water through every crack and crevice of the protecting curtains. The lightning, too, was incessant, and the thunder claps came with startling rapidity.