A few minutes later, while the crowds on either side of the stream looked on in wonder, Jerry brought the airship to earth, on the western shore. The craft was immediately surrounded by an excited throng.
“You’re just in time!” cried one man, the same one who had used the megaphone. “We’ve tried everything we could—kites, swimmers, rats, and even the cannon—but nothing seems to do any good.”
“What are you trying to do?” asked Jerry, much puzzled, as, indeed, were his chums.
“Get a line across to the other shore, to establish communication,” replied the man. “You see, our town and the other one were connected by a bridge. This is Wakedell, on this side, and Eaton on the other side of the river. Lots of our people work in factories in Eaton, but since the bridge washed away, day before yesterday, there is no way of getting across.”
“Haven’t you got any boats?” asked Ned.
“Yes, we had several, and when the bridge washed down stream we got them out. But the current is so swift, and there are so many rocks in the river that it’s dangerous. Besides, if we start a boat on this side, and head it for Eaton, it’s likely to bring up a mile down on the other side, in a patch of lonesome woods. Then several boats upset, and were lost, and we barely saved the people.
“So we decided to try a new plan. We knew if we could get a strong wire cable from shore to shore we could run boats across by means of that, and with little danger, until we got a new bridge built, or until the water went down. You see, there are a lot of people who live here caught on the other side, and we have a lot of Eaton folks here, who want to get home, but can’t, as there’s no other bridge standing on this river now, within fifty miles; all washed away.”
“Can’t you get the cable over?” asked Jerry.
“No,” replied the man. “As I said, we’ve tried everything. We tried to get a rope across by flying a kite, but the wind wasn’t right. Then we tried tying a light string to a big muskrat, and threw him as far across as we could, thinking he would swim to the other side, but the rat swam right back here. The folks on the other side have tried to get a line to us, but couldn’t. One man tried to swim over, but it was too dangerous, and he had to turn back. We even tried a toy balloon, and did manage to get a light cord over. But when we tried to pull over a heavier one, the light cord broke.