"I guess the man ran away because he was afraid we might hold him responsible for damages," remarked Shadow. "Say! this puts me in mind of a story," he added. "One time a cow got on the front piazza of a house, and——"
"For gracious sake, Shadow! I guess you'd want to tell stories at a funeral," burst out Ben. "Never mind your yarn now. Let us see if we can get this machine out from between this rock and that tree."
"You didn't break the steering-gear, did you?" asked Dave, anxiously, as he allowed the flashlight to play over and around the touring-car.
"I don't believe I hurt anything, Dave. But of course I can't be sure until I try to run the car," answered Ben. "What's worrying me is: How am I going to get out of this fix? I don't believe I can back out—in fact it wouldn't be safe."
"Looks to me as if we'd have to chop the tree down to get out of here," commented Luke, who had come back from where he had signaled the other car.
"I think I see a way of aiding you," said Dunston Porter, who was examining the rock that held the wheel to the tree. "I think if we dig under the edge of this rock, we can loosen it and roll it down the hill. Then we'll be able to lift the front of the automobile around—that is if we can keep the machine from sliding down on us."
"We can easily fix that part of it," answered Dave. "All we've got to do is to take that towing-rope we brought along and fasten it to a tree and the back axle of the car."
"That's the talk, Dave!" cried his uncle. "Get the rope and make it fast at once."
While our hero and several of the other boys were adjusting the towing-line which had been brought along for emergencies, Dunston Porter and Mr. Basswood set to work to loosen the rock which held the wheel. This was no easy task, but finally, with the aid of a hammer and a small crowbar, it was accomplished, and the rock slid down the roadway. Then the automobile began to start forward.
"Look out there!" cried one of the boys. "This line may not hold!"