"I have. Here—do you want to try?"
"I can do it."
"You'll have to hurry. Every second may be important."
"He'll hurt himself falling maybe."
"Skin up that tree. I'll swing the jeep around under him. It will break the fall and then we'll take him to a doctor. Hurry."
Davey backed the jeep in under the body while Biddy climbed resolutely carrying the knife between her teeth. She got a little dizzy but she closed her eyes and when she had wriggled far enough out on the limb, she cut at the rope until it separated.
At that moment, two things happened. The body fell heavily into the back seat of the jeep and the car itself went completely dead. The motor died, the lights faded slowly and the glow of the moon illuminated the scene.
As Biddy climbed down from the tree, Davey kicked again and again at the starter. There was no sign of life in the battery. Biddy came to the car and Davey stared at her blankly. "Something happened to the car. Even the starter won't turn over."
"Try—try again!"
Davey pressed the pedal and finally gave up. "It's no use. The crate's letting us down when we need it most."