They also took with them a radio pack-set, which is another wireless apparatus that can be carried about with little difficulty. This they had in the event of any unexpected emergency. The entire pack-set could be carried about in a suitcase, and after it was set up its current was generated by turning a crank by hand. Its range, under ordinary atmospheric conditions, was about twenty-five miles.
The first few miles of their journey were accomplished with little difficulty, but as they struck the uneven, newly-made road, their troubles began to increase. At times the jolts were so severe that it seemed they would shake the electrical apparatus loose from the tractor, while some of the inclines were so steep that, after attempting and failing to make them once, they had to go backward and then try again, with increased speed.
It was bitterly cold, and while Frank and whoever at the time sat beside him on the front seat kept reasonably warm, being directly behind the hard-working motor, the others frequently got out, to run along for a quarter or half a mile to limber up their stiffened joints and get their blood in circulation again.
One of their greatest difficulties came when, more than three-fourths the distance to their destination, and at one of the narrowest points along the road, they met the large truck bearing back toward camp the company of engineers.
The wireless tractor was chugging along under a heavy strain, but the other truck was coming down the steep grade under the compression of its engine, to accelerate the use of the brakes. And with the little warning they had, the two drivers brought their big machines to a stop less than ten feet apart.
It was impossible for the truck containing the engineers to back up. And the first widening in the road over which the wireless men had come was fully a quarter of a mile behind. There was no other course than for Frank to reverse, and, with a man on either side of the tractor in the rear, directing every slight turn of the wheel, to go back to that point.
Once the engine stalled, making the stability of the whole weight of the heavy tractor depend upon the brakes. Frank grabbed the emergency, and jammed it on with all his strength, but not before the machine had gained a momentum which made it a question for a few thrilling seconds whether or not the brakes would grip and hold it.
As they finally rounded the turn which gave them the brief space of wider road, and the engineers' truck passed by, the men waving each other a cheery farewell, the boys from Brighton gave a sigh of relief.
When they reached what they decided should be their destination, almost at the end of the road and in a dense bit of wooded section which would obscure them from enemy observers, they brought their tractor to a stop. With pick and shovel they began building an earthen oven, in which they might cook their food, and from which they might keep reasonably comfortable, without being seen.
A light snow began to fall, and, mess over, the lads decided to retire for the night. Before doing so, however, they set up the mast and aerials and made the connection to the storage battery. It was agreed that they should sit up in two-hour shifts, to be ready to receive any message that possibly might come, but it was arranged that the other four should divide this duty, allowing Frank, who had driven the truck over the entire trip, a full night's sleep.