"There was just too much water," began Mrs. Jackson, not sure what he wanted to know. "It collapsed. It fell down. There's no more bridge in town."
Baartock had told his father about the bridge, of course. And what he had thought of a human-built bridge. He wasn't really surprised that it had fallen down.
"Where bridge?" asked his father.
Baartock was just about to tell him, when Mrs. Jackson asked, "You want to see the bridge?"
"You show me bridge," replied his father. "You show me bridge now?"
Just as suddenly as his father had appeared, they were going out of the cave. Baartock grabbed his lunch bag and followed them out. They went down the hill toward the 'old Howard house'.
"We'll have to go the long way around," said Mrs. Jackson. "Your road is flooded too."
That didn't matter to his father and they kept walking down the hill. When they got to the car, there was a problem trying to figure out where they were all to sit. Mrs. Jackson had to slide the front seat up, so the three trolls could sit in the back. If they hadn't been trolls, they wouldn't have been able to squeeze in. But trolls can bend to fit into tight places. Soon they were all inside and Mrs. Jackson was driving.
Baartock opened his lunch bag to get something to eat. His father had some too, but his mother said she wasn't hungry. Neither Mrs. Jackson or Mrs. Stogbuchner wanted any either.
Riding in a car for the first time didn't seem to bother Baartock's father. Maybe it was because he was going to see the bridge, or maybe it just didn't bother him.