A groan went up simultaneously.
“Confound the luck!” cried Randall. “The fiends are after us! What is the next best thing we can do, Frank?”
“There is, fortunately a way out of the difficulty,” said the young inventor.
At this the faces of all brightened.
“As we are upon snow,” continued Frank, “wheels are not a prime necessity. I think we can rig up a temporary sledge to go under the forward part of the machine and yet go ahead.”
A cheer arose at this.
It was fortunate that the power of the Scorcher was connected with the hind wheels, where the driving cogs were placed. Therefore, the loss of the forward trucks did not interfere with the machinery or driving power.
Frank now set to work to rig up a sledge.
This it was not difficult to do with the remnants of the truck. In a few hours the machine was provided with sledge runners.
These worked clumsily and very seriously impeded the speed of the Scorcher. But they were better than nothing.