He followed up these words by getting into the driver’s seat, and after Tom had removed the wreck of the propeller, his cousin started up the engine and threw in the clutch connecting it with the driving machinery.
The rear wheels flew round in the sand for a minute, but as the boy applied more power they gripped the surface and the Flying Road Racer—an automobile now—moved rapidly up the beach. Jack ran her in under a grove of trees and then shut off the engine.
“If only we weren’t on an island,” he said, “we could run right through to the city of Mexico!”
“Gee, I wish we could,” said Ned Bangs, “it’s a question of how long the grub will hold out on this island, and we don’t know if any ships come this way.”
“Easy enough to find out,” said Tom rather carelessly.
“Easy enough?” echoed Ned. “Well, Tom Jesson, you’ll have to show me. Here we are, cut off from all communication——”
Tom smiled and shook his head.
“Not while we’ve got the wireless,” he said.
“What do you mean, Tom?” asked Mr. Jesson.
“That when I left the Vagrant I brought her wireless apparatus with me,” said Tom in a quiet tone. “That’s what those bundles were.”