There was a silence in the front seat of Old Faithful. At last, it was broken by Jerry James, saying in disgust, “See what I mean, Sandy? You’re too nice to that stinker.”
“Oh, well,” Sandy said. “At least we can look forward to a whole summer without Pepper.”
Then Jerry slipped his jalopy into second gear as they descended the steep ramp leading down to the highway. In a moment, they had reached the broad cement strip and Jerry carefully forced the speedometer up to a point a few miles below the limit. Then he let out a long exultant yell. “Only two thousand miles to go, Sandy!” he shouted above the roar of Old Faithful’s motor.
“Yep,” Sandy said. “Minnesota, here we come!”
What a trip it was, from inland California east and north to the shores of Lake Superior! The boys alternated at the wheel during those glorious five days. They averaged 400 miles a day. For the first time, they got a notion of the grandeur of their country, as Old Faithful whined patiently up the terrific grades of the Rocky Mountains and the boys could see the gigantic peaks rearing grandly in the air.
Then they were rushing down again into the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah and through the clean, neat streets of Salt Lake City. After climbing again into Wyoming, they drove across the Bad Lands of South Dakota into Minnesota. It was wonderful, indeed, driving by day, frequently pausing to take in the sights, and sleeping out under the stars.
One night they chose a farmer’s field to spread their sleeping bags in. In the morning, Sandy awoke suddenly. He had dreamed that his mother had come into his bedroom and was smothering him with kisses. “Aw, Mom,” he protested, “cut the kissing.” When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was really being kissed—by a big brown cow who was busily licking his face.
“I guess the cow didn’t like your sleeping on the best eating-grass,” Jerry laughed as they ran from the field and jumped back into Old Faithful.
That was on the morning of the last day, and by that afternoon, they had driven through Duluth and finally come to the Lake Superior port of Two Harbors—not far from the Mesabi pits inland.
When the two of them got their first glimpse of the lake they couldn’t believe their eyes.