"They are," said Bob, bending over them. "I can see it clearly. What do you think of that? The rascal made a good job of it after all."
It is quite certain that had the individual in question been within reach of the highly indignant Ramblers at this moment, he would have passed, as the French say, "A very bad quarter of an hour."
Bob unscrewed one of the spark plugs.
"Well, this has been put out of business," he exclaimed, hotly; "and I'll bet the other has, too."
An examination proved his surmise to be correct.
"No wonder the engine wouldn't work!" exclaimed the captain angrily. "Wouldn't I give a lot to know why this was done? Maybe it's busted so badly we can't fix it."
The boys were now satisfied that the Trailers had had nothing to do with it, but this only served to make the mystery deeper.
About this time the "Nimrod" was seen rapidly approaching. Nat and his companions raised a frightful chorus of groans as they passed.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Tom Clifton, blankly, while the other Ramblers stood disconsolately around.
"These spark plugs are certainly done for," said Bob. Then, to the astonishment of the boys, he began to smile.