CHAPTER VIII
DOWN THE ALLEGHANY
The truckman was bracing himself in his seat, with his foot on thebrake, trying his best to check the speed of the big wagon. As for thehorses, he could do nothing with them, since, as he said, to pull onthe unbroken rein would only be to send the steeds floundering into theditch that bordered the road on either side. That is, providing theanimals answered the pull.
“Can you hold the boat?” cried the truck-owner, giving a glance overhis shoulder at the men and boys.
“We’re--trying!” gasped Bob, whose face was red from the effort he wasmaking. Ned and Jerry, too, as well as the men, were doing their best.
“There’s the canal, just ahead!” observed one man.
Jerry had a glimpse of water sparkling in the rays of the sun. The roadwas now almost level, but the horses had not slackened their speed.Just where the canal came to an end, the highway curved abruptly, andit was not hard to guess what would happen if the runaways were notchecked.
Either they would swing around the curve with force enough to overturnthe truck, or, in their fright, they would plunge, boat, wagon and all,into the water. There was not much choice between the two dangers.
“Get ready to jump!” yelled the truckman on his seat.
The boys were in despair. They saw their plans for a fine summer outingpartly spoiled, and their fine boat about to be wrecked.
Suddenly, from the bushes that lined the road, there ran out to themiddle of the highway, and a little distance ahead of the gallopinghorses, a small man. At the sight of him Jerry cried:
“Look! It’s the professor!”
“He’d better get out of the way,” said the truckman grimly, in alow voice. “Nothing can stop these animals now, until they wreckeverything. Look out!” he yelled to Mr. Snodgrass.
But the little, bald-headed professor did not have any such intention.That was evident. There seemed to be something in the road that hewanted. His net came down with a swoop, and he knelt in the dust.
“Look out!” came in a chorus from the men on the wagon.
Then, for the first time, Professor Snodgrass seemed to be aware of theapproaching vehicle, with the boat for a load.
Up he jumped to his feet, holding his long-handled butterfly net, andstaring at the approaching runaways through his big glasses.
“Get out of the way!” yelled the truckman.
The professor ran forward, waving his arms. In one hand he held hisbroad-brimmed hat, while the other flourished the big, green net.
“Stop!” he cried, loud enough to be heard above the thunder of thewagon wheels. “Stop! Stop! Don’t come on any farther. You’ll smash it!”
“Huh! We know that!” yelled the truckman. “But you can’t make thesehorses stop by just inviting ’em to. Look out, or you’ll get hurt!”
But the professor came on, running straight at the runaways. Now he wasalmost under their feet, but with a wild yell he still advanced.
Suddenly he threw his hat in the face of one of the leading horses,and, with another quick motion, he crashed his long-handled net acrossthe eyes of the other. Then, nimbly leaping to one side, the professorcaught the broken, dangling rein, and braced back with all his might.Though a small man, he was powerful, and his weight told.
“That’s the stuff!” cried the truckman. In an instant he began pullingon the unbroken rein which he still held, and thus, with the professoron one side, being dragged along, and the driver sawing on theother line, the horses were pulled up evenly, a thing that had beenimpossible before.
“By Jove! I believe they’re going to stop!” cried Jerry, as he noticeda slackening in the speed of the horses.
“It’s about time, too!” added the truckman, as he looked at the watersof the canal, not far distant. He continued to pull on one line. Theprofessor still clung to the other, and the brakes were jammed on.Add to this that the road was level, and that the truck was heavilyloaded, and it can easily be seen that the horses, tired as they werefrom their run, did not need much more to stop them. They came down toa trot, then to a walk, and finally stopped. The truckman leaped fromhis seat, after a glance to make sure that the boat was in no immediatedanger of slipping off, though it had slid back quite a way.
“Say, that was a plucky stop!” the man cried, holding out his hand tothe professor. “I’ve caught some runaways in my time, but never betterthan that. You saved us from a bad smash-up.”
“Um! Well, perhaps I did,” admitted Uriah Snodgrass slowly, “but Imust confess I wasn’t thinking of that at the time. I wanted you tostop before you got too far, that was all.”
“And didn’t you want to save us?”
“Oh, yes, of course. But you see I was just capturing a new and veryrare specimen of a yellow grasshopper when you came along. I almost hadhim in my net, but he jumped under a stone, and I was afraid if thehorses came along they might step on the stone, and crush the insect orrun a wheel over him. That’s why I wanted to stop you. I’m glad I did,though I’ll have to put a new handle on my net, for it’s broken. But Imust see if I have the grasshopper.”
He ran to a flat stone in the road, carefully raised it, and made agrab for something underneath.
“I’ve got him! I’ve got him!” he cried. “Oh, you little beauty! You’reworth at least fifteen dollars. Oh, I’m glad I stopped the runaways!”
“Well, you are a queer one,” murmured the truckman as he proceeded totie the broken rein, and then he and his men made the slipping boatsecure, to hold until they could cover the short remaining distance tothe canal. “Stopping a runaway to save a grasshopper! That’s the limit!”
“But it’s a yellow grasshopper, and very rare,” put in the professorwith a smile, as he placed the insect in one of the cases he alwayscarried. “I doubt if any college but mine will have a specimen likethis. How did the runaway happen?”
The others told him about the dog that had scared the horses, and thenthe boys, having expressed their appreciation of what the professor haddone, helped the men steady the boat for the rest of the trip.
The horses were quiet enough now, and soon had the truck at the edgeof the canal. There the work of getting the _Dartaway_ into thewater again was speedily accomplished, and, having paid the men, andcalled the professor away from an ant hill he was examining through amagnifying glass, the motor boys once more got underway.
“Talk about excitement, it’s with us almost from the start,” remarkedNed.
“Yes, I thought our boat was a goner there, one spell,” added Jerry.“It took all my nerve to hold on.”
“Mine too,” added Bob. “I think I’ll have to make a cup of coffee, andtake some sandwiches to quiet down.”
And this time neither Ned nor Jerry laughed at their fat chum.
Their trip along the quiet canal was uneventful, and in a few days,after tying up nights along shore of the river into which the canalopened, they swept out on the waters of the Alleghany, and were headedfor Pittsburg.
“I hope our auto is all ready for us, and that we don’t have to wait,”remarked Ned one evening, as they got ready to retire for the night.
“Well, we’ll know by this time to-morrow,” spoke Jerry. “We ought to bein Pittsburg then.”
“What are you going to do with the boat?” asked Bob.
“I’ve arranged to store it until we get back,” replied the tall lad.“We’ll have to spend at least a day here, trying out the auto, andlaying in some supplies. In that time we can see that the boat isproperly put away.”
Professor Snodgrass sat up rather late that night arranging andclassifying some specimens he had caught, and it was nearly midnightwhen he turned in. The boys were sound asleep, and the little scientistwas soon in the same blissful state.
What time he was awakened Jerry did not know, but he sat up suddenly inbed, for he heard someone moving stealthily about on the after-deck.Then the door of the cabin was cautiously tried:
“Who’s there?” cried the tall lad sud
denly.
There was no answer, and reaching out his hand Jerry sought for theswitch that would turn on the electric lights which were operated bya storage battery. As he felt the button, he heard a boat scrapingagainst the side of the _Dartaway_.