CHAPTER X
There was silence for a moment, following the crash of the big touring car in the ditch, and then Violet piped up in her shrill voice asking, as of course you have guessed, a question.
"What happened?" demanded Violet, and then, as Captain Ben looked back and saw that all four little Bunkers were safe in the rear seat, though somewhat mixed up, and as he saw Daddy Bunker straightening up after having slid from the front seat, Captain Ben laughed.
"I guess more things happened than we'll know about right away," answered the marine. "Are any of you hurt?"
"I—I guess my nose got bumped," said Laddie. "It feels so, anyhow."
"You ought to know whether or not you bumped it," his father said.
"I didn't bump it—my nose bumped itself on the back of your seat," explained Laddie. "Anyhow, I don't guess it's bloodin', is it?" he went on, holding his hand to his nose. "Bloodin'" was Laddie's word for bleeding.
"No, it isn't bloodin' any," Vi told her brother. "But, oh, wasn't it funny the way we slid into the ditch?"
"I'm glad it is no worse than funny," said Captain Ben. "I felt the car sliding on the slippery road, but the brakes would not hold her back. I'm afraid something is broken, but I'm glad none of our bones are."
"Lessen Laddie's nose is," put in Vi.
By this time Daddy Bunker and the children had climbed down from the car. They could see now what had happened. It had slid almost head first into the roadside ditch, which was partly filled with muddy water from the last night's rain. The radiator, or that part of the automobile which is kept filled with water to cool the engine, was thrust into the muddy bank on the far side of the ditch. One of the front wheels was broken, and, in addition, the car was tilted on one side. If it had not been for the edges of the ditch holding the car up, it would have turned right over on its side.
"Oh, the wheel is broken!" exclaimed Rose, as she looked at the splintered spokes.
"And we can't go on to Grand View and see mother!" added Vi.
"Shall we have to stay here all night?" Laddie asked. "If we do, we'd better get a tent, 'cause it won't be any fun sleeping in the automobile like that."
"No, it will not," said Captain Ben, as he walked around the car and looked at it from all sides to see the worst of the damage. "But we won't stay here all night. If we can't go on in this machine, we'll get another."
"I don't see how you can go on in this when a wheel is smashed," said Daddy Bunker.
"I have an extra wheel," Captain Ben said. "If that is the worst of the damage we can get over that, provided we can get pulled out of the ditch. That's the first thing to be done—get pulled out of the ditch. But it looks as though we should not get to Grand View even to-night, and I don't know what Cousin Amy will think of me for keeping her four little Bunkers away from her two nights in succession, not to say anything about her big Bunker," and as he said this Captain Ben looked at the children's father.
"Yes, I fear Amy will be missing us," said Mr. Bunker. "But we don't want to desert you, Captain Ben. If I had some way of talking to Amy and telling her just what has happened, letting her know the children are safe, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we stayed on the road another night—that is if we have to."
"I'm almost sure we'll have to," said Captain Ben. "I am very sorry, but I seem to have brought you nothing but bad luck ever since I came. When I arrived your chimney was on fire. Then almost as soon as we start out we run into a storm and have to stay all night. We can't even have a peaceful night, for Jack made Laddie fall out of bed and there were all kinds of excitement."
"That was only fun!" laughed Rose.
"It sure was," agreed Russ. "And maybe this will be fun, too. That is, if mother doesn't worry, and we can get the car out of the ditch," he added.
"Oh, we can get the car out of the ditch, sooner or later," Captain Ben remarked. "And I fancy we can get word to your mother—perhaps on the telephone. We'll try, anyhow."
As he spoke he thrust out his left arm and glanced down at his wrist.
"Ha! I forgot about my watch being gone," he exclaimed. "I'm so in the habit of looking at it that I forget it isn't on my wrist any more."
"Didn't you find your watch?" asked Daddy Bunker.
"No, it was lost in the excitement of packing, and I haven't seen it since," the soldier-marine answered. "I'd give a good reward to get it back, too, for I prize it very much because it was the gift of a Frenchman. But I don't suppose I'll ever find it."
"You may," said Daddy Bunker hopefully. "As soon as we get to your bungalow at Grand View I'll write back and ask Jerry Simms or Norah if they have found it. They may have picked it up after we left."
"Yes, they might," agreed Captain Ben. "And I'll give five dollars as a reward to whoever finds my lost watch," he added.
"Does that mean any of us?" asked Russ eagerly.
"Yes, any of the six little Bunkers," answered Captain Ben. "Or either of the two big Bunkers, which means daddy or mother," he added. "But we won't worry about my lost watch now. The main things to do are to get our auto out of the ditch and to let Mother Bunker know that we are all right and that we'll not be at Grand View to-night, unless you folks go on in the train and let me come later in the machine after I get it fixed."
"No, we'll stay with you," said Daddy Bunker. "We won't desert the ship, as the sailors would say. Of course I suppose I could send the children on and stay with you myself," he remarked.
"Oh, no! Please let us stay!" begged Russ. "It's lots of fun being wrecked in an auto."
"I like it, too," said Laddie. "And maybe I can think of a funny riddle about going in the ditch to tell mother."
"All right; then we'll stay with Captain Ben and help get the machine out of the ditch," said Daddy Bunker. "After it is on level ground we can try to put on the extra wheel, and perhaps then we can travel and get to Grand View rather late to-night."
"I hope so," said Captain Ben. "If we could get some fence rails, perhaps we could raise the auto out of the ditch ourselves. I used to do such things in France during the war."
"There's lots of fences around here," observed Russ.
This was true enough. The auto had gone into the ditch near the canal, and it was in a part of the country where there were many fields, bordered by rail fences. A long fence rail makes a very good lever, or lifter, for an auto, Captain Ben explained.
While the four little Bunkers wandered along the roadside, gathering flowers and tossing stones into a little brook, Captain Ben and Daddy Bunker took some rails from the fence. They intended to put them back when they had finished using them. With stones they built up a sort of pile, or pyramid, on which to rest part of the rail, while one end of it was shoved under the wheel that was deepest in the mud of the ditch. Then the two men pressed down on the other end of the rail.
Russ, who did not care much about picking flowers, came back to watch his father and the captain. Russ wanted to help, but he knew this was no time to ask, so he sat on the grassy bank whistling softly, and making a little boat out of a piece of wood.
"I think we'll have to get help," said Captain Ben, as he straightened up after he and Daddy Bunker had pressed down heavily on the long end of the rail. "The two of us together are not strong enough to raise the car out of the ditch."
"Maybe I could help!" offered Russ eagerly.
"Not just yet," his father said, with a laugh. "Though a little later on we may call on you. I wonder if there is a place around here where we could get a couple of farmers to give us a hand," he went on.
"Here comes a canal boat," said Russ, looking down the still, quiet stream of water which was not like a brook or a river. The water in the canal did not run, but remained as still as the water in a bath tub.
"It's a nice canal boat," went on Russ, "and it's got some mules pulling it, and a man is driving the mules. Maybe he'd lend us his mules to help pull the auto out of the ditch."
"Maybe he would," agreed Mr. Bunker. "We'll ask him. But first let's put the fence rail back under the wheel so when the canal boat man comes along we may show him what we want to do."
As Daddy Bunker and Captain Ben leaned over to put the fence rail in place, Russ turned from looking at the canal boat to glance over the field near the half overturned auto. And the boy caught sight of something that made him cry:
"Oh, look out! Look out! Here he comes!"
"Who's coming?" asked Daddy Bunker. "If it's a farmer who is going to find fault because we borrowed his fence rails, we can offer to pay him."
"Oh, it isn't a farmer!" cried Russ. "It's worse! It's a bad ram! A big, ugly sheep with horns, and he's going to bunk into Captain Ben, I guess! Oh, look out!"