CHAPTER X.
THE MOTOR-CYCLE.
It was about a week after the foregoing events when Jerry received aletter, bearing in the upper left-hand corner of the envelope the markof the C. H. & D. Railroad.
He read the missive, which was short and to the point. Briefly itinformed Jerry that there awaited him at the freight office of the roadone motor-cycle, which he could have by calling and presenting theenclosed way-bill.
"Hurrah!" shouted the boy. "Three cheers for the Cresville Athletic Cluband Mr. Wakefield! Hurrah!"
Jerry lost no time in calling for his two chums, and the three boyshurried together to the freight depot.
"What can I do for you boys?" asked Mr. Hitter, the agent in charge.
"I come to get what that calls for," replied Jerry, handing over theway-bill.
"Oh, yes, one of them new-fangled bicycles that take a steam engine torun 'em. Well, you'll find it down at the end of the platform," said Mr.Hitter. "Now, be careful, and don't blow yourself up. Boys is dreadfulcareless like," he muttered, as he went on with his work.
Boxed in a big crate, at the end of the freight platform, the boys foundthe motor-cycle. It was addressed in big letters to "Jerry Hopkins,Esq.," and marked "With Care."
"Shall I unpack it here or get it taken up to the house, crate and all?"asked Jerry of his chums.
"Oh, unpack it here. Then you can ride it home," said Bob.
"I know about as much how to ride one as I would how to run alocomotive," objected Jerry. "I've studied the catalogs, of course, butI think I'd better start it up at home first."
"Oh, go ahead, ride it home," put in Ned. "We can manage to find out howit works, and we can get some gasolene over to the drug store."
So, rather against his own calmer judgment, Jerry decided to do as hisfriends wished. He borrowed a hammer from Mr. Hitter and soon the cratewas broken apart and the motor-cycle, in all its mechanical beauty, wasrevealed.
It certainly was a fine machine and had all the latest improvements.There were two cylinders instead of one, insuring great speed; the tireswere large, and there was a large reservoir for gasolene. It was of thelatest make and not generally on the market as yet.
"Here's a book that tells all about how to run it," said Bob, catchingsight of a pamphlet of directions.
The boys read the directions over carefully. It seemed simple enough.All there was to do was to put some gasolene in the tank, see that thebatteries gave a proper current, start the machine off, turn on thegasolene, switch on the spark and ride off.
"I'll get the gasolene," volunteered Ned. He ran over to the drug storeand came back with a can full.
"Now try and see if there's a good spark," Jerry suggested.
Satisfied that the batteries were in working order, Jerry prepared totake his first ride. The street leading from the railroad depot was along straight wide one.
"It's a good thing," commented Jerry, referring to the highway. "There'splenty of chance to be run away with, and not damage anything. I canride clear to New York if I go far enough."
"I wouldn't this time, though," said Bob.
Jerry smiled. It was a rather dubious sort of a grin, to be sure. Muchas he wanted a motor-cycle, he knew there was a little risk in ridingone when he was not thoroughly familiar with it. However, he wasn'tgoing to back out. He got on the ponderous machine, which Bob and Nedsteadied for him.
"Give me a little shove."
Bob and Ned did so.
"Work the pedals and get a good start," advised Bob.
Jerry did so. Soon he was moving off at a fair speed, though, of course,just as if he was on an ordinary bicycle.
"Turn on the gasolene!" shouted Ned.
"And throw in the spark!" called Bob.
"Here she goes," Jerry yelled back.
There was a series of sharp explosions, like a machine gun being firedat top speed, and the motor-cycle, with Jerry aboard, started off.
"Hurrah!" shouted Ned and Bob.
Bang! Bang! Bang! the machine went, and soon Jerry was a quarter of amile down the road.
"He ought to shut off the exhaust," commented Bob. "He can do that onthis machine. On some you can't."
The two boys, thinking of nothing but motor-cycles and their chances ofgetting them, passed down the road. Jerry was out of sight. In a littlewhile they espied a cloud of dust down the highway. It seemed to bemoving toward them.
"Here comes Jerry, I guess," Bob said.
"And he's moving like the wind!" exclaimed Ned.
In a few minutes the dust cloud was nearer, and then the boys saw thatit was Jerry approaching at a rapid rate. His machine did not makeso much noise now. But, as he came nearer, Bob and Ned, who caught aglimpse of his face, thought he looked a little worried.
"Hold on! Can't you stop?" cried Bob, for Jerry was about to pass.
"That's the trouble!" Jerry yelled as he whizzed past. "I can't seem toshut off the power!"
Then he was lost in a cloud of dust, going down the road in the oppositedirection.
"Something's wrong!" Bob ejaculated.
"He's forgotten which lever to pull!" exclaimed Ned. "If he don't lookout there'll be trouble."
As he spoke Jerry came flying back.
"Can't one of you do something?" he cried. "I'm afraid to take my handsoff the bars long enough to pull the levers again, and the last time Iyanked them I seemed to turn on more power. I'll ride down the road away and turn back. Think up something in the meanwhile!"
"He's in a pickle!" exclaimed Ned.
"I have it!" cried Bob.
"What?"
"The next time he comes past yell at him to ride around in a circleuntil we can look in the book of directions on how to run a motor-cycle."
And so, the next time Jerry whizzed by, with a comical worried look onhis face, Bob yelled:
"Ride around us in a circle, Jerry. Make believe you're on the track.Ned and I will look in the book and see how to stop you!"
Jerry obeyed. Around and around he went, the machine kicking up a cloudof dust. In the centre of the ring stood Bob and Ned, poring over thepages of the book.
"There it is!" cried Ned, pointing to something on one page.
"What does it say?" asked Bob.
"To stop the machine pull lever A and throw off B toward you threenotches," read Ned.
"Pull lever A and throw off B toward you three notches!" Bob yelled toJerry.
"Which is lever A and which is lever B?" asked Jerry. "They're notmarked on the machine."
"That's so, I forgot that," admitted Ned.
"What am I going to do?" begged Jerry. "Have I got to ride around likethis all night?"
"What's in the name of Tunket is the trouble?" asked Mr. Hitter, thestation agent, who was on his way down the road, and who had come towhere Jerry was riding around in a circle with Bob and Ned in the centre.
"He can't stop!" cried Ned and Bob at once.
"I knowed there'd some trouble come of that machine," said Mr. Hitter,shaking his head. "I told you not to monkey with 'em. It all comes ofman trying to improve on nature. Walking's good enough for me. Whatparticular form of trouble does the critter seem to be suffering from? Imean the motor-cycle."
"There's two levers," explained Bob. "One is A and the other is B,according to the book. The trouble is they are not marked on themachine, and Jerry don't know which one to pull."
"Well, not knowing much about the case, I would advise him to pull 'emboth," said Mr. Hitter. "He can't be any worse off than he is now, andmaybe it'll stop him."
"Good!" exclaimed Bob. "That's it. Why didn't we think of that?"
"Why didn't we?" was all Ned could say.
Then they both shouted to Jerry, who was still pursuing his weary round:
"Move both levers, Jerry!"
Jerry did so. In an instant the motor-cycle ceased the explosions, and,in a little while it slowed down so that Jerry could dismount.
"Well, that certainly was an experience," commented
Jerry, as he wipedthe dust from his face. "But it was fun all the same," he added, whereatMr. Hitter laughed.
"Boys will be boys," the station agent muttered as he went off down theroad.
"Funny the machine got such a fit on," said Ned, examining themotor-cycle closely. "I didn't think they would act like that."
"Here's the difficulty," cried Bob, who was also looking over theapparatus. "This piece of wire ought to have been taken off. It was puton temporarily when the machine was packed. See, it held the gasolenelever and the spark one also, so they couldn't come back separately.You had to pull them both at once to shut off the flow of fluid and thecurrent of electricity. It's a thing that wouldn't happen if we hadn'tbeen in such a hurry."
"Well, it all came out right," said Jerry. "I'm going to ride themachine home."
And he did without further mishap, stopping and starting the motorwithout trouble, now that the wire was off.