ng his hair. "It does come off; and if I
can't find it under the seat, we're out of luck, that's all!"

He dived again into the car, leaving the other two staring at the
dismembered jack. They heard him fumbling around again, and, after a
minute, he slid out and sat upon the running-board.

"No use! I guess I left it home," he said.

"Then I guess I won't need this," said Ruth, handing Jack his watch.

Suddenly, the humor of the situation struck all three of them at once,
and they burst into shrieks of laughter.

"Well, catching them is now out of the question," said Jack, after the
merriment had subsided; "but we'll have to get home again somehow."

"Yes," agreed Harold, "the question is--how?"

"There must be a garage around here somewhere, and we could borrow a
jack," suggested Ruth.

"Shall I go ahead and look for one?" asked Jack.

"Oh, we'll stop a passing machine, and borrow one," said Harold.

"But none has passed us yet," protested Ruth, "and we might have to wait
here all day."

"I don't think so; there ought to be lots of traffic on this road; it's
a main highway. They just won't come because we want them to."

"There are several little houses down there," said Jack, indicating a
group of boat-houses along the banks of the river, about fifty yards
away; "perhaps one of them would have a jack."

"To jack up the boats with?" asked Harold, sardonically.

"It won't hurt to try, anyway," retorted the other boy. "Come on, Ruth!
We'll go ask."

To see Ruth walk away with Jack and leave him sitting there alone, was
too much for Harold.

"Jack! I say, Jack!" he called. "Come back a minute!"

The boy and girl retraced their steps.

"What do you want?"

"I was just thinking--you might crawl under the car----"

"Eh?"

"I say, _you_ might crawl under the car," repeated Harold.

"What for?"

"Jack 'er up!"

He jumped up from the running-board just in time to avoid the other's
clutches.

"Now, Harold!" protested Ruth. "As if this were not enough, you must
make it worse with bad puns."

"I won't do it again," promised Harold, with mock penitency. "But wait a
minute--I'm going with you."

He tossed the tools on the floor of the car and slammed the door.

"Jack, my boy," he resumed, "I really believe your idea is a good one,
an inspiration, a mark of genius; I verily believe we are on the eve of
a great discovery----"

"Oh, you dry up!" snorted Jack. "I don't really think we'll find one.