"There's a bridge somewhere about here," remarked the lad, when they had gone on a mile further. "I remember seeing it on my road map. It's not very strong, and we'll have to run slow over it." "Bless my gizzard, I hope we don't go through it!" cried Mr. Damon. "Is your car very heavy, Tom?" "Not heavy enough to break the bridge. Ah, there it is. Guess I'll turn on the light so we can see what we're doing." Just ahead of them loomed up the super-structure of a bridge, and Tom turned the searchlight switch. At the instant he did so, whether he did not keep a steady hand on the steering wheel, or whether the auto went into a rut from which it could not be turned, did not immediately develop, but the car suddenly shot from the straight road, and swerved to one side. There was a lurch, and the front wheels sank down. "Look out! We're going into the river!" yelled Mr. Damon. Tom jammed on the brakes and shut off the current. The auto came to a sudden stop. The young inventor turned the searchlight downward, to illuminate the ground directly in front of the car. "Are we in the river?" asked Mr. Sharp. "No," replied Tom in great chagrin. "We're in a muddy ditch. One at the side of the road. Wheels in over the hubs! There should have been a guard rail here. We're stuck for fair!" CHAPTER XXIII THE POWER GONE "Bless my overshoes!" cried Mr. Damon. "Stuck in the mud, eh?" "Hard and fast," added Tom, in disgust. "What's to be done?" inquired Mr. Sharp. "I should say we'll have to stay here until daylight, and wait for some other auto to come along and pull us out," was Mr. Damon's opinion. "It's might unpleasant, too, for there doesn't seem to be any place around here where we can spend the night in any kind of comfort. If we had the submarine or the airship, now, it wouldn't so much matter." "No, and this won't matter a great deal," remarked the young inventor quickly. "We'll soon be out of this, but it will be hard work." "What do you mean?" asked Mr. Sharp. "I mean that we've got to pull ourselves out of this mud hole," explained the lad, as he prepared to descend. "I was afraid something like this would happen, so I came prepared for it. I've got ropes and pulleys with me, in the car. We'll fasten the rope to the machine, attach one pulley to the bridge, another to the car, and I guess we can get out of the mud. We'll try, anyhow." "Well, I must say you looked pretty far ahead," complimented Mr. Damon. From a box under the tonneau Tom took out a thin but strong rope and two compound pulleys, which would enable considerable force to be applied. Mr. Sharp detached one of the powerful oil lamps, and the three travelers took a look at the auto. It was indeed deep in the mud and it seemed like a hopeless task to try to get it out unaided. But Tom insisted that they could do it, and the rope was soon attached, the hook of one pulley being slipped around one of the braces of the bridge.