The rapids were more formidable than the boys had expected to find them. The bed of the river seemed to drop away several feet to the north, and the narrowing channel was spotted with boulders which fretted the current into foaming eddies. There seemed to be no main channel, such as Clay had followed through the peril above.
“I’m afraid we’ll have to put on the wheels,” Clay observed as he stood looking over the swirling surface of the broken river. “We can never sail the _Rambler_ through there. Anyway, suppose we look for a place level enough to run the boat through. This bank looks good and level, and it seems to remain so for some distance, skirting the rapids like a highway. Do you know where the wheels are?”
“Certainly,” replied Case. “They are under the floor in the prow.”
The boys returned to the _Rambler_ and lifted a hatch in the deck close to the forward stem. From the cavity underneath Case drew four wheels of about two feet in diameter. They were of iron, light as possible, with broad tires. Next came two long iron rods, with fittings at each end for the wheels. These were the axles. Then came great staples, shaped like a horseshoe, washers, and screws.
“How we ever going to get them on?” asked Case. “We neglected to hold dress rehearsals with these things!”
“I’ve studied that all out,” Clay said, proudly. “We’ll have to take to the water to screw these horseshoe staples onto the sides of the boat. There are four iron plates with screwholes where they go on. Oh, come on! I’ll show you as we go along.”
The boys worked steadily, understanding, and fortune favored them, so, in a couple of hours the wheels were in place, and the prow of the _Rambler_ was out of water.
“Now, when Alex comes,” Clay said, “we’ll pull her out.”
The sun dropped out of the sky above the valley, glinting the rough elevations to the east with golden light, but throwing long shadows where the _Rambler_ lay, half in the water and half out. Still, Alex and the dog remained away, and there were no indications of their approach.
“The next time Alex leaves the boat,” Case grumbled, “we’ll tie a rope to him, so we can haul him back. He holds the blue ribbon for getting lost and meeting with foolish adventures.”