“Always thinking about eats,” I said.

“How about you, Alf?” Harry said to Skinny. “Hungry?”

you

Skinny said, “Yes, sir.”

“Well then,” Harry said, “we’ll see if we can run her under cover somewhere and get something to eat and a place to bunk in. I doubt if there’s a garage in this thriving metropolis, but if there is, the mechanics are probably home in bed. This machine seems to have an acute attack of the pip. The gas isn’t feeding right.”

“You should worry, the rest of us will feed all right,” I told him.

Ever since we left Albany the engine hadn’t been running right and two or three times Harry had tried to get it running smooth, but he said he couldn’t do anything in the dark. So now we turned into the main street of Crystal Falls and crept along very slow, the engine pounding all the while. There wasn’t anybody to enforce the laws and there wasn’t anybody to welcome us, either. The principal thing about the restaurants was that there weren’t any. And the same with the hotels—they were very nice, only they weren’t there.

“We should have kept out of that garage at Albany,” Harry said; “go to a garage and then your troubles begin. The good ship Cadillac will have to be close-hauled, I’m afraid.”

Cadillac

We stopped alongside the curb and Harry tried to find out what was the matter. I guess there were a lot of things the matter. Anyway, we couldn’t get started again. After about half an hour he gave it up and said he couldn’t do anything until daylight.

“She’s at the mercy of the wind and storm,” he said; “I guess we’ll have to take to the small boats. Do you see that light up the street, Pee-wee? Suppose you hike up there and see if there’s anybody about, and if there is, find out where we can get something to eat and a place to sleep. Tell them we’re wrecked on the treacherous rocks of Main Street.”

“I’ll find out,” Pee-wee said; “don’t you worry. I’ll fix it.”

He started along the street, going scout-pace, and we sat there in the machine for about ten minutes, waiting for him. Gee whiz, I think I was never so hungry in my life.

“I could eat a house,” Grove said.

“I could 

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