and then came one final jerk that brought the automobile to a standstill and all but sent the Rover boys flying over the engine hood.
"Well, we've stopped!" panted Tom, when he could catch his breath. "I guess the brake held somehow."
"No, it didn't," answered Sam. "It's another brake, one that Dick heaved overboard." And he pointed to the ropes and hooks. One hook, the biggest, had caught in a rock lining the gully, and the ropes were in a mess around the wheels and the rear axle.
"Good for you!" murmured Tom. "It saved us from running into that carriage."
"Are you men going on?" cried one of the ladies, noticing that the automobile had come to a stop.
"Not just yet!" sang out Dick. "You can go ahead if you wish. We'll wait until you get down to the bottom of the hill—and maybe we'll wait longer," he added in an undertone.
"You scared us nearly to death," said another of the ladies, tartly; and then the carriage went on and was soon lost to sight on a side road.
The three youths alighted, and after blocking the wheels with stones, so that it might not get away unexpectedly, commenced an inspection of the car.
