And Jules grinned as he saw them. His spirit was not crushed, even
though it began to look as though he might be the football of fate.
"It ees ze fortunes of war, messiers," he said, wincing at the pain
speech caused him. "And after all, it was ze machine of ze young
inventor zat downed me. I am von lucky man not to haf been five thousand
feet up in ze air when it occur. Had eet been ze monoplane zat kicked
me, pouf! poor Jules he would haf been as flat as ze pancake. As eet is,
after I haf serve my time I am yet alive."
Frank found his bicycle badly damaged. In fact, the front wheel was
smashed beyond recovery, for it had been driven against some stone at a
tremendous pace. Strange to say, the lamp had gone through it all
without any apparent damage.
"A few dollars will fix it up, all right," he said, cheerfully. "And I
guess I ought to be thankful ever to see it again."
So he placed the wheel in the back of the big touring car. The doctor
announced that Jules might be moved without danger if they were careful,
and this Chief Waller promised he would be.
"You're giving us a heap of bother, Jules," he said, after the captured
rascal had been safety stowed away in the tonneau of the car, with the
chief beside him and Frank mounting to the front with the
chauffeur. "But this winds you up. I understand your trial comes off
tomorrow and you'll soon be snug in the pen.
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