"No, I'm going to put on a new wheel. I carry two spare ones
with tires all ready inflated. It won't take long."

But the process of changing wheels consumed more time than Tom
anticipated for the nut was stuck, and he and Mr. Damon had to
exert all their strength before they could loosen it. When the
new wheel was in place ten minutes had been lost.

"Hold on now, I'm going to speed her!" cried Tom, when they
were once more in their seats, and speed the machine he did. The
road was rough, but despite this the lad turned on almost full
power. Over the bumps they went, around curves and into
rain-washed ruts careening from side to side, and throwing Mr.
Damon about, as he expressed it afterward, "like a bean inside
of a football." As for the young inventor his grasp of the
steering wheel, and the manner in which he could brace himself
against the foot pedals, held him more firmly in place. On and
on they rushed, covering mile after mile, and approaching
Shopton where so much depended on their arrival.

Good and bad stretches of the road alternated, but now that Tom
had seen of what mettle his car was made, he did not spare it as
much as he had on the first trip. He saw that his machine would
stand hard knocks, and the way the battery and motor was behaving
was a joy to him. He knew that if he could make that eighty-mile
run in safety he stood a good chance of winning the prize, for no
harder test could have been devised.

But the race was still far from won. There was a particularly