“We’ll ride to Ashton with you,” said Dick.  “No use of staying with this wreckage,” he added, to his brothers.  “We can drive down to-morrow and look it over.  I don’t think it is worth much.”

“Never mind—­ I am glad nobody was seriously hurt,” returned Sam.

“I guess we all feel that way,” added Tom.

It was a run of only a few minutes to Ashton.  On the way the conductor of the train took the Rover boys’ names and address.

“I don’t see how you can blame us for smashing the flying machine,” he said.  “You had no business to come down on the track.”

“We might have gotten our biplane off the track, if you had halted the train,” returned Dick.  “We could have dragged it into the bushes.”

“I don’t know about that.”

As soon as the train rolled into Ashton the bays alighted.  The only other passenger to get off was one of the local storekeepers.

“You were lucky boys,” said the man, pleasantly.  He knew them by sight, for they had traded at his shop.

“That’s true, Mr. Striker,” said Dick.  “But we don’t seem to be lucky just now.”

“How’s that?”

“There isn’t a conveyance of any kind here to take us to Brill, and I must say I don’t feel like walking.”

“You go around to Carson’s livery stable.  He’ll take you over to the college,” answered Mr. Striker.

The livery stable was but a short distance away and they found the proprietor on hand, reading a newspaper and smoking his pipe.

“It’s a wonder you wouldn’t have a rig over at the depot, to meet the main trains,” grumbled Tom.

“’Twouldn’t pay,” answered Neal Carson.  “I tried it once, and earned two dollars and a half in two weeks.  Folks that want me can come here for me.”

“Well, we want to get to Brill College,” said Dick.

“All right, but it will cost you fifty cents each.”

“Very well.”

The livery stable keeper hustled around and soon had a team ready.  The boys were glad enough to take it easy in the carriage, and on the way to college but little was said.

“Rather late, young gentlemen,” remarked Professor Blackie, sharply, as they entered.

“We had an accident, Professor,” returned Dick.

“An accident?” and the instructor was all attention.

“Our biplane got smashed up,” put in Tom.

“Indeed!  I am sorry to hear that.  Are you hurt?”

“Got a shaking up and a few scratches,” answered Sam.

Then their story had to be told in detail.  Soon it became noised all over the place that the Dartaway had been wrecked, and before they could get a mouthful to eat the three Rovers had to tell the story over and over again.

“I’m sorry the biplane was wrecked, but glad you escaped,” said Songbird, earnestly.  He cherished his old friends as if they were brothers.

“Just what I say already,” cried Max Spangler, a German-American student.  “You can buy a new flying machine, yes, but you can’t buy a new head or a body, not much!” And he shook his head earnestly.