Ned. "He can tell us what to do. The poor Dartaway! Smashed!"

"And in a land wreck, too!" put in Jerry. "It wouldn't be so bad if
she had gone down on the Atlantic, chasing after a whale, or in
pursuit of a shark--"

"Or with the flag flying, out in a storm, with Salt Water Sam,"
interrupted Ned. "But to think of her being buried under a lot of
freight cars! It's tough, that's what it is!"

"That's right," agreed Bob. "Just think of it! No more rides in her!
Say, we ought to get heavy damages! She was a fine boat!"

"Come on then," cried Ned. "Don't let's stand here chinning all day.
Let's go see Mr. Hitter. He has charge of all the freight that comes
to Cresville, and he can tell us how to proceed to collect damages."

"Yes, I guess that's all that's left for us to do," decided Jerry, and
the three lads started for the railroad depot.

They lived in the town of Cresville, Mass., a thriving community, and
had been chums and inseparable companions ever since they could
remember. Bob Baker was the son of a wealthy banker, while Jerry
Hopkins's mother was a widow, who had been left considerable property,
and Ned Slade's father owned a large department store.

You boys who have read the previous volumes of this "Motor Boys
Series" do not need to be reminded of the adventures the three chums
had together. To those of you who read this book first, I will say
that, in the first volume, called "The Motor Boys," there was related