noon
Such valuable wheels might have been commandeered by the authorities for use in the army , only that Rod chanced to carry a few lines actually signed by King Albert and which had been placed in his hands by the dauntless Belgian monarch himself , which warned all concerned that nothing belonging to the American boys was to be touched , as they had shown their friendship for Belgium in numerous ways . Rod was careful enough to make sure that all of them carried a plentiful supply of the necessary petrol , for he realized how difficult it would likely be to secure any of this liquid fuel , since every gallon was being seized for the use of the multitude of lorries and cars employed for transportation purposes by the armies in the field . It was about nine in the morning when they were ready to start . The early September day was a fair one , though promising more or less heat before noon came and went . Rod led the way , and they soon left the big bustling city on the Scheldt behind them . A splendid road invited an increase of speed , and presently they were booming along right merrily . How delightfully cheery did the rapid clatter of the exhausts sound to their ears , after having been deprived of this familiar company for days at a stretch , since abandoning their machines at the home of a woman market gardener , who had later on brought them to the city , concealed under a load of produce .