But now he was faced with a floor-mounted stick shift and a clutch. He drilled his memory to dredge up the early driving lessons, and shoved in the clutch with his left foot. He nudged the gas pedal, but the sudden loud noise from the dual exhausts intimidated him and he eased back to a fast idle. When he let the clutch out, he did it too quickly, and didn't compensate by increasing the pressure on the gas pedal. Monty had not cranked up the trailer fully so that the big 4" ball in the middle of the truck bed truck was still partially in the mouth of the trailer's attachment to it, a heavy vertical metal pipe which fitted over the ball. The combination of that horizontal load and Ranny's inept driving resulted in the truck giving a sudden lurch and then stalling the engine.

"Damn it!" Ranny cursed. He kicked in the clutch again, pushed the gas pedal down so that the engine roared and the exhaust bellowed, and let the clutch out but a little more slowly. The increased power allowed the truck to start moving, but the trailer's hitch was still catching on the truck's hitch ball so the trailer was being pulled forward. Since Monty had cranked it up partially, the weight on the front was now supported by the two metal plates which formed the bottom of the jack stands. Those were now digging into the earth, putting such a drag on the pickup's powerful engine that the truck's tires stared to spin as it inched slowly forward.

Frustrated by the way the truck was acting, Ranny looked in the rearview mirrors and saw that the trailer was still behind them. He cursed again, more violently this time, and jumped out of the truck, taking the gun with him. He yelled back at Laura as he went to see what the problem was, "Sit right there until I see what's wrong!"

A quick glance into the truck bed showed him the problem, and he cursed Monty long and hard as he furiously cranked the handle, raising the trailer well above the hitch ball. He jumped back in the cab, resting the gun again upright between his legs, and slammed the door. He repeated his actions, giving the truck a lot of gas, and letting the clutch out quickly. This time the truck shot ahead, unencumbered by the trailer.

But when it had gone about three feet, there was a horrible crash and screech of tortured metal, but the truck didn't slow down this time. In his haste, Ranny had forgotten to lower the tailgate which Monty had also not lowered, and the trailer's projecting hitch pipe caught it and ripped it from its hinges. Ranny saw in the mirror what had happened, but the tailgate had dropped completely off and was lying on the ground behind, so Ranny didn't care about this mishap. Again, he cursed Monty, Laura hearing words she didn't normally hear in the office environment she was used to.




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