I was out on the lake on Friday. I stopped my late 80's era Merc 9.9 (2-stroke) to make a few casts. When I went to start it again I found that I couldn't rotate the shifter (tiller). I can still start the motor, but it just revs really fast without me being able to put it in gear. Thank goodness some nice guys happened by and gave me a tow. Can anyone help identify my motors problems?

look at the cables on the side of the carb