Shortly after they passed the summit of the ridge which formed
the boundary between the desert and the fertile country, Ska, the
vulture, winging his way at a high altitude toward his aerie, caught
sight of a strange new bird of gigantic proportions encroaching upon
the preserves of his aerial domain. Whether with intent to give
battle to the interloper or merely impelled by curiosity, Ska rose
suddenly upward to meet the plane. Doubtless he misjudged the speed
of the newcomer, but be that as it may, the tip of the propeller
blade touched him and simultaneously many things happened. The
lifeless body of Ska, torn and bleeding, dropped plummet-like toward
the ground; a bit of splintered spruce drove backward to strike
the pilot on the forehead; the plane shuddered and trembled and
as Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick sank forward in momentary
unconsciousness the ship dived headlong toward the earth.
Only for an instant was the pilot unconscious, but that instant
almost proved their undoing. When he awoke to a realization of
their peril it was also to discover that his motor had stalled.
The plane had attained frightful momentum, and the ground seemed
too close for him to hope to flatten out in time to make a safe
landing. Directly beneath him was a deep rift in the plateau, a
narrow gorge, the bottom of which appeared comparatively level and
sand covered.
Pages:
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277