In the brief instant in which he must reach a decision, the safest
plan seemed to attempt a landing in the gorge, and this he did, but
not without considerable damage to the plane and a severe shaking-up
for himself and his passenger.
Fortunately neither of them was injured but their condition seemed
indeed a hopeless one. It was a grave question as to whether the
man could repair his plane and continue the journey, and it seemed
equally questionable as to their ability either to proceed on foot
to the coast or retrace their way to the country they had just
left. The man was confident that they could not hope to cross the
desert country to the east in the face of thirst and hunger, while
behind them in the valley of plenty lay almost equal danger in the
form of carnivores and the warlike natives.
After the plane came to its sudden and disastrous stop, Smith-Oldwick
turned quickly to see what the effect of the accident had been on
the girl. He found her pale but smiling, and for several seconds
the two sat looking at each other in silence.
"This is the end?" the girl asked.
The Englishman shook his head. "It is the end of the first leg,
anyway," he replied.
"But you can't hope to make repairs here," she said dubiously.
"No," he said, "not if they amount to anything, but I may be able
to patch it up.
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