“Looks like we’re going to be marooned here along with Perk,” said Ralph dubiously.
“It isn’t quite as bad as all that,” replied Tim. “If you’re willing to take a long chance, I think we can make it.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve seen those pictures of how the navy uses a catapult to launch its fighting planes from the decks of battleships?” Ralph nodded.
“We’ll use the same principle. Shoot ourselves into the air.”
“But we haven’t any catapult and the nearest battleship is a thousand miles away,” said Ralph, still unconvinced.
“All right,” said Tim. “I’ll show you how it can be done. Give me a hand now.”
Under Tim’s directions, they managed to trundle the Lark to the end of the ledge where the air mail had crashed. There they turned it around and pointed its nose toward the far end of the shelf.
“What now?” demanded Ralph.
“Open up that bundle of light cable we brought and get out the axe,” said Tim.