On every hand rose other jagged peaks, so that to veer away from that grim wall ahead was useless, even had they had time. The last chance left them was to rise—to soar up and over that formidable barrier of weather-worn rock. To fail meant instant death against the cliff or among the tumbled boulders at its base.
Phil tugged desperately at the elevating controls, and opened the throttle wide. The aeroplane responded instantly, sweeping up with a rush and roar. But they were terribly close to the cliff now, and the boys held their breath in an agony of suspense. Could the trusty machine make it, or would their trip end so quickly in black tragedy?
The cliff overhung at the top, and was fringed with a dense growth of scrub and small trees. Had it not been for this they would probably have won clear, but as it was, as they swept up, the wheels and framework under the fuselage caught in the dense undergrowth, and the boys could feel their speed suddenly slacken. The heavy pull underneath dragged the nose of the machine down, which caused the propeller to become entangled also. Phil tried desperately to get the machine clear of the tenacious brush and creepers, but finally he saw that they were hopelessly entangled. Fortunately, they were over the edge of the cliff, at any rate, and on a small fairly level plateau at the top of the mountain.
Phil shut off the motor, in order to keep the propeller from getting broken, and the aeroplane crashed down among the bushes and floundered to a standstill.
The boys gazed ruefully at each other, and for a few moments no one spoke. Then Phil climbed slowly from his seat, and dropped to the ground, the others following suit.
“We’re in a fine mess now,” he remarked. “It looks to me as though this is about as near Texas as we get this trip.”
“I don’t care,” said Tom, mopping big drops of perspiration from his face. “I’m glad enough to be right here. I don’t mind admitting that I thought we were all goners a few minutes ago. I don’t know yet how you got us over the edge, Phil.”
“Neither do I,” said Dick. “We must have gone pretty near straight up, Phil, to do it.”
“I guess we did,” nodded Phil. “It was the good old machine that did the trick, though, not I. But never mind about that now. Who can tell me how we’re going to get away from here?”
“Is the machine damaged much?” inquired Dick. “I suppose we’d better make an examination and find out what’s broken before we figure how to get away.”