Her runners and side wheels acted like flanges in holding her bolt upright, and the impetus given her by her flight sent her gliding on her runners over the sparkling ice.
It moderated the shock of her descent.
Frank had taken entire charge of her now.
He at once dropped the gyroscopes.
Grasping the lever which raised or lowered the side wheels, he gave it a sudden pull, for he saw the boat swiftly gliding toward an immense crevice in the ice.
Down went the spiked wheels with a crash, and acting like a brake, as they were rigid, they scratched over the surface for some distance, and finally stopped the boat.
This occurred only just in time, for the Ranger had reached the edge of the chasm as she paused.
The place was dangerous.
Frank saw this, and turning a switch, he put an electric current in the side-wheel motor, reversing it, and she backed away, the wheels digging into the ice, and moving the Ranger very easily.
They were then upon an immense glacier running down a valley embowered between two mountains.