On the other hand Reno Durango never thought for one moment that the "Meteor" would follow the "Libertad" through the mountain pass. He fully expected that his rival would laboriously climb to a height sufficient to enable him to cross the snow-clad range. By that time the "Libertad" would be under the cover of the guns of Naocuanha.
Acting under this supposition the Mexican ordered speed to be reduced during the passage of the gorge, and at a bare fifty miles an hour the "Libertad" entered the gloomy defile. On either hand the cliffs towered almost vertically to a height of two thousand feet; above this the mountainside rose with less declivity until it reached far above the snow-line. The pass itself averaged two hundred yards in width, and, although winding, its curves were gradual enough to allow the thousand odd feet of airship to be manoeuvred with comparative ease.
"Steady on your helm, Callaghan," cautioned Whittinghame as the "Meteor" swung round the projecting bluff.
With every nerve on the alert the crew of the pursuing craft stood at their posts, those for'ard half-expecting to see their rival brought up to bar their way, those aft, unable to use their powers of vision, trusting implicitly in the energy and skill of their young commander.
Ahead lay the narrow gorge, desolate, forbidding and withal majestic. There were no signs of the "Libertad."
Bend after bend was negotiated in safety. In four minutes the "Meteor" traversed the pass, then, to the surprise of her officers, they found the "Libertad" waiting broadside on, at a distance of less than half a mile.
Nor was the dramatic appearance of the "Meteor" as she suddenly emerged from between the lofty mountain range any the less surprising to Durango and his crew. So intent were they in watching the peaks of the Sierras that for the moment they could scarce believe their eyes.
That the "Libertad" meant to fight was evident from the fact that she had slackened speed and had hoisted Valderian colours from an ensign staff at the after end of her upper deck.
Before the "Meteor's" guns could open fire a fusillade of musketry and a broadside from the guns on the upper deck of the hostile airship woke the silence of the valley. The British craft reeled, then, several of her ballonettes pierced through and through, she began to drop vertically through space.
As Whittinghame sprang to the emergency lever for charging the reserve sub-sections to the full capacity, a shout from his companions attracted his attention. Thrusting down the metal rod he turned to follow the direction of Dacres' outstretched arm.